Teleostei (teleosts) >
Carangaria/misc (Various families in series Carangaria) >
Latidae (Lates perches)
Etymology: Lates: Latin, lateo, latere = to be hidden.
More on author: Boulenger.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Freshwater; demersal; pH range: 7.5 - 8.2; dH range: 20 - 40. Tropical; 22°C - 28°C (Ref. 12468); 3°S - 9°S
Africa: widely distributed in Lake Tanganyika (Ref. 2216, 36901) and present in the Malagarazi River delta (Ref. 54847).
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm 56.5  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 200 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 4967); max. published weight: 100.0 kg (Ref. 58490)
Spacing between dorsal fins more than between last spines of first dorsal fin. Caudal fin rounded in adults, rounded and spotted in juveniles. Eyes small, less than interorbital with.
Juveniles live in a specific inshore habitat until they reach 18 cm (Ref. 2216) also found near and in slow flowing affluents (Ref. 36901). Adults found from the littoral to near the limit of the oxygenated zone (Ref. 2216). Solitary, lurking predator, probably favoring rocky bottoms and unspecialized in its fish diet; highly susceptible to intensive fishing (Ref. 2216). Feeds largely on benthic cichlids (Ref. 4967, 36901), but also takes sardines (Ref. 4967). Threatened due to over harvesting (Ref. 58490).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Coulter, G.W., 1976. The biology of Lates species in Lake Tanganyika, and the status of the pelagic fishery for Lates species and Luciolates stapersii. J. Fish Biol. 9(3):235-259. (Ref. 2216)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-2)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: commercial; gamefish: yes
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Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5006 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01122 (0.00647 - 0.01946), b=3.02 (2.87 - 3.17), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & Genus-body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 4.5 ±0.80 se; based on food items.
Generation time: 4.4 ( na - na) years. Estimated as median ln(3)/K based on 1
growth studies.
Resilience (Ref.
120179): Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (tm=3-5; K=0.25; tmax=13).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Moderate to high vulnerability (55 of 100).
Nutrients (Ref.
124155): Calcium = 111 [25, 234] mg/100g; Iron = 1.46 [0.72, 3.44] mg/100g; Protein = 20 [19, 22] %; Omega3 = 0.386 [0.157, 0.959] g/100g; Selenium = 215 [57, 655] μg/100g; VitaminA = 17.9 [4.1, 96.2] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.694 [0.286, 1.525] mg/100g (wet weight);