Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Freshwater; pelagic. Tropical; 11°S - 20°S
Africa: middle and lower Zambezi drainages, Pungwe and Buzi rivers in Mozambique (Ref. 52193, 122090).
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 50.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 52193); max. published weight: 6.4 kg (Ref. 52193)
Dorsal spines (total): 0; Anal spines: 0. Diagnosis: snout short; mouth inferior; head about 5 times in fork length; juveniles with 12-16 dark vertical bars (Ref. 52193).
Body shape (shape guide): short and / or deep.
Favors large rivers, shoaling over both rock and sand; omnivorous, preferring algae and plant matter to snails, shrimps, and small fish; breeds in summer during the rainy period, moving upstream to suitable spawning sites (Ref. 7248, 52193).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Daget, J. and J.-P. Gosse, 1984. Distichodontidae. p. 184-211. In J. Daget, J.-P. Gosse and D.F.E. Thys van den Audenaerde (eds.) Check-list of the freshwater fishes of Africa (CLOFFA). ORSTOM, Paris and MRAC, Tervuren. Vol. 1. (Ref. 7094)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-2)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: minor commercial; gamefish: yes
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