Teleostei (teleosts) >
Siluriformes (Catfishes) >
Amphiliidae (Loach catfishes) > Leptoglaninae
Etymology: Zaireichthys: Composed form Zaire river + Greek,ichtys = fish; the habitat of this fish (Ref. 45335); monomotapa: Named, as a noun in apposition, after the historical Kingdom of Monomotapa, 'Monomotapa' being the old Portuguese spelling; this encompassed the area currently occupied by Mozambique and Zimbabwe and thus almost all of the distribution of this species (Ref. 86935).
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Freshwater; benthopelagic. Tropical
Africa: widespread in the tributaries of middle and lower Zambezi River, tributaries of Lake Malawi, Pungwe River, Buzi River and Save River (Ref. 86935, 94654).
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 3.8 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 86935); 4.1 cm SL (female)
Short description
Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
Dorsal spines (total): 2; Dorsal soft rays (total): 6 - 7; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 10 - 12; Vertebrae: 35 - 38. Diagnosis: This species differs from Zaireichthys conspicuus, Z. lacustris and Z. maravensis in the narrow premaxillary tooth patch and the long lateral line, extending beyond base of anal fin; from Z. kunenensis in the narrower premaxillary tooth patch and the greater number of branched caudal rays, 14-16 vs. 11-14; from Z. kavangoensis in the longer lateral line, extending beyond anal fin and usually past adipose vs. above anterior to middle of anal fin; from Z. kafuensis and Z. pallidus in the longer lateral line and the greater number of caudal rays, 14-16 vs. 9-13, and pectoral-fin rays, 7-8 vs. 5-7 (Ref. 86935).
Found in flowing water with a sandy substrate; they do not adapt to dams and do not occur in Lake Kariba (Ref. 94654). They partly bury themselves in the sand, leaving only the head exposed, and snap at particles of food, such as minute aquatic animals (Ref. 94654).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae
Eccles, D.H., D. Tweddle and P.H. Skelton, 2011. Eight new species in the dwarf catfish genus Zaireichthys (Siluriformes: Amphiliidae). Smithiana Bull. (13):3-28. (Ref. 86935)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Tools
Special reports
Download XML
Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00389 (0.00180 - 0.00842), b=3.12 (2.94 - 3.30), in cm total length, based on all LWR estimates for this body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.0 ±0.4 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (10 of 100).
