Vundu

Wunduwels ( Heterobranchus longifilis )

The Wunduwels ( Heterobranchus longifilis ) (English Vundu catfish or catfish Sharptooth ) belongs to the large catfish species of Africa and is also locally Cur, Lenda, Sampa, Ramboshi or Certa called.

Dissemination

Wunduwelse are located throughout Central Africa, in countries such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of Congo, Burundi, Tanzania and Uganda. In the south, it's up to Zambia and Zimbabwe spread northwards to Sudan and Egypt and its westernmost occurrence is found in Niger and Senegal.

Features

The Wunduwels is oblong, muscular, has a dark - to olive-brown top and usually has light brown fins. The sides are slightly lighter, the belly is white and sharply demarcated from the rest of the body. Dorsal and anal fins are gray-green with a dark or reddish margin. The adipose fin is dark and black at the back end. The caudal fin is broad and rounded. Gender differences are not known.

Fins formula: Dorsal 25-35, 42-52 anal fin, vertebrae 55-61

Way of life

The animals are characterized by very long and highly sensitive barbels, which allow them to live in dark and murky waters. Wunduwelse can live for a while out of the water and be in suitable environmental conditions for up to 12 years old. They are up to 1.50 meters long and about 55 kilograms. The predatory catfish are found in deep lakes and rivers such as the Congo, Nile, Niger and Benue River in West Africa. A large population of this species has evolved in the Kariba Dam on the Zambezi, Lake Tanganyika and in the Eduardsee. Keep preferentially to deep places of the main stream on, or in deep, turbid lakes with high substrate content. Wunduwelse are nocturnal and eat as omnivorous predator fish, small animals and animal carcasses. In the vicinity of human settlements, they have become accustomed to battle waste that is thrown into the water. In the Egyptian Nasser, he has become a nuisance because it can destroy fishing nets and competes with the fishermen for prey.

Use

The Wunduwels is an edible fish of local importance. In Nigeria, it is used because of its rapid growth in the pond and aquaculture industry and fattened with soybean flour. There have research efforts to cross Clarias gariepinus with Heterobranchus longifilis and to combine their properties such as rapid growth of high environmental tolerance with each other ( see also Claresse ). Due to its weight and power also he is one of the popular sport fishing in Africa. In aquariums it is not very popular, as the animals develop activity only at feeding time.