Module 2

THE IMPORTANT FISH SPECIES OF WEST AFRICA AND

Introduction

The West African Sub-Region is richly endowed with vast water resources from freshwater,

brackishwater to marine environment. This classification is basically due to the dissolved salt

concentration mostly referred to as salinity (measured in part per thousand ppt.) and plays a

significant role in determining the occurrence of fish species within the various waters bodies.

The region has many lakes, rivers, streams, springs, lagoons, estuaries, seas and oceans with

accompanying fisheries resources. Estuaries are abundant in the area from the mouth of Senegal

to Guinea (e.g Sine Saloum, Casamance); Lagoons from Cote d’Ivoire to the Niger Delta in

Nigeria (Ebrie Lagoon, Porto Novo Lagoon, Lagos Lagoon). The region is bordered in the West

and south by the Atlantic Ocean, in the east side by River systems (Nile and Congo). The main

basins include Senegal, Volta and Chad basins. They are all characterized by a typical and rich

fish species composition. Despite this, the region still depends on importation of fish to meet

demand. This reinforces the need to acquire adequate knowledge for efficient management of the

existing fisheries resources, for sustainability in meeting the fish demand of this important

region.

This module describes type of fish from ancient to modern as found in the West African region.

1. The Ancient Fishes

Ancient fishes refer to species that resemble those that lived thousands of years ago and

lacking the characteristics of modern bony fish. They are represented in West Africa by the

following families;
 i. Polypteridae

ii. Lepidosirenidae and

iii. Osteoglossidae.

a. Polypteridae

The main features of the family include

i. Head is flat and covered with bony plate

ii. Head bears a pair of nasal tubercles

iii. They have lungs and can survive for long period out of water

iv. Dorsal fin is separated into finlets preceded by short bifurcated spine

v. Juveniles have external gills

vi. They have an elongated body that is covered with ganoid scales that are difficult

to separate

There are two genera (Polypterus and Calmichthys) and four species in this family

Genus Polypterus

1. Polypterus ansorgei: There are 62 scales on the lateral line and 14 pinnules on the

dorsal fin

2. Polypterus senegalus: There are 55-58 scales in the lateral line and 8-11 pinnules

in the dorsal fin

3. Polypterus endlicheri: There are 53-57 scales in the lateral line and 11-13 pinnules

in the dorsal fin

Genus Calamoichthys

i. Erpetoichthys calabaricus is distinguished from all Polypterus species by its very

elongated, anguilliform body and the absence of ventral fin and subopercle.
Polypterus ansorgii Polypterus senegalus

Polypterus endlicheri Erpetiochthys calabaricus

b. Lepidosirenidae

In West Africa, only the species Protopterus annectens exists. The have the following features;

i. They have a continuous dorsal and caudal fin.

ii. The pectoral and pelvic fins are reduced to thread-like filaments

iii. They are covered with cycloid scales embedded in the skin

iv. The eyes are small

v. The young have external gill filaments

Protopterus annectens

(Source: [Link]/Fish)
 c. Osteoglossidae

This is represented by one genus and one species (Heterotis niloticus) with the following

features;

i. The head is smooth but with prominent sensory pits

ii. The body is covered with very large bony cycloid scales except the head

iii. It has long dorsal and anal fins

iv. The anal fin extends close to the caudal fin

v. The lateral line extends from the operculum to the middle of the caudal peduncle.

Heterotis niloticus (Source: [Link])

2. Channidae

This is a very important family of commercial value in West Africa. It is also referred to as the

Snakehead. There are two species (Parachanna obscura and Parachanna africana) in this family

belonging to the genus Parachanna. They have elongated cylindrical body and the heads are

covered with large cycloid scales. Both jaws have small pointed teeth, with the lower jaw

slightly projecting forward than the upper jaw. The snout has two small nasal tentacles.

2.1 Parachanna obscura

The fish is brownish-olive in colour with series of black blotches along the side. The

head is flattened at the upper side. Anal fin ray count is 26-32
Parachanna obscura (Source: Animal Diversity Web)

2.2 Parachanna africana

The body of the fish is brownish-olive with numerous black spots arranged in an arrow-like

pattern. The pectoral fin has 3 to 4 dark bands and the anal fin rays are 32-35.

3. Mormyridae (Elephant-Snout Fish)

There are six genera in this family and species have a curious look, with head shapes and extent

of paired fins varying. The mouth is generally small, scales are small and the eyes tiny. They

possess narrow gill openings with eprculum bones hiden under a layer of skin. The pectoral fin is

upward turning. The tail of species have electric organs on each side of their terminal ends. The

organs make up for their poor sense of sight and enables them navigate and avoid predatprs. It

act like radars that releases electric impulses and obstacles and other fish will reflect these back

and the signal picked by the fish.

They are bottom dewellers and feed on detritus and worms. The brain of a mormyrid is about 2%

of the total body weight making it 20 times greater than the size of other fish species.

3.1 Genus Hyperopisus

The only species in this genus is Hyperopisus bebe. The body is long and slender

and It has an anal fin that is five times the dorsal fin length. It has a terminal mouth.
 3.2 Genus Mormyrus

Species include Mormyrus macrophthalamus, M. rume, M. hasselquisti. The

dorsal fin in this genus is double the length of the anal fin.

3.3 Genus Mormyrops

Members of this genus have a terminal mouth on an elongate and round body

section. The dorsal fin base is shorter than the anal fin base.

Species include Mormyrops deliciosus, M. oudoti, M. engystoma.

3.4 Genus Marcusenius

They are small sized fish and possess an inferior mouth with a rounded snout. The

body is short with the dorsal and anal fin almost opposite.

Species include Marcusenius psittacus, M. isidori, M. petricolus, M. brachistius.

3.5 Genus Petrocephalus

They are also small sized fish with an inferior mouth and a round snout. They have a

laterally compressed short body with a well developed caudal fin (with elongated

lobes).

Species include Petrocephalus bane, P. simus, P. bovei.

3.6 Genus Gnathonemus

They have a short to medium sized body with a terminal mouth. The dorsal and anal

fin bases are almost equal in length.

Species include Gnathonemus tamandua, G. senegalensis, G. niger, G. pictus.

Gnathonemus petersii

4. Gymnarchidae

The family has only one species Gymnarchus niloticus. It is a long fish with eel-like body that

attenuates to a cylindrical tail like rat. The body is covered with small scales. It has a tiny set of

eyes on the long head. The mouth is large and snout is round. The upper jaws projects slightly
beyond the lower jaws. There is no anal and caudal fin, but a dorsal fin that runs on almost the

entire length of the back.

Gymnarchus niloticus (Source: Wikipedia & Fishbase)

5. Latidae

This is represented by one species Lates niloticus (Niger or Nile perch). It has a large terminal

mouth on a relatively small head. It has a distinguishing dorsal fin with 7-8 strong spines on the

first dorsal fin with the third being the longest and 12-13 soft branched rays on the second dorsal

fin.

Lates niloticus (Source: Wikipedia)

6. Catfishes

These are species with well-developed barbells, hence the name Catfish. There are at least 40

species in West African Freshwater environment. They are highly palatable and of high

economic important to West African and Nigerian fisheries. They include the families Clariidae,

Bagridae, Ariidae and Mochokidae.

They are divided into genus Clarias and Heterobranchus and mostly referred to as catfish. The

head is broad, bony, roughly granulose and flattened with a wide mouth. Each of the pectoral

fins has a strong spine in front. They have a long anal fin from the anus to the base of the caudal

fin. The dorsal fins have no spine. The family have accessory breathing organs close to the gill

for using atmospheric air.

Clarias

This has a single rayed dorsal fin which extends the whole body length almost to the tail. The

species are not easy to identify because the look alike. In West Africa, two species are of

importance, namely Clarias gariepinus and Clarias anguillaris. The can be differentiated using

the morphometric fin ray counts.

Clarias gariepinus: Dorsal fins rays (D) = 62-82, Anal fin rays (A) = 50-56 (35 in juveniles),

Gill rakers =135

Clarias anguillaris: D = 66-77, A = 52-61 (12-14 in juveniles), gill rakers = 28-33

Heterobranchus

They have a rayed dorsal fin and an adipose fin. They include Heterobranchus bidorsalis, H.

longifilis and H isopterus.

Heterobranchus bidorsalis: D = 38-45, A =42-59. The adipose fin is short and almost half the

length of the rayed dorsal fin.

Heterobranchus longifilis: D = 29-34, A = 45-50. The adipose fin is almost equal length with the

rayed dorsal fin.

The head of bagridae is broad, bony but not roughly granulose with a wide mouth. The dorsal fin

is short while the adipose fin is large. The five genera in the family include: Bagrus,

Chrysichthys, Clarotes, Auchenoglanis and Parauchenoglanis.

Bagrus

There are three species in Nigeria; Bagrus docmak, B. bajad and B. filamentous. They have a

moderately elongated body that is slightly compressed and bluish-grey in colour. The head is

flattened with four pairs of barbels. The nostril is widely separated.

Bagrus bajad

Chrysichthys

Three species found in Nigeria waters include Chrysichthys aluuensis, C. auratus and C.

nigrodigitatus. The species have moderately elongated silver bodies. The head is also large. The

dorsal fin is large with 5-6 rays and 1-2 spines. The adipose fin is small.

Clarotes

In adults, the adipose fin is rayed, forming a strong spine. This is however not visible in

juveniles. The genus is represented by Clarotes laticeps in Nigeria.

Auchenoglanis

The head is broad and the adipose fin is deep. They include Auchenoglanis biscutatus and A.

occidentalis.
Parauchenoglanis

They have 7-8 branched dorsal fin rays and are represented by Parauchenoglanis buettikoferi

and P. monkei.

Some Fish species in Nigerian Waters

Environment Scientific name Common name

Freshwater Alestes beremoze Silversides

Alestes macrophthalamus Torpedo robber

Auchennogianis occidentalis Bubu

Bagrus docmak Semutundu

Bagrus bajad Bayad

Hemichromis bimaculatus Jewel fish

Hemichromis faciatus Banded jewelfish

Malapterurus electricus Electric fish

Mormyrus hasselquistii Elephant snout

Mormyrus macrophthalmus

Mormyrus rume Momyrids

Papyrocranus afer Reticultae knifefish

Parachanna obscura Snake head

Polypterus ansorgii Guinean bichir

Polypterus bichir Nile bichir

Tilapia guineensis Guinea tilpia

Coptodon zillii Redbelly tilapia

Tilapia marie Spotted tilapia

Xenomystus nigri African knifefish

Mugil cephalus Mullet

Mugil bananensis Mullet

Thais coronata Abalone

Pseudotolitus elongatus Croaker

Monodactylus sebae Angel fish

Elops senegalenesis Lady fish

Sardinella maderensis Sardine

Epinephelus aeneus White grouper

Sarotheron melanotheron Tilapia

Lutjanus goreensis Snapper

Pomadasys jubelini Grunters

Peanaeus notialis Shrimp

Peanaeus monodon

Marine Priacanthus arenatus Atlantic bigeye

Prionace glauca Blue shark

Pristis microdon Largetooth sawfish

Pristis pectinata Smalltooth sawfish

Pseudotolithus elongatus Bobo croaker

Pseudotolithus moori Cameroon croaker

Sardinella aurita Round sardinella

Sardinella maderensis Madeiran sardinella

Raja miraletus Brown ray

Raja straeleni Spotted skate

Olaosebikan, B. D and Raji, A. (2013). Field guide to Nigerian Freshwater fishes (Revised

Edition). Remi Thomas Press, 144pp.

Omitoyin, B. O and Alarape, A. A (2003). West African Fish and Wildlife. University of Ibadan.

73pp.

Teugels, G. G. and Falk, T. M. (2000). Major Fishes of West African Coastal Waters and their

Morphological Characterization, with emphasis on Sarotherodon melanotheron (Teleostei,

Cichlidae), p. 5-7. In E.K Abban, C.M.V Casal, T.M. Falk and R.S.V Pullin (eds.) Biodiversity

and sustainable use offish in the coastal zone. ICIARM Conf. Proc. 63, 71 p.