Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) > Characiformes (Characins) > Alestidae (African tetras)
Etymology: Hydrocynus: Greek, hydr = water + Greek, kyon = dog (Ref. 45335).

Environment / Climate / Range Ecology

Freshwater; pelagic; potamodromous (Ref. 51243). Tropical, preferred ?

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

Africa: only in the Sahelo-Sudanese river basins (Ref. 81279), including Nile River, Chad basin, Niger River basin, Volta River, Senegal River and Gambia River (Ref. 2880, 5331).

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: L_m ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 86.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3799); max. published weight: 8.3 kg (Ref. 2880)

Short description Morphology | Morphometrics

Diagnosis: eye <60% of interorbital space; massive profile specially on anterior part (Ref. 2880, 81279). Three scale rows between lateral line and scaly process at pelvic-fin bases; rakers of first gill arch poorly developed; snout-dorsal fin length/snout-ventral fins length different from one; adipose fin grey or black (Ref. 81279). Inferior lobe of caudal and anterior end of anal fin red-orange (Ref. 2880).

Hydrocynus species are piscivorous, but may also eat Caridina and insects (Ref. 28714). Affinities: easily distinguished from two other species in West Africa from the number of scale-rows below lateral line, which is 3 instead of 2 (Ref. 81279).

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

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Paugy, D., 2003. Alestidae. p. 236-282. In D. Paugy, C. Lévêque and G.G Teugels (eds.) The fresh and brackish water fishes of West Africa Volume 1. Coll. faune et flore tropicales 40. Institut de recherche de développement, Paris, France, Muséum national d'histoire naturelle, Paris, France and Musée royal de l'Afrique Central, Tervuren, Belgium, 457p. (Ref. 81279)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 115185)

Least Concern (LC)

CITES (Ref. 94142)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

Harmless

Human uses

Fisheries: commercial

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Internet sources

Hydrocynus brevis (Günther, 1864)