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 All Fishes Data Sheet | |
|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Synodontis punu Vreven & Milondo, 2009 |
| Common Name | |
| Type Locality | Doutsila River at Bihongo, 2°48.312'S, 11°45.970'E, Nyanga River basin, Republic of Congo. |
| Pronunciation | sin oh don tiss |
| Etymology | According to Cuvier, Synodontis is an "ancient name for an undetermined fish from the Nile". It is not derived, as often reported, from syn-, together and odous, tooth, presumed etymology of the lizardfish genus Synodus and refers to the closely-spaced lower jaw teeth of both genera. The species is dedicated to the Punu people, inhabitants of the area, in appreciation for their help during collecting in the area and in gratitude for their spontaneous hospitality. |
| Species Information | |
| Size | 44mm or 1.7" SL. Find near, nearer or same sized spp. |
| Identification | All species in the genus Synodontis have a hardened head cap that has attached a process (humeral process) which is situated behind the gill opening and pointed towards the posterior. The dorsal fin and pectoral fins have a hardened first ray which is serrated. Caudal fin is always forked. There is one pair of maxillary barbels, sometimes having membranes and occasionally branched. The two pairs of mandibular barbels are often branched and can have nodes attached. The cone-shaped teeth in the upper jaw are short. S-shaped and movable in the lower jaw. These fish produce audible sounds when disturbed rubbing the base of the pectoral spine against the pectoral girdle. Synodontis punu is distinguised from its congeners except (S. acanthoperca) by having a hypertrophied opercular spine in sexually mature males and a caudal fin with a pair of black patches, one on the upper and one on the lower lobe. This species can be differentiated from S.acanthoperca by the absence of a saddle-like dark brown spot situated posterior to the dorsal fin and anterior to the adipose fin. Also has a deeper, triangular humeral process. |
| Sexing | Hypertrophied opercular spine in mature males. |
| Habitat Information | |
| Distribution | Gabon and Republic of Congo. Known from the type locality, River Doutsila at Bihongo, Nyanga River basin (Republic of Congo) and from the Loukénini River, affluent of the Niari (Kouilou) River basin (Republic of Congo) and the Dola River, affluent of the Ngounié River, itself a left bank affluent of the Ogooué basin (Gabon) African Waters, Gabon Waters, Ogowe, Ngounié, Dola (click on these areas to find other species found there) African Waters, Kouilou, Loukénini (click on these areas to find other species found there) African Waters, Nyanga (click on these areas to find other species found there) Login to view the map. |
| IUCN Red List Category | Not Evaluated |
| Husbandry Information | |
| Breeding | Unreported. |
| Breeding Reports | There is no breeding report. |
| Further Information | |
| Reference | Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters v. 20 (no. 2), pp 98, Figs. 2-3. |
| Registered Keepers | There is no registered keeper. |
| Wishlists | Love this species? Click the heart to add it to your wish list. There is no wish to keep this species. |
| Spotters | Spotted this species somewhere? Click the binoculars! There is no record of this fish being seen. |
| Forum BBCode | |
 | Look up S. punu on PlanetCatfish.com |
 | Look up S. punu on Fishbase |
 | Look up S. punu on Encyclopedia of Life |
 | Look up S. punu on Global Biodiversity Information Facility |
| LFS label creator ARN ref:1.13.29.2910 | |
| Last Update | 2025 Jan 02 00:42 (species record created: 2011 Jan 22 20:43) |