Synodontis afrofischeri

Species of fish

Fischer's Victoria squeaker

Conservation status

Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)[1]

Scientific classification
Domain:  | Eukaryota
Kingdom:  | Animalia
Phylum:  | Chordata
Class:  | Actinopterygii
Order:  | Siluriformes
Family:  | Mochokidae
Genus:  | Synodontis
Species:  |

S. afrofischeri

Binomial name
Synodontis afrofischeri

Hilgendorf, 1888

Synodontis afrofischeri, known as Fischer's Victoria squeaker,[2] the marbled Victoria squeaker,[2] Fischer's catfish,[3] or the Victoria synodontis,[4] is a species of upside-down catfish native to Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda.[2] It was first described by German zoologist Franz Martin Hilgendorf in 1888, based upon a holotype discovered in Lake Victoria.[4] The specific name "afrofischeri" is in honor of the German researcher Dr. Gustav Fischer, a German explorer of Africa.[4]

## Description[edit]

The body of the fish is a marbled yellowish brown, although the amount of marbling varies between individuals, with some a uniform brown.[2] The fish has a dark to black band that traverses from the eye to the mouth, and two irregular light vertical bands on either side of the adipose fin.[4] Juveniles have a very similar appearance to juvenile S. fuelleborni juveniles.[4]

Like other members of the genus, this fish has a humeral process, which is a bony spike that is attached to a hardened head cap on the fish and can be seen extending beyond the gill opening.[4] The first ray of the dorsal fin and the pectoral fins have a hardened first ray which is serrated.[4] The caudal fin is forked.[4] It has short, cone-shaped teeth in the upper jaw.[4] In the lower jaw, the teeth are s-shaped and movable.[4] The fish has one pair of maxillary barbels of varying length, extending far beyond the operculum, and two pairs of mandibular barbels that are often branched.[2][4]

This species grows to a maximum known length of 17.7 centimetres (7.0 in) TL[2][4]

## Habitat[edit]

In the wild, the species inhabits tropical waters with a temperature range of 22 to 26 °C (72 to 79 °F), a pH of 6.0 – 8.0, and dH range of 5-25.[2] It is found at depths ranging from 0 to 70 metres (0 to 230 ft), usually 30 metres (98 ft).[2] It is found in Lake Victoria, Lake Nagubago, the Victoria Nile, Lake Kyoga, the Kagera River, Lake Ihema, the Malagarasi River and possibly in the Kingani River.[5]

## References[edit]

1. ^ FishBase team RMCA.; Geelhand, D. (2016). "Synodontis afrofischeri". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T60806A47216190. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T60806A47216190.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2016). "Synodontis afrofischeri" in FishBase. June 2016 version.
3. ^ "Synodontis afrofischeri Hilgendorf, 1888". scotcat.com. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Synodontis afrofischeri Hilgendorf, 1888". Planet Catfish. 19 Jul 2013. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
5. ^ FishBase team RMCA.; Geelhand, D. (2016). "Synodontis afrofischeri". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T60806A47216190. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T60806A47216190.en. Retrieved 15 November 2021.

## External links[edit]

Data related to Synodontis afrofischeri at Wikispecies

Taxon identifiers|

* Wikidata: Q3317456
* Wikispecies: Synodontis afrofischeri
* CoL: 53XKD
* EoL: 223245
* FishBase: 9533
* GBIF: 2344434
* iNaturalist: 113588
* IRMNG: 11073315
* ISC: 109666
* ITIS: 681581
* IUCN: 60806
* NCBI: 404971
* Plazi: 0CCDF227-E816-B5AD-EBE8-D52B8511F896
* WoRMS: 1019738
* ZooBank: 2ED7AC8B-5303-4E3C-A0C5-262640D81E97

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