Synodontis polli facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Synodontis polli |
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The Synodontis polli, also known as Poll's synodontis, is a cool type of upside-down catfish. It lives only in Lake Tanganyika in parts of Africa. You can find it in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, Zambia, and Tanzania. A Belgian fish expert named Jean-Pierre Gosse first described this fish in 1982. He found it along the shores of Lake Tanganyika.
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What's in a Name?
The name polli was given to this fish to honor another Belgian fish expert, Max Poll.
Meet the Poll's Synodontis: Description
Like other Synodontis fish, Poll's synodontis has a strong, bony head. This head bone goes all the way back to its first fin on its back. Its head is about one-third the length of its body.
Head and Whiskers
The fish has a special bony bump on its head called a humeral process. This bump helps scientists tell different Synodontis species apart. For Poll's synodontis, this bump is wide, triangle-shaped, and feels rough. Its eye is quite small, about one-seventh the length of its head.
This fish has three pairs of barbels, which are like whiskers. One pair is on its upper jaw, and two pairs are on its lower jaw. The upper whiskers are long and straight, reaching almost to its chest fins. The outer lower whiskers are about half the length of its head and have four to five small branches. The inner lower whiskers are shorter and have more branches.
Skin and Fins
The skin of Poll's synodontis has many tiny folds. Scientists aren't sure why, but this is common for Synodontis fish from Lake Tanganyika. It also has small bumps on its skin, but not on its fins.
The fins on its back and chest have stiff, sharp spines at the front. The spine on its back fin is short and slightly curved. It's smooth on the front and a bit rough on the back. This spine ends with a short, dark thread. The rest of its back fin has seven soft rays. Its chest fin spine is almost as long as the back fin spine. It has small bumps on the front and larger bumps on the back. This spine also ends with a short, black thread. The rest of its chest fins have seven or eight soft rays.
The fish also has a long, well-developed fatty fin (adipose fin) without any rays. Its belly fins have one unbranched and six branched rays. The fin under its belly (anal fin) has three to five unbranched and seven to nine branched rays. Its tail fin is forked, like a swallow's tail, with rounded tips. The upper part of the tail has eight rays, and the lower part has nine rays.
Mouth and Teeth
The mouth of Poll's synodontis points downwards and has wide, bumpy lips. On its upper jaw, it has a special pad of short, chisel-shaped teeth. In this fish, this tooth pad is split into two separate groups of teeth, with a gap in the middle. This helps tell it apart from similar fish. On its lower jaw, the teeth are S-shaped or hooked and are attached to flexible stalks. Poll's synodontis has 40 to 70 teeth on its lower jaw, arranged in 6 to 8 rows.
Color and Size
The body of Poll's synodontis is olive-brown on top with large, black spots that are not perfectly shaped. Its belly is lighter with smaller spots. Like many Synodontis from Lake Tanganyika, it has dark triangles at the base of all its soft-rayed fins. The back edges of its fins are whiter. Its tail fin has a black bar running through each part. Its whiskers are white.
The largest Poll's synodontis found was about 14.5 centimeters (about 5.7 inches) long, not counting its tail. With its tail, it was about 18 centimeters (about 7 inches) long. Female Synodontis fish are usually a bit bigger than males of the same age.
Habitat and Life Cycle
Poll's synodontis lives in Lake Tanganyika. The water temperature there is usually between 22 to 26 degrees Celsius (72 to 79 degrees Fahrenheit). The water is also slightly alkaline, with a pH of 8.5 to 9.
Where They Live
These fish like rocky areas along the shore, in what's called the littoral zone. They have been found living as deep as 20 meters (about 65 feet) underwater.
What They Eat
Poll's synodontis eats algae that it scrapes off rocks. It also eats small invertebrates, which are tiny creatures without backbones.
Reproduction
Scientists don't know a lot about how most Synodontis fish reproduce. However, it's thought that Poll's synodontis likely lays its eggs during the rainy season, which is from July to October. During spawning, male and female fish probably swim together. The young fish grow quickly in their first year, then their growth slows down as they get older.
