Teleostei (teleosts) >
Siluriformes (Catfishes) >
Mochokidae (Squeakers or upside-down catfishes) > Mochokinae
Eponymy: Ian A Payne, who collected the catfish holotype, was a fisheries biologist at the Zoology Department, Fourah Bay College University of Sierra Leone, Freetown, Sierra Leone (1975) and at Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Applied Science, [...] (Ref. 128868), visit book page.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Freshwater; demersal. Tropical; 22°C - 24°C (Ref. 2060)
Africa: known only from the type locality in the Kasewe Forest Reserve (Jong/Pampana River basin), Sierra Leone (Ref. 57223).
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 3.6 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 57223)
Short description
Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
Dorsal spines (total): 1; Dorsal soft rays (total): 8; Anal soft rays: 10 - 11. Diagnosis: outer pair of mandibular barbels with 3, inner pair with 4, long and simple ramifications (Ref. 57223).
Coloration: colour pattern marbled; upper side of head dark with diffuse lighter cross-bars; black band between nostrils and eyes, another one ventrally between eyes and mouth; pale interorbital band; dark spots on cheeks and gill cover and dark brown area between dorsal-fin base and lateral line; below humeral process, this pigmentation forms a reticulate pattern; broad light bar behind adipose fin descending to posterior part of anal-fin base; caudal peduncle uniformly dark dorsally, ventrally pale behind anal fin, but becoming darker towards caudal fin; small dark spot at pelvic-fin bases; adipose fin dark, but white-edged posteriorly; all barbels striated (Ref. 57223).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Oviparous (Ref. 205). Distinct pairing during breeding (Ref. 205).
Paugy, D. and T.R. Roberts, 2003. Mochokidae. p. 195-268 In C. Lévêque, D. Paugy and G.G. Teugels (eds.) Faune des poissons d'eaux douce et saumâtres de l'Afrique de l'Ouest, Tome 2. Coll. Faune et Flore tropicales 40. Musée Royal de l'Afrique Centrale, Tervuren, Belgique, Museum National d'Histoire Naturalle, Paris, France and Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Paris, France. 815 p. (Ref. 57223)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Tools
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 1.0000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00832 (0.00347 - 0.01996), b=3.01 (2.80 - 3.22), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.0 ±0.4 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Resilience (Ref.
120179): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (10 of 100).
