HOME

TheInfoList



Click Here for Items Related To - Synodontis Nigriventris
OR:
Synodontis Nigriventris on:   [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Amazon]

''Synodontis nigriventris'', the blotched upside-down catfish, is a
species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
of
upside-down catfish The name upside-down catfish is most commonly used by aquarists to refer to the mochokid catfish '' Synodontis nigriventris'' alternately known to ichthyologists as the blotched upside-down catfish or false upside-down catfish. However, a numbe ...
native to the Congo Basin of
Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...
, the
Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...
and the Republic of the Congo.


Appearance and anatomy

Blotched upside-down catfish are small, reaching a maximum of SL. Like other members of the family Mochokidae, they have large eyes, a large dorsal fin and three pair of barbels. These fish are adapted to spend most of their time upside-down. This is reflected in the fish's pigmentation – their bellies are darker than their backs, a form of
countershading Countershading, or Thayer's law, is a method of camouflage in which an animal's coloration is darker on the top or upper side and lighter on the underside of the body. This pattern is found in many species of mammals, reptiles, birds, fish, a ...
. These fish have lighter colors on the top of their bodies and darker colors below used for
camouflage Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else. Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the b ...
. The lighter colors on the top of them make it harder for
predator Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill th ...
s to see the fish when looking up toward the sky but only when the fish are swimming upside-down.


Ecology and behaviour

''Synodontis nigriventris'' are mostly nocturnal, and feed on
insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three ...
s,
crustacean Crustaceans (Crustacea, ) form a large, diverse arthropod taxon which includes such animals as decapods, seed shrimp, branchiopods, fish lice, krill, remipedes, isopods, barnacles, copepods, amphipods and mantis shrimp. The crustacean group can ...
s, and plant matter. These fish lay eggs. The young fish do not swim upside-down until they are about two months old. Adults swim and rest upside down in the water. They swim faster when upside down, and are more likely to be upside down around objects or at the water bottom. The more objects around the fish, the more they tend to swim upside down. When close to an object, the fish puts its
ventral Standard anatomical terms of location are used to unambiguously describe the anatomy of animals, including humans. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position prov ...
side closest to the object. It rarely swims in the middle of the water, preferring to swim either at the bottom or at the surface. By swimming upside down when it feeds, it can readily catch prey at the surface from beneath.


In the aquarium

The blotched upside-down catfish is well suited to aquariums because of its small size (typically 9 or 10 cm or less) and peaceful demeanor.


See also

* List of freshwater aquarium fish species


References


External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1543723 nigriventris Freshwater fish of Africa Fish of Cameroon Fish of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Fish of the Republic of the Congo Fish described in 1936 Camouflage