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Monopterus boueti (Pellegrin, 1922)

Liberian swamp eel
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Monopterus boueti
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Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Synbranchiformes (Spiny eels) > Synbranchidae (Swamp-eels)
Etymology: Monopterus: Greek, monos = one, unique + Greek, pteron = fin (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Pellegrin.

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

Freshwater; demersal. Tropical

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

Africa: Sierra Leone and Monrovia, Liberia (Ref. 57291, 116049). Reported also from Côte d'Ivoire (Ref. 2828), but its identification is unclear as the specimen has clearly visible eyes (Ref. 116049).

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 34.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 57291)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Diagnosis: body naked, slender, elongated and cylindrical, ending in a very tapering point; the caudal part of the body makes less than one third of the total length; no trace of paired or unpaired fins; eye atrophied, deep-set under skin, practically invisible from the outside; conical teeth on jaws and palate; gill opening minute, reduced to a median ovate pore, surrounded with longitudinal skin folds; 4 branchiostegal rays; 3 branchial arches without branchial lamellae; lateral line present; vertebral count: 140-144 abdominal and 39-45 caudal (Ref. 57291). Colouration: uniformly dark (Ref. 57291).

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Obligate air-breathing (Ref. 126274); Contrary to what is suggested by its morphology, this species is not cavernicolous; it burrows in mud, never very far from the sea (Ref. 57291). The male guards and builds nest or burrow (Ref. 205).

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

The male guards and builds nest or burrow (Ref. 205).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator : Fávorito, Sandra | Collaborators

Daget, J., 2003. Synbranchidae. p. 447-450 In C. Lévêque, D. Paugy and G.G. Teugels (eds.) Faune des poissons d'eaux douce et saumâtres de l'Afrique de l'Ouest, Tome 2. Coll. Faune et Flore tropicales 40. Musée Royal de l'Afrique Centrale, Tervuren, Belgique, Museum National d'Histoire Naturalle, Paris, France and Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Paris, France. 815 p. (Ref. 57291)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Data deficient (DD) ; Date assessed: 30 November 2019

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

More information

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Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome, nucleotide | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00085 (0.00039 - 0.00184), b=3.09 (2.90 - 3.28), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  3.3   ±0.4 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Low vulnerability (24 of 100).