Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Freshwater; pelagic. Tropical; 11°S - 20°S
Africa: middle and lower Zambezi drainages, Pungwe and Buzi rivers in Mozambique (Ref. 52193, 122090).
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 50.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 52193); max. published weight: 6.4 kg (Ref. 52193)
Dorsal spines (total): 0; Anal spines: 0. Diagnosis: snout short; mouth inferior; head about 5 times in fork length; juveniles with 12-16 dark vertical bars (Ref. 52193).
Favors large rivers, shoaling over both rock and sand; omnivorous, preferring algae and plant matter to snails, shrimps, and small fish; breeds in summer during the rainy period, moving upstream to suitable spawning sites (Ref. 7248, 52193).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Daget, J. and J.-P. Gosse, 1984. Distichodontidae. p. 184-211. In J. Daget, J.-P. Gosse and D.F.E. Thys van den Audenaerde (eds.) Check-list of the freshwater fishes of Africa (CLOFFA). ORSTOM, Paris and MRAC, Tervuren. Vol. 1. (Ref. 7094)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: minor commercial; gamefish: yes
Tools
Special reports
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01445 (0.00683 - 0.03057), b=3.07 (2.89 - 3.25), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & Genus-body shape (Ref.
93245).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Moderate vulnerability (44 of 100).