Gymnarchus niloticus, Aba : fisheries

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Gymnarchus niloticus Cuvier, 1829

Aba
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Gymnarchus niloticus
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Nigeria country information

Common names: Aba, Aba, Asa
Occurrence: native
Salinity: freshwater
Abundance: | Ref:
Importance: commercial | Ref: Anonymous, 1998
Aquaculture: | Ref:
Regulations: | Ref:
Uses: no uses
Comments: Occurs in the Ogun River (Ref. 13331) and Ehoma Floodplain, Afikpo (Ref. 52861). Exploited commercially in Kainji Lake (Ref. 28265). Also Ref. 31256.
National Checklist:
Country Information: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/ni.html
National Fisheries Authority:
Occurrences: Occurrences Point map
Main Ref: Ita, E.O., 1984
National Database:

Common names from other countries

Aba aba, Frankfish, Gymnarch nilský, ... more

Classification / Names Nombres comunes | Sinónimos | Catalog of Fishes(Género, Especie) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

> Osteoglossiformes (Bony tongues) > Gymnarchidae (Abas)
Etymology: Gymnarchus: Greek, gymnos = naked + Greek, archos = anus (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Cuvier.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / rango de profundidad / distribution range Ecología

; agua dulce demersal; pH range: 6.5 - 8.0; dH range: 10 - 25; potamodromo (Ref. 51243). Tropical; 23°C - 28°C (Ref. 13614); 18°N - 2°N, 16°W - 36°E

Distribución Países | Áreas FAO | Ecosistemas | Ocurrencias, apariciones | Mapa de puntos | Introducciones | Faunafri

Africa: basins of the rivers Senegal, Gambia, Volta, Niger and Chad in West Africa (Ref. 3530, 81275). Also in the Nile River basin (Ref. 3530, 28714) and Lake Turkana (Ref. 3530, 52331).

Tamaño / Peso / Age

Madurez: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 167 cm SL macho / no sexado; (Ref. 2915); peso máximo publicado: 18.5 kg (Ref. 2915)

Short description Claves de identificación | Morfología | Morfometría

Espinas dorsales (total) : 0; Radios blandos dorsales (total) : 183 - 230. Diagnosis: body very elongate (Ref. 28714, 81275), anguilliform (Ref. 81275), its depth 7.2-10.6 times in SL, and covered with tiny scales (Ref. 2915, 81275). Lateral line complete (Ref. 81275). Dorsal fin soft-rayed, extending almost over the entire length of back (Ref. 81275), stopping short of a naked tail (Ref. 28714). Pelvic, anal and caudal fins absent (Ref. 28714, 81275), body ending in a thin/sharp point (Ref. 2915, 81275). Pectoral fins reduced (Ref. 81275), 1.9-5.0 times in head length (Ref. 2915, 81275). Head naked, its length 5.6-6.9 times in SL; snout prominent (Ref. 2915, 81275). Mouth large and terminal; teeth strong, pointed or notched, aligned in a single row in both jaws, 12-16 in upper, 22-28 in lower jaw; premaxillae, as well as vomer and palatines, coalesced; maxillae, vomer and palatines toothless; eye very small, without a free margin (covered by skin); only the left gonad is developed and functional (Ref. 81275). Coloration: dark grey to almost black, darker posteriorly; belly whitish (Ref. 81275).
Body shape (shape guide): elongated; Cross section: circular.

Biología     Glosario (por ej. epibenthic)

Obligate air-breathing (Ref. 126274); Obligate air-breathing (Ref. 118411, 126274). Inhabits marginal vegetation and swamps constructing a flask-shaped nest in vegetation during the floods, which it is reputed to defend with vigour (Ref. 28714). Following flooding of the Gambia River banks, large elliptical floating nests are build in densely vegetated swamps at depths of about 1-1.5 m, in which about 1000 ‘amber-like’ eggs are laid; larvae hatch after 5 days (Ref. 10609). Feeds on crustaceans, insects and fish (Ref. 28714). No pelvic, anal or caudal fins (Ref. 28714). Possesses an electric organ that extends along almost the entire trunk to the tip of the tail (Ref. 10840). Also equipped with ampullary receptors and two types of tuberous receptors for electroreception (Ref. 10841). Showed increased electric organ discharge (EOD) rate by 50-60 Hz between 21 and 31°C (Ref. 10837).

Life cycle and mating behavior Madurez | Reproducción | Puesta | Huevos | Fecundidad | Larva

Breeds in well-vegetated, marginal areas of swamps and rivers, where a large, floating nest, about 1 m in diameter, is constructed, in which the eggs are laid and later guarded by one of the parents (Ref. 27583). Distinct pairing (Ref. 205).

Main reference Upload your references | Referencias | Coordinador | Colaboradores

Bigorne, R., 1990. Gymnarchidae. p. 185-186. In C. Lévêque, D. Paugy and G.G. Teugels (eds.) Faune des poissons d'eaux et saumâtres d'Afrique de l'Ouest. tome 1. Faune Trop. 28. Musée Royal de l'Afrique Centrale, Tervuren, Belgique and ORSTOM, Paris. (Ref. 2911)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-1)

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 12 May 2019

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

Pesquerías: comercial
FAO - Aquaculture systems: producción; pesquerías: landings; Publication: search | FishSource |

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Ecología Trófica
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Herramientas

Bio-Quiz | E-book | Guía de campo | Asistente para frecuencias de tallas | Herramienta de ciclo de vida | Mapa de puntos | Catch-MSY |

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Check for Aquarium maintenance | Check for Species Fact Sheets | Check for Aquaculture Fact Sheets

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Summary page | Datos específicos | Nombres comunes | Photos

Fuentes de Internet

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: Género, Especie | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Aquaculture systems: producción; pesquerías: landings; Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | OneZoom | Open Tree of Life | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | Acuarios públicos | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | TreeBase | Árbol de la vida | Wikipedia: Go, búsqueda | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoobank | Expediente Zoológico

Estimates based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Referencia 82804):  PD50 = 1.5000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00427 (0.00162 - 0.01126), b=3.09 (2.87 - 3.31), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref. 93245).
Nivel trófico (Referencia 69278):  3.7   ±0.58 se; based on food items.
Generation time: 6.5 ( na - na) years. Estimated as median ln(3)/K based on 1 growth studies.
Resiliencia (Referencia 120179):  Bajo, población duplicada en un tiempo mínimo de 4.5-14 años (K=0.12-0.17).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  High vulnerability (63 of 100). 🛈
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Unknown.
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 62.6 [33.3, 136.7] mg/100g; Iron = 1.01 [0.56, 2.07] mg/100g; Protein = 17.4 [15.5, 19.1] %; Omega3 = 0.27 [0.11, 0.68] g/100g; Selenium = 118 [43, 271] μg/100g; VitaminA = 17 [6, 45] μg/100g; Zinc = 1.05 [0.73, 1.57] mg/100g (wet weight);