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Elops lacerta  Valenciennes, 1847

West African ladyfish
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Native range | All suitable habitat | Point map | Year 2100
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Elops lacerta   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Elops lacerta (West African ladyfish)
Elops lacerta
Picture by FAO


Nigeria country information

Common names: [No common name]
Occurrence: native
Salinity: freshwater
Abundance: | Ref:
Importance: | Ref:
Aquaculture: | Ref:
Regulations: | Ref:
Uses: live export: yes;
Comments: Known from Lagos lagoon (Ref. 2993, 81629), Lekki lagoon (Ref. 81629), Niger Delta (Ref. 2982) and Cross River between James Island and Ikom (Ref. 81629).
National Checklist:
Country Information: httpss://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/ni.html
National Fisheries Authority:
Occurrences: Occurrences Point map
Main Ref: Vreven, E.J. and L. De Vos, 2007
National Database:

Classification / Names

Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) > Elopiformes (Tarpons and tenpounders) > Elopidae (Tenpounders)
Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL

Main reference

Size / Weight / Age

Max length : 100.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 5377); common length : 60.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 2683)

Environment

Marine; freshwater; brackish; pelagic-neritic; depth range 1 - 50 m (Ref. 26999)

Climate / Range

Tropical, preferred 24°C (Ref. 107945); 21°N - 23°S, 20°W - 15°E

Distribution

Eastern Atlantic: coastal waters of West Africa from Mauritania to Angola or Namibia (Ref. 4445, 81265, 81629). Sometimes it enters freshwater, like in Cross River and Kouilou-Niari River (Ref. 81629). It is often confused with Elops senegalensis (Ref. 81629).
Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions

Short description

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Anal spines: 0. Diagnosis: Elops lacerta is characterized by 17-19 gill-rakers on lower limb of first gill arch and small scales, those in lateral line numbering 72 to 83 and ornamented with a small, unbranched, tubule (Ref. 2844, 81265, 81629).

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Elops lacerta lives in shallow coastal waters over sandy/muddy bottoms, occasionally entering brackish waters and the lower reaches of rivers; from inshore and some way up tidal rivers to edge of shelf (Ref. 4445, 81265, 81629). The reproduction takes place in the sea (Ref. 81265). It feeds primarily on small fishes, mainly clupeids, crustaceans and molluscs; large specimens also feed on insects (Ref. 81629).

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 115185)

Threat to humans

  Harmless



Human uses

Fisheries: commercial; gamefish: yes

More information

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

Download XML

Internet sources

BHL | Check for other websites | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO(fisheries: production; publication : search) | GenBank(genome, nucleotide) | GOBASE | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | iSpecies | PubMed | Scirus | Sea Around Us | SeaLifeBase | Tree of Life | uBio | uBio RSS | Wikipedia(Go, Search) | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record | Fishtrace

Estimates of some properties based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805)
PD50 = 0.5176 many relatives (e.g. carps) 0.5 - 2.0 few relatives (e.g. lungfishes)

Trophic Level (Ref. 69278)
4.2   ±0.75 se; Based on food items.

Resilience (Ref. 69278)
Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (Assuming tm=2-3)

Vulnerability (Ref. 59153)
Moderate vulnerability (42 of 100)
Price category (Ref. 80766)
High