Benin country information

Common names: Agban, Agban, Gban
Occurrence: native
Salinity: brackish
Abundance: | Ref:
Importance: | Ref:
Aquaculture: | Ref:
Regulations: | Ref:
Uses: live export: yes;
Comments: Known from Ouémé River estuary (Ref. 55411).
National Checklist:
Country Information: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/bn.html
National Fisheries Authority:
Occurrences: Occurrences Point map
Main Ref: Lalèyè, P., A. Chikou, J.-C. Philippart, G. Teugels and P. Vandewalle, 2004
National Database:

Common names from other countries

Guinée d'Afrique occidentale, Malacho de Africa occidental, Ten-pounder, ... more

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Elopiformes (Tarpons and tenpounders) > Elopidae (Tenpounders)
Etymology: Elops: Greek, ellops = a kind of serpent (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Valenciennes.

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

Marine; freshwater; brackish; pelagic-neritic; depth range 1 - 50 m (Ref. 26999). Tropical; 21°N - 29°S, 20°W - 15°E

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

Eastern Atlantic: coastal waters of West Africa from Mauritania to Angola or Namibia (Ref. 4445, 81265, 81629). Sometimes it enters freshwater, like in Cross River and Kouilou-Niari River (Ref. 81629). It is often confused with Elops senegalensis (Ref. 81629).

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: L_m ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 100.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 5377); common length : 60.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 2683)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Anal spines: 0. Diagnosis: Elops lacerta is characterized by 17-19 gill-rakers on lower limb of first gill arch and small scales, those in lateral line numbering 72 to 83 and ornamented with a small, unbranched, tubule (Ref. 2844, 81265, 81629).

Elops lacerta lives in shallow coastal waters over sandy/muddy bottoms, occasionally entering brackish waters and the lower reaches of rivers; from inshore and some way up tidal rivers to edge of shelf (Ref. 4445, 81265, 81629). The reproduction takes place in the sea (Ref. 81265). It feeds primarily on small fishes, mainly clupeids, crustaceans and molluscs; large specimens also feed on insects (Ref. 81629).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Whitehead, P.J.P., 1990. Elopidae. p. 118-119. In J.C. Quero, J.C. Hureau, C. Karrer, A. Post and L. Saldanha (eds.) Check-list of the fishes of the eastern tropical Atlantic (CLOFETA). JNICT, Lisbon; SEI, Paris; and UNESCO, Paris. Vol. 1. (Ref. 4445)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 07 April 2020

CITES (Ref. 128078)

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

Harmless

Human uses

Fisheries: commercial; gamefish: yes

FAO(Fisheries: production; publication : search) | FishSource | Sea Around Us

More information

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

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Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

Internet sources

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 115969): 23.8 - 28, mean 26.7 (based on 68 cells).

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804): PD₅₀ = 0.5176 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].

Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00646 (0.00487 - 0.00855), b=2.97 (2.89 - 3.05), in cm Total Length, based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref. 93245).

Trophic level (Ref. 69278): 4.2 ±0.75 se; based on food items.

Resilience (Ref. 120179): Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (Assuming tm=2-3; K=0.7 for juveniles).

Prior r = 0.57, 95% CL = 0.37 - 0.85, Based on 1 data-limited stock assessment.

Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153): High vulnerability (60 of 100).

Climate Vulnerability (Ref. 125649): Very high vulnerability (83 of 100).

Price category (Ref. 80766): High.

Elops lacerta Valenciennes, 1847