Reunion Island [La] (La Réunion) country information

Common names: Bichique, Cabot à tête de lièvre, Cabot bouche ronde
Occurrence: native
Salinity: freshwater
Abundance: | Ref:
Importance: | Ref:
Aquaculture: | Ref:
Regulations: | Ref:
Uses: live export: yes;
Comments: Larvae subject of intense fishery during their migration from the sea to freshwater (Ref. 79840). Also Ref. 4343, 11344, 13246, 33390.
National Checklist:
Country Information: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/re.html
National Fisheries Authority:
Occurrences: Occurrences Point map
Main Ref: Letourneur, Y., P. Chabanet, P. Durville, M. Taquet, E. Teissier, M. Parmentier, J.-C. Quéro and K. Pothin, 2004
National Database:

Common names from other countries

Bichique, Sicyoptère à bec de lièvre, Kora, ... more

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

Teleostei (teleosts) > Gobiiformes (Gobies) > Gobiidae (Gobies) > Sicydiinae
Etymology: Sicyopterus: Greek, sika, sikya = cucumber + Greek, pteron = wing, fin (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Pallas.

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

Marine; freshwater; brackish; demersal; amphidromous (Ref. 48660); depth range 0 - 5 m (Ref. 86942). Tropical; 42°N - 26°S, 42°E - 128°W

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

Indo-Pacific: Comoros Islands (East Africa) to Australs Island (French Polynesia) (Ref. 77107). In the Indian Ocean, from Comoros to Mascarene Is. and in the Pacific Ocean, from Japan to French Polynesia, New-Caledonia and Vanuatu (Ref. 87781).

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: L_m 4.1, range 4 - ? cm
Max length : 13.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 4343); 10.7 cm SL (female)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 6 - 7; Dorsal soft rays (total): 9 - 10; Anal spines: 1; Anal soft rays: 10. Usually 11 unsegmented rays in second dorsal fin. Pectoral rays usually 19. Predorsal midline usually with 13-16 cycloid scales, anterior scales smaller than those posteriorly. Scales on flanks same size as those on caudal peduncle. Belly always with fairly large cycloid scales, about the same size as those on the caudal peduncle. Caudal fin with blackish or dusky horseshoe-shaped band close to margin, medial rays blackish or dusky (Ref. 37578).

Adults inhabit fast-flowing sections of clear rainforest streams over rocky bottoms (Ref. 44894). Hatching and larval stage occur at sea, postlarval stage to adult in freshwater (Ref. 4343, 79840). Commercial in Reunion, where they are caught during the few days when they return from sea to enter the rivers (Doug Fenner, pers. comm., 2002, Ref. 79840). Smallest gravid female reported 5.03 cm SL (Ref. 37578).

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

Females when ready to spawn wriggles under a loosely set stone. The eggs are spread into a flat mass as the fish holds fast to the under surface of a stone. The eggs are fastened to the stones by the gelatinous threads that cover them (Ref. 110258). The male ejects his milt on the mass of eggs (Ref. 110258). Spawning occurs in freshwater afterwhich eggs and larvae are washed down by the river current into the sea and goes back up the river after a month or so (Ref. 110258). The embryo development occurs in freshwater and the larvae should migrate to saltwater a few days following hatching. The larvae are carried by current to the sea where they grow up to the juvenile stage ("bichique"). At this stage the alevins get to the rivers and start going upstream during the new moon. They can go up to waterfalls higher than 10 meters with the help of their sucker-disc, that they can colonize waters up to 800m altitude (Ref. 48660).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Maugé, L.A., 1986. Gobiidae. p. 358-388. In J. Daget, J.-P. Gosse and D.F.E. Thys van den Audenaerde (eds.) Check-list of the freshwater fishes of Africa (CLOFFA). ISNB, Brussels; MRAC, Tervuren; and ORSTOM, Paris. Vol. 2. (Ref. 4343)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

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

CITES (Ref. 128078)

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

Harmless

Human uses

Fisheries: commercial

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

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Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 115969): 25.6 - 28.5, mean 26.9 (based on 319 cells).

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804): PD₅₀ = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].

Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01122 (0.00514 - 0.02450), b=3.04 (2.87 - 3.21), in cm Total Length, based on all LWR estimates for this body shape (Ref. 93245).

Trophic level (Ref. 69278): 2.8 ±0.31 se; based on food items.

Resilience (Ref. 120179): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Fec=46,000).

Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153): Low vulnerability (10 of 100).

Price category (Ref. 80766): Very high.

Sicyopterus lagocephalus (Pallas, 1770)