ID for Light Brown Synodontis

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Ben
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ID for Light Brown Synodontis

Post by Ben »

Hey folks,

I picked up a very cute little Synodontis today, and am having issues IDing him. He's about 1.5 inches. His main colour is a light brown, kind of yellowish in some light, with darker brown spots. The body has a few stripes that stand out fairly well. His belly is almost white, and also has the same dark brown spots same density as on the rest of the body.

Here are a couple pics, not the best, didn't have time to set the lighting up the way I wanted before work :) Will get better ones soon.

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So if anyone has some ideas, plese let me know :)
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Silurus
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Post by Silurus »

Looks like <i>S. rebeli</i> to me, although the banding is rather unusual for this species.
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Dinyar
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Post by Dinyar »

My guess would be S. nigrita, aka "Lace Cat".

Dinyar
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Post by Silurus »

Adipose fin is a little too long to be nigrita (if the reflection is an accurate gauge of its length). The dorsal-fin shouldn't be reaching to the origin of the adipose fin in nigrita.
Last edited by Silurus on 08 Feb 2003, 22:36, edited 1 time in total.
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Dinyar
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Post by Dinyar »

Silurus makes a valid point. OTOH, fish like S. rebeli seldom enter the trade, even as bycatch.

Perhaps a better photo would enable us to to be more confident of an ID.

Dinyar
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Post by Ben »

Thanks so far folks! I'll do what I can about getting a better photo when I get home in the morning after work. He's been quite reclusive so far, hard to get him into the open for a shot. I'll leave the lights off a little longer than normal today and hope to catch him out and about.

It doesn't look like the pics I've seen of S. nigrita, the spots on mine seem too big and dense... I'll try for some pics today...
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Post by Ben »

Hey folks, got some more pics taken, hopfully this will help ID the little guy. He's a tough one to get good shots of! Had to net him to take them. However he's really easy to net, very calm nature, quite a sweet fish!

Here they are all at my gallery.
http://eheim-uk.com/planetcatfish/galle ... ry/album20
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Silurus
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Post by Silurus »

Well, more pics didn't help in this case. From what I can see, the dorsal spine and head are too short to be <i>S. rebeli</i>. The head looks about right for <i>S. nigrita</i>, but the adipose fin is too long and the color pattern is not quite right for. I'd say you might have gotten an undescribed species of <i>Synodontis</i> here.
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Post by Achim »

Hi,

i am absolutely no expert in African catfishes and there are some similarities as well as some differences, but the colouration reminds me of Synodontis serpentis. Or lets better say the species fishbase and an old german catfish book (Franke, Welskunde) picture.
Planetcatfish pictures a totally different species as Synodontis serpentis (Someone got the description by Whitehead 1962 an coud help in that matter? Which one is "the real" Synodontis serpentis?).

Greetings... Achim
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Post by Silurus »

The picture in Fishbase is closer to that of the real serpentis. However, Ben's fish is not <i>S. serpentis</i> as his fish has distinct spots (not vermiculations) and lacks the barred caudal fin.
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