country information

Common names: [No common name]
Occurrence:
Salinity:
Abundance: | Ref:
Importance: | Ref:
Aquaculture: | Ref:
Regulations: | Ref:
Uses: no uses
Comments:
National Checklist:
Country Information:
National Fisheries Authority:
Occurrences: Occurrences Point map
National Database:

Classification / Names

Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) > Osteoglossiformes (Bony tongues) > Gymnarchidae (Abas)
Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL

Common names from other countries

Aba aba, Frankfish, Galakh, ... more

Main reference

Bigorne, R. 1990. (Ref. 2911)
References | Biblio | Coordinator | Collaborators

Size / Weight / Age

Max length : 167 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 2915); max. published weight: 18.5 kg (Ref. 2915)

Environment

Freshwater; demersal; pH range: 6.5 - 8.0; dH range: 10 - 25; potamodromous (Ref. 51243)

Climate / Range

Tropical; 23°C - 28°C (Ref. 13614), preferred ?; 18°N - 2°N, 16°W - 36°E

Distribution

Africa: occurring in the Gambia, Senegal, Niger, Volta and Chad River basins (Ref. 81275), Lake Turkana (Ref. 52331, 82489) and the Baro River drainage (Ref. 58460).
Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions

Short description

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 183-230. Body depth 7.2-10.3 x SL. Head 5.6-6.9 x SL. Snout prominent. Pectorals 1.9-5.0 x head length. Body terminates in thin point. Head without scales. Scales small.

Following flooding of the river banks (Gambia River), this species builds large elliptical floating nests in densely vegetated swamps at depths of about 1-1.5 m; lays about 1000 `amber-like' eggs; larvae hatching after 5 days (Ref. 10609). Feeds on crustaceans, insects and fish (Ref. 28714). No pelvic, anal or caudal fins. Possesses an electric organ that extends along almost the entire trunk to the tip of the tail (Ref. 10840). Also equipped with ampullary receptors and two types of tuberous receptors for electroreception (Ref. 10841). Showed increased electric organ discharge (EOD) rate by 50-60 Hz between 21 and 31°C (Ref. 10837).

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 115185)

Least Concern (LC)

Threat to humans

Harmless

Human uses

Fisheries: commercial

More information

Countries
FAO areas
Ecosystems
Occurrences
Introductions
Stocks
Ecology
Diet
Food items
Food consumption
Ration

Common names
Synonyms
Metabolism
Predators
Ecotoxicology
Reproduction
Maturity
Spawning
Fecundity
Eggs
Egg development

Age/Size
Growth
Length-weight
Length-length
Length-frequencies
Morphometrics
Morphology
Larvae
Larval dynamics
Recruitment
Abundance

References
Aquaculture
Aquaculture profile
Strains
Genetics
Allele frequencies
Heritability
Diseases
Processing
Mass conversion

Collaborators
Pictures
Stamps, Coins
Sounds
Ciguatera
Speed
Swim. type
Gill area
Otoliths
Brains
Vision

Tools

Special reports

Check for Aquarium maintenance | Check for Species Fact Sheets | Check for Aquaculture Fact Sheets

Download XML

Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

Internet sources

Estimates of some properties based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805)
PD₅₀ = 1.5000 many relatives (e.g. carps) 0.5 - 2.0 few relatives (e.g. lungfishes)

Trophic Level (Ref. 69278)
3.7 ±0.58 se; Based on food items.

Resilience (Ref. 69278)
Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (K=0.12-0.17)

Vulnerability (Ref. 59153)
High to very high vulnerability (71 of 100)

Price category (Ref. 80766)
Unknown

Gymnarchus niloticus Cuvier, 1829