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Teleostei (teleosts) > Characiformes (Characins) > Citharinidae (Lutefishes)
Etymology: Citharinus: Latin, cithara = lire like instrument (Ref. 45335).

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Freshwater; demersal; anadromous (Ref. 51243). Tropical; 22°C - 28°C (Ref. 2059)

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Africa: Gambia, Senegal, Niger, Volta, Ouémé, Chad (Ref. 2938, 7095, 81281) and Nile basins (Ref. 28714). Also known from Lake Turkana (Ref. 2938, 7095) and Lake Albert (Ref. 4903). Previously, 2 subspecies were recognized: Citharinus citharus citharus and Citharinus citharus intermedius.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: L_m ?, range 18 - ? cm
Max length : 58.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 2938); max. published weight: 7.0 kg (Ref. 7095)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal soft rays (total): 17 - 21; Anal soft rays: 26 - 31. Diagnosis: body depth 1.8-2.7x and head length 3.0-4.1x SL; caudal peduncle 0.7-1.4x long than deep; short snout, slightly prominent; snout 0.7-1.6x eye diameter; eye diameter 3.7-6.1x head length; adipose-fin base shorter than distance separating it from rayed dorsal fin (ratio adipose base/distance to rayed dorsal is 0.5-0.8); pectoral fins 0.5-1.1x head length; cycloid scales; scale formula 22.5-25.5/77-92/22.5-25.5; 77-92 scales in longitudinal line; 17.5-20.5 scales between lateral line and pelvic fin; 17-21 dorsal fin branched rays; 26-30 anal fin branched rays (Ref. 2938, 81281).

Common in large rivers of the Sudan region (Ref. 7095).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Total spawner (Ref. 56313).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Gosse, J.-P., 1990. Citharinidae. p. 261-268. In C. Lévêque, D. Paugy and G.G. Teugels (eds.) Faune des poissons d'eaux douces et saumâtres de l'Afrique de l'Ouest. Tome I. Coll. Faune Tropicale n° XXVIII. Musée Royal de l'Afrique Centrale, Tervuren and O.R.S.T.O.M., Paris, 384 p. (Ref. 2938)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)

Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 24 April 2019

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

Harmless

Human uses

Fisheries: commercial; aquarium: commercial

FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

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Estimates based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804): PD₅₀ = 0.5195 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].

Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01318 (0.00658 - 0.02641), b=2.88 (2.70 - 3.06), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & (Sub)family-body (Ref. 93245).

Trophic level (Ref. 69278): 2.0 ±0.00 se; based on food items.

Resilience (Ref. 120179): Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.13-0.59; Fec=685,000).

Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153): Low to moderate vulnerability (30 of 100).

Price category (Ref. 80766): Unknown.

Nutrients (Ref. 124155): Calcium = 100 [42, 246] mg/100g; Iron = 1.72 [0.84, 4.11] mg/100g; Protein = 18.1 [16.0, 20.3] %; Omega3 = 0.324 [0.124, 0.908] g/100g; Selenium = 105 [42, 255] μg/100g; VitaminA = 10.5 [3.0, 35.3] μg/100g; Zinc = 1.54 [1.02, 2.41] mg/100g (wet weight);

Citharinus citharus (Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1809)