The eel catfish (Channallabes apus) is an airbreathing catfish found in the muddy swamps of the tropics of Central Africa. It grows up to 32.7 cm in total length (12.9 in), and is notable for its ability to propel itself out of the water to catch prey.
The thin, eel-shaped body of C. apus is black or dark brown, with widely spaced spines.[1] A suprabranchial organ, formed by tree-like structures from the second and fourth gill arches, allows the eel catfish to take in oxygen directly from the air for short periods.[2] Its eyes are small and hidden, and it lacks pectoral fins entirely.[1] Like many anguilliform clariids, its jaw muscles are hypertrophic, a modification that has been linked to increased bite force.[3]
The eel catfish hunts both in and out of the water, having a different method for each. In water, C. apus sucks water and food into its mouth. To catch food on land, the eel catfish lifts the front of its body up, and bends its mouth down on the prey. Its specially adapted spine allows it to do so without weight-bearing pectoral fins.[4]
Referencesedit
^ abBoulenger, George Albert (1901), Les poissons du basin du Congo, État indépendant du Congo, p. 264
^Anthony Herrel; Dominique Adriaens; Walter Verraes & Peter Aerts (2002), (PDF), Journal of Morphology (253): 196–205, archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-06
^Walker, Matt (2007), Fish That Fake Orgasms: And Other Zoological Curiosities, Macmillan, p. 89, ISBN978-0-312-37116-6
catfish, catfish, channallabes, apus, airbreathing, catfish, found, muddy, swamps, tropics, central, africa, grows, total, length, notable, ability, propel, itself, water, catch, prey, conservation, statusleast, concern, iucn, scientific, classificationdomain,. The eel catfish Channallabes apus is an airbreathing catfish found in the muddy swamps of the tropics of Central Africa It grows up to 32 7 cm in total length 12 9 in and is notable for its ability to propel itself out of the water to catch prey Eel catfishConservation statusLeast Concern IUCN 3 1 Scientific classificationDomain EukaryotaKingdom AnimaliaPhylum ChordataClass ActinopterygiiOrder SiluriformesFamily ClariidaeGenus ChannallabesSpecies C apusBinomial nameChannallabes apusGunther 1873The thin eel shaped body of C apus is black or dark brown with widely spaced spines 1 A suprabranchial organ formed by tree like structures from the second and fourth gill arches allows the eel catfish to take in oxygen directly from the air for short periods 2 Its eyes are small and hidden and it lacks pectoral fins entirely 1 Like many anguilliform clariids its jaw muscles are hypertrophic a modification that has been linked to increased bite force 3 The eel catfish hunts both in and out of the water having a different method for each In water C apus sucks water and food into its mouth To catch food on land the eel catfish lifts the front of its body up and bends its mouth down on the prey Its specially adapted spine allows it to do so without weight bearing pectoral fins 4 References edit a b Boulenger George Albert 1901 Les poissons du basin du Congo Etat independant du Congo p 264 Nelson Joseph S 2006 Fishes of the World John Wiley amp Sons Inc ISBN 0 471 25031 7 Anthony Herrel Dominique Adriaens Walter Verraes amp Peter Aerts 2002 Bite Performance in Clariid Fishes With Hypertrophied Jaw Adductors as Deduced by Bite Modeling PDF Journal of Morphology 253 196 205 archived from the original PDF on 2011 07 06 Walker Matt 2007 Fish That Fake Orgasms And Other Zoological Curiosities Macmillan p 89 ISBN 978 0 312 37116 6 Channallabes apus Integrated Taxonomic Information System Retrieved 18 April 2006 Froese Rainer Pauly Daniel eds 2005 Channallabes apus in FishBase November 2005 version BBC NewsAfrican fish leaps for land bugs National Geographic Catfish Hunts on Land Scientists ReportExternal links editVideo from Nature Video video of the Eel Catfish eating from YouTube nbsp This Clariidae related article is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Eel catfish amp oldid 1185732518, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
