Heterobranchus bidorsalis is a catfish

Catfish

Catfishes are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the heaviest and longest, the Mekong giant catfish from Southeast Asia and the second longest, the wels catfish of Eurasia, to detritivores...

 found in Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

. The common name

Common name

A common name of a taxon or organism is a name in general use within a community; it is often contrasted with the scientific name for the same organism...

 of the catfish is African clariid catfish. It is closely related to the Vundu

Vundu

The vundu is a catfish found in the African countries of Niger, Senegal, Egypt, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Uganda, Zimbabwe and Zambia. It is also called the cur, lenda, or certa....

, which is well-known among fishermen.

Description

The head of Heterobranchus bidorsalis is shaped like an oval

Oval

An oval is any curve resembling an egg or an ellipse, such as a Cassini oval. The term does not have a precise mathematical definition except in one area oval , but it may also refer to:* A sporting arena of oval shape** a cricket field...

 and has a rectangular dorsum

Dorsum (biology)

In anatomy, the dorsum is the upper side of animals that typically run, fly, or swim in a horizontal position, and the back side of animals that walk upright. In vertebrates the dorsum contains the backbone. The term dorsal refers to anatomical structures that are either situated toward or grow...

. The snout is round and the eyes are lateral. The frontal fontanelle is long and narrow while the occipital fontanelle is relatively long and is shaped like an oval. The postorbital

Postorbital

The postorbital is one of the bones in vertebrate skulls which forms a portion of the dermal skull roof and, sometimes, a ring about the orbit. Generally, it is located behind the postfrontal and posteriorly to the orbital fenestra. In some vertebrates, the postorbital is fused with the postfrontal...

 bones are completely united. The suprabranchial organ is well developed. The pectoral spine

Spine (zoology)

A spine is a hard, thorny or needle-like structure which occurs on various animals. Animals such as porcupines and sea urchins grow spines as a self-defense mechanism. Spines are often formed of keratin...

 is smooth. The body and fins may have spots. It can reach a length of 150 cm. The maximum recorded weight for this species is 30.0 kg. The species has 40-46 dorsal (in the back) soft rays, 49-58 anal soft rays, and 62-63 vertebrate

Vertebrate

Vertebrates are animals that are members of the subphylum Vertebrata . Vertebrates are the largest group of chordates, with currently about 58,000 species described. Vertebrates include the jawless fishes, bony fishes, sharks and rays, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and birds...

. The human use for this species is fisheries. This catfish has not been evaluated on the IUCN Red List

IUCN Red List

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species , founded in 1963, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological species. The International Union for Conservation of Nature is the world's main authority on the conservation status of species...

. The species is harmless to humans. In a study, the catfish was shown to be tolerant to acute levels of agrolyser (a brand of fertilizer

Fertilizer

Fertilizer is any organic or inorganic material of natural or synthetic origin that is added to a soil to supply one or more plant nutrients essential to the growth of plants. A recent assessment found that about 40 to 60% of crop yields are attributable to commercial fertilizer use...

). Artificial

Artificial

See also: Synthetic ' or ' may refer to:* Artificial beaches* Artificial chemistry* Artificial consciousness* Artificial creation* Artificial elements* Artificial flower* Artificial food* Artificial fuel* Artificial harmonic...

 spawning

Spawn (biology)

Spawn refers to the eggs and sperm released or deposited, usually into water, by aquatic animals. As a verb, spawn refers to the process of releasing the eggs and sperm, also called spawning...

 was induced in females by single intramuscular hormone injections

Intramuscular injection

Intramuscular injection is the injection of a substance directly into a muscle. In medicine, it is one of several alternative methods for the administration of medications . It is used for particular forms of medication that are administered in small amounts...

 of carp pituitary

Pituitary gland

In vertebrate anatomy the pituitary gland, or hypophysis, is an endocrine gland about the size of a pea and weighing 0.5 g , in humans. It is a protrusion off the bottom of the hypothalamus at the base of the brain, and rests in a small, bony cavity covered by a dural fold...

 suspensions. An 82% survival rate of the larvae

Larvae

In Roman mythology, lemures were shades or spirits of the restless or malignant dead, and are probably cognate with an extended sense of larvae as disturbing or frightening...

 was achieved. A high concentration of anthracene

Anthracene

Anthracene is a solid polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon consisting of three fused benzene rings. It is a component of coal-tar. Anthracene is used in the production of the red dye alizarin and other dyes...

 in the liver

Liver

The liver is a vital organ present in vertebrates and some other animals. It has a wide range of functions, including detoxification, protein synthesis, and production of biochemicals necessary for digestion...

 can kill the catfish. Smoke-dried fish samples incubated on potato dextrose agar

Potato dextrose agar

Potato dextrose agar and potato dextrose broth are common microbiological growth media made from potato infusion, and dextrose...

 (PDA) for 7 days showed fungal infestation. The catfish can be found in the British Museum

British Museum

The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...

.

Habitat

This catfish lives in demersal freshwater

Freshwater

Fresh water is naturally occurring water on the Earth's surface in ice sheets, ice caps, glaciers, bogs, ponds, lakes, rivers and streams, and underground as groundwater in aquifers and underground streams. Fresh water is generally characterized by having low concentrations of dissolved salts and...

. The temperature of its habitat

Habitat

* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...

 has to be 22.0-28.0°C or 71.6-82.4°. It can be found in the Nile River, Niger River

Niger River

The Niger River is the principal river of western Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in southeastern Guinea...

, and the Gambia River

Gambia River

The Gambia River is a major river in West Africa, running from the Fouta Djallon plateau in north Guinea westward through Senegal and The Gambia to the Atlantic Ocean at the city of Banjul...

 which are all in Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

.