Synodontis smiti • Mochokidae • Cat-eLog

Cat-eLog Data Sheet
Scientific Name	**Synodontis smiti** Boulenger, 1902
Common Name(s)	Longtail Synodontis, Smit's Syno
Type Locality	Ubangi River at Banzyville, Democratic Republic of Congo, about 4°18'N, 21°11'E.
Synonym(s)	Synodontis tenuis
Pronunciation	sin oh don tiss
Etymology	Synodontis: From the Greek syn, meaning together, and odontos, meaning tooth; in reference to the closely-spaced lower jaw teeth.
Species Information
Size	180mm (7.1") SL. Find near, nearer or same sized spp.
Identification	All species in the genus Synodontis have a hardened head cap that has attached a process (humeral process) which is situated behind the gill opening and pointed towards the posterior. The dorsal fin and pectoral fins have a hardened first ray which is serrated. Caudal fin is always forked. There is one pair of maxillary barbels, sometimes having membranes and occasionally branched. The two pairs of mandibular barbels are often branched and can have nodes attached. The cone-shaped teeth in the upper jaw are short. S-shaped and movable in the lower jaw. These fish produce audible sounds when disturbed rubbing the base of the pectoral spine against the pectoral girdle.
Sexing	First lay the fish in your hand with its head toward your palm and the tail toward your fingers. Hold the dorsal spine between your middle and ring finger so the fish is belly up and you won't get stuck (Which by the way, hurts like crazy!). The genital pore is in a small furrow of tissue (in healthy fish) and will be obstructed by the pelvic fins. Pull down on the tail gently to arch the fishes spine and the pelvic fins will stand and the furrow open to display the genital pore and the anus of the fish. The male has a somewhat ridged genital papillae on which the spermatoduct is on the back side, facing the tail fin. A gravid female will also show an extended papillae but the oviduct is on the ventral side of the papillae (And may also show a little redness if really gravid). A thin or emaciated female will have just two pink pores, the oviduct and the anus.
Habitat Information
Distribution	Africa: Ubangi and Lualaba rivers. African Waters, Congo, Ubangi (click on these areas to find other species found there) African Waters, Congo, Upper Congo, Lualaba (click on these areas to find other species found there) (Click the map-icon to show/hide map of species distribution)
Temperature	23.0-25.0°C or 73.4-77°F (Show others within this range)
Husbandry Information
Breeding	Unreported.
Further Information
References	Ann. Mus. Congo (Ser. Zool.)v. 2 (fasc. 2) - pp45 - Pl. 12 (fig. 3)
Registered Keepers	(1) jippo (k: 4). Click on a username above to see all that persons registered catfish species. You can also view all "my cats" data for this species.
Breeding Reports	None.
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Last Update	2011 Oct 05 12:08 (species record created: 2006 Dec 24 07:45)

Cat-eLog Data Sheet

Scientific Name

Synodontis smiti Boulenger, 1902

Common Name(s)

Longtail Synodontis, Smit's Syno

Type Locality

Ubangi River at Banzyville, Democratic Republic of Congo, about 4°18'N, 21°11'E.

Synonym(s)

Synodontis tenuis

Pronunciation

sin oh don tiss

Etymology

Synodontis: From the Greek syn, meaning together, and odontos, meaning tooth; in reference to the closely-spaced lower jaw teeth.

Species Information

Size

180mm (7.1") SL. Find near, nearer or same sized spp.

Identification

All species in the genus Synodontis have a hardened head cap that has attached a process (humeral process) which is situated behind the gill opening and pointed towards the posterior. The dorsal fin and pectoral fins have a hardened first ray which is serrated. Caudal fin is always forked. There is one pair of maxillary barbels, sometimes having membranes and occasionally branched. The two pairs of mandibular barbels are often branched and can have nodes attached. The cone-shaped teeth in the upper jaw are short. S-shaped and movable in the lower jaw. These fish produce audible sounds when disturbed rubbing the base of the pectoral spine against the pectoral girdle.

Sexing

First lay the fish in your hand with its head toward your palm and the tail toward your fingers. Hold the dorsal spine between your middle and ring finger so the fish is belly up and you won't get stuck (Which by the way, hurts like crazy!). The genital pore is in a small furrow of tissue (in healthy fish) and will be obstructed by the pelvic fins. Pull down on the tail gently to arch the fishes spine and the pelvic fins will stand and the furrow open to display the genital pore and the anus of the fish. The male has a somewhat ridged genital papillae on which the spermatoduct is on the back side, facing the tail fin. A gravid female will also show an extended papillae but the oviduct is on the ventral side of the papillae (And may also show a little redness if really gravid). A thin or emaciated female will have just two pink pores, the oviduct and the anus.

Habitat Information

Distribution

Africa: Ubangi and Lualaba rivers.
African Waters, Congo, Ubangi (click on these areas to find other species found there)
African Waters, Congo, Upper Congo, Lualaba (click on these areas to find other species found there)

(Click the map-icon to show/hide map of species distribution)

Temperature

23.0-25.0°C or 73.4-77°F (Show others within this range)

Husbandry Information

Breeding

Unreported.

Further Information

References

Ann. Mus. Congo (Ser. Zool.)v. 2 (fasc. 2) - pp45 - Pl. 12 (fig. 3)

Registered Keepers

(1) jippo (k: 4).

Click on a username above to see all that persons registered catfish species. You can also view all "my cats" data for this species.

Breeding Reports

None.