- Art Gallery -

Mochokidae

Cladus: Eukaryota
Supergroup: Opisthokonta
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Cladus: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Superclassis: Osteichthyes
Classis: Actinopterygii
Subclassis: Neopterygii
Infraclassis: Teleostei
Superordo: Ostariophysi
Ordo: Siluriformes
Familia: Mochokidae
Genera: Acanthocleithron - Atopochilus - Chiloglanis - Euchilichthys - Hemisynodontis - Microsynodontis - Mochokiella - Mochokus - Synodontis

Name

Mochokidae Jordan, 1923:150

Type genus: Mochokus Joannis, 1835.

References

* Vigliotta, T.R. 2008: A phylogenetic study of the African catfish family Mochokidae (Osteichthyes, Ostariophysi, Silurigormes), with a key to genera. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, 157: 73-136.
* Ferraris, C.J., Jr. 2007: Checklist of catfishes, recent and fossil (Osteichthyes: Siluriformes), and catalogue of siluriform primary types. Zootaxa, 1418: 1-628. [1]

Vernacular Name
Internationalization
Deutsch: Fiederbartwelse
English: Squeakers or Upside-down Catfish
Nederlands: Baardmeervallen

The Mochokidae are a family of catfishes (order Siluriformes) that are known as the squeakers and upside-down catfish. There are 10 genera and about 188 species of mochokids.[1] All the mochokids are freshwater species originating from Africa.[2]

They have three pairs of barbels, with the nasal barbels absent; sometimes, the mandibular barbels may be branched.[2] The lips are be modified into a suckermouth in Atopochilus, Chiloglanis, and Euchilichthys.[2] The adipose fin is usually very long. The dorsal and pectoral fins have spines that are usually strong and with a locking mechanism.[2] They range in size up to 72 centimetres (28 in) SL.[2] This groups contains many popular species among aquarists, such as Synodontis nigriventris, Synodontis angelicus and Synodontis multipunctatus.

References

1. ^ Ferraris, Carl J., Jr. (2007). "Checklist of catfishes, recent and fossil (Osteichthyes: Siluriformes), and catalogue of siluriform primary types" (PDF). Zootaxa 1418: 1–628. http://silurus.acnatsci.org/ACSI/library/biblios/2007_Ferraris_Catfish_Checklist.pdf. Retrieved 2009-06-23.
2. ^ a b c d e Nelson, Joseph S. (2006). Fishes of the World. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. ISBN 0-471-25031-7. OCLC 224053746.


Biology Encyclopedia

Fish Images

Source: Wikipedia, Wikispecies: All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License