synodontis is the largest genus of mochokid catfishes .

it is the biggest genus within the 10 genera and 190 different species in the mochokidae family .

synodontis has over 131 different species within the genera .

synodontis are also known as squeakers , due to their ability to make stridulatory sounds through their pectoral fin spines when handled or disturbed .

synodontis make a sound that sounds like squeaking by rubbing their spines together .

they do this when they have been frightened or when they become angry .

" synodontis " may also squeak when they are taken out of the water .

these catfish are small - to medium-sized fish with many species exhibiting attractive spotted markings .

some species are also known for naturally swimming belly-up , earning the name upside-down catfish .

some of these species are synodontis contractus and synodontis nigriventris .

while some of these species are known to swim upside down , another species , synodontis multipunctatus , is a brood parasitic cuckoo catfish .

synodontis

synodontis <EOT> lateral view of synodontis ornatipinnis , illustrating the striking patterns seen in some species of synodontis ; cu 91403 . ©

synodontis schall surface shore bottom habitats araoye , p . a . spatio - temporal distribution of the fish synodontis schall ( teleostei : mochokidae ) in asa lake , ilorin , nigeria

synodontis ocellifer was , at one time , a fairly rare fish in the hobby . what was once a fish shipped accidentally with other synodontis is now imported separately in fairly decent numbers .

spine anatomy reveals the diversity of catfish through time : a case study of synodontis ( siluriformes ) .

synodontis schoutedeni is known from pool malebo ( stanley pool ) and from the central congo river basin .

a synonym of brachysynodontis barensoda ( rüppel , 1932 ) . see the species synodontis batensoda rüppel , 1932 .

i think i may be experiencing auditory hallucinations . i am convinced i have heard my synodontis squeaking at me .

synodontis schall is able to adapt to many different kinds of food and habitats , increasing the chances of survival .

synodontis soloni is a benthopelagic species . it is oviparous with distinct pairing during breeding ( breder and rosen 1966 ) .

synodontis pleurops is a benthopelagic species . it is oviparous with distinct pairing during breeding ( breder and rosen 1966 ) .

spine anatomy reveals the diversity of catfish through time : a case study of synodontis ( siluriformes ) . - pubmed - ncbi

bi tree of synodontis catfish . voucher and field numbers ( see the electronic supplementary material ) are used to distinguish multiple specimens . lm , lake malawi ; lv , lake victoria ; rm , river malagrasi ; sa , south africa . photographs top to bottom : s . nigromaculatus , s . njassae , s . granulosus , s . multipunctatus , s . victoriae , synodontis cf . tanganaicae , s . af . petricola , synodontis dhonti , synodontis polli and s . cf . petricola .

if you really want to know , this article from planet catfish is an excellent in depth guide to identifying hybrid synodontis .

synodontis species vary greatly in adult size , from 5 cm total length ( tl ) in the recently described s . acanthoperca ( friel & vigliotta , 2006 ) up to 80 cm in other species . larger synodontis are important food fishes in many parts of africa . species in other mochokid genera are even smaller as adults ( e . g . , microsynodontis and chiloglanis ) , but none are larger than the largest synodontis . synodontis angelicus may reach about 25 cm tl ( poll , 1971 ) .

whether you care if your synodontis is a hybrid or not will depend on whether you intend to attempt breeding ( a very noble goal indeed , given the difficulty of breeding synodontis , ) or whether you are paying a premium for a ' pure ' fish .

if you are keeping several synodontis in the same tank , ensure that you provide plenty of hiding places and have a spacious aquarium .

also look out for synodontis sp . ' golden eye ' , which is a bit like synodontis multipunctatus . it ' s being bred in the uk and some specialist stores are stocking the very attractive juveniles . look out in this mag next month for more details .

a large - scale phylogeny of synodontis ( mochokidae , siluriformes ) reveals the influence of geological events on continental diversity during the cenozoic .

froese , rainer and pauly , daniel , eds . ( 2011 ) . " synodontis schall " in fishbase . december 2011 version .

there are many species of synodontis , and there are many hybrids and crossbreeds between the species which pop up as well , quite often in pet shops . synodontis appear to be quite happily and readily crossbred to the chagrin of purists who do not approve of such abominations .

musschoot , t . , and p . lalèyè . 2008 . designation of a neotype for synodontis schall ( bloch and schneider , 1801 ) and description of two new species of synodontis ( siluriformes : mochokidae ) . journal of natural history 42 ( 17 - 18 ) : 13031331 .

fossil mochokids ( almost exclusively synodontis ) are widespread in africa and date as far back as the early miocene ( stewart , 2001 ) . interestingly , fragments of synodontis pectoral spines dating from the early oligocene have been found in oman , an area where mochokids do not exist today .

synodontis : from the greek syn , meaning together , and odontos , meaning tooth ; in reference to the closely - spaced lower jaw teeth .

evaluation of the fossil fish - specific diversity in a chadian continental assemblage : exploration of morphological continuous variation in synodontis ( ostariophysi , siluriformes ) .

fossil mochokids , of the genus synodontis , have been found in deposits from eastern and northern africa dating to at least the early miocene ( at least 20 mya ) ( stewart , 2001 ) . interestingly , fragments of pectoral spines of synodontis dating from the early oligocene have been found in oman , an area where mochokids do not exist today ( otero & gayet , 2001 ) . fossil mochokids outside of the genus synodontis are presently unknown .

the true upside - down catfish , synodontis nigriventris , is adapted for feeding from the surface on insects and other items that fall into the water .

synodontis multipunctatus is native to lake tanganyika and therefore also a suitable inhabitant for rift lake cichlid fish aquariums . s . multipunctatus is one of the most popular of the synodontis catfishes . this popularity started with those aquarists who kept cichlids from lakes tanganyika and malawi and has spread widely from that base .

synodontis is a genus of upside - down catfishes . they are members of the african catfish family mochokidae which contains about 150 different species in 10 genera .

favours fast - flowing rocky habitats and is the only synodontis species found in rapids , where it lives in crevices ( tweddle et al . 2004 ) .

synodontis pleurops is known from the lower congo , pool malebo ( stanley pool ) and the congo river basin , with exception of the luapula - mweru system .

6a . eyes with free orbital margin ; 17 principal caudal - fin rays ( only 13 in synodontis contracta ) ; tail forked ; 6 to 10 pectoral - fin rays ( usually 8 or 9 ) ; lateral mandibular barbels with single , gracile branches at each point along length or doubly branched ( fig . 27a–b ) … synodontis

don ' t worry . synodontis do sometimes make noises that are audible outside the aquarium . this has earned them the name ' squeakers ' in parts of africa .

a large - scale phylogeny of synodontis ( mochokidae , siluriformes ) reveals the influence of geological events on continental diversity during the cen . . . - pubmed - ncbi

to cite this page : mr . thomas vigliotta , 2006 , " synodontis angelicus " ( on - line ) , digital morphology . accessed july 9 , 2018 at urltoken

synodontis schall has a shield on its body and has strong bony spines on the pectoral and dorsal fins . some areas of new evolutionary forces have allowed for the synodontis schall to have different phenotypes . recent studies have found evidence for an increase number of teeth and gill rakers which could possibly point to a change from them being herbivores to carnivores .

one in particular — a small , “common” synodontis — can be considered the standard bearer for the genus . the upside - down catfish ( synodontis nigriventris ) is without doubt the most popular and widespread ( in aquariums ) of the synodontis catfishes . this popularity is certainly not as a result of its color . the base color is generally brown , with small darker spots scattered on the body and head . two broad bands of lighter color may be seen on the body to the front and rear of the adipose fin .

day , j . j . , and m . wilkinson . 2006 . on the origin of the synodontis catfish species flock from lake tanganyika . biology letters 2 : 548552 .

. . . the consumption of fish scales by synodontis species has been observed by several authors ( e . g . lauzanne , 1988 ; ofori - danson , 1992 ) . however , whether or not the synodontis , especially s . koensis actively searches for scales or ingest them at random is a question that remains to be investigated . . . .

a much deeper - bodied synodontis , the synodontis eruptus is also known as the featherfin squeaker because off its beautiful feathered dorsal fin and the fact that it can produce a high pitched squeaking with it . these fish grow up to 20 centimeters , though 15 to 17 is more common , and have been reported as being more aggressive than other catfish .

for the concatenated data set , a total of 7 partitions were identified using partitionfinder ( table 1 ) . based on the concatenated data set and individual gene trees , the genus synodontis is monophyletic ( fig . 1 ; supplementary fig . s1a–d , doi : 10 . 5061 / dryad . b6225 ) . synodontis forms a clade with its successive sister taxa microsynodontis , mochokus , and mochokiella , which itself is sister to a clade , including chiloglanis , atopochilus , and euchilichthys . brachysynodontis batensoda and hemisynodontis membranaceus , 2 previously monotypic genera ( poll 1971 ) , nest within synodontis supporting morphological data ( vigliotta 2008 ) . based on our results and previous morphological findings , we therefore place these genera in the synonymy of synodontis .

bishai h . m . and y . b . abu gideiri . 1968 . studies on the biology of genus synodontis at khartoum . iii . reproduction . hydrobiologia 31 : 193202 .

sanyanga , r . a . 1998 . food composition and selectivity of synodontis zambezensis ( pisces : mochokidae ) in lake kariba , and the ecological implications . hydrobiologia 361 : 8999 .

gastrointestinal helminth parasites of the fish synodontis clarias ( siluriformes : mochokidae ) from lekki lagoon , lagos , nigeria por : akinsanya , bamidele , et al . publicado : ( 2007 )

there is also evidence of other recent dispersal events between the biogeographic clades . this is apparent within the ea clade , with dispersal into the cb ( 95 % hpd : 0 . 8–2 . 9 ma ) as the distinctive congolese taxon synodontis acanthomias is sister to the southern african synodontis nigromaculatus . in the reverse direction , the ea taxon synodontis afrofischeri ( lakes victoria / albert ) nests within the cb clade ( 95 % hpd : 4 . 0–8 . 6 ma ) . the single taxon ( synodontis aff . laessoei ) described from the cuanza ( angola ) ichthyo - province is also identified as having originated within the cb , but diverged much earlier from its congolese ancestor 11 . 9–21 . 3 ( 95 % hpd ) ma .

lalèyè , p . , chikou , a . , gnohossou , p . , vandewalle , p . , philippart , j c . & teugels , g . " studies on the biology of two species of catfish synodontis schall and synodontis nigrita ( ostariophysi : mochokidae ) from the ouémé river , bénin " . belgian journal of zoology 136 ( 2 ) : 193–201 .

synodontis generally mix well with other fishes and are easy to keep . larger ones could eat very small fishes , and they are often quite territorial towards other catfishes , especially other synos .

bishai h . m . and y . b . abu gideiri . 1965a . studies on the biology of genus synodontis at khartoum . i . age and growth . hydrobiologia 26 : 8597 .

sanyanga , r . a . 1998 . food composition and selectivity of synodontis zambezensis ( pisces : mochokidae ) in lake kariba , and the ecological implications . hydrobiologia 361 : 89 - 99 .

they are also known as the cuckoo synodontis as they have a habit of eating the eggs of other fish and depositing their own in place for the other fish to tend as they grow .

bishai h . m . and y . b . abu gideiri . 1965b . studies on the biology of genus synodontis at khartoum . ii . food and feeding habits . hydrobiologia 26 : 98113 .

if you are trying to identify whether or not a synodontis is pure , pay special attention to fin shape , size and coloration , to the nature of the barbs around the mouth , to the overall body shape of the fish and to its markings . if your synodontis seems to have the characteristics of more than one species , there is a fairly decent chance that it is a hybrid .

a peaceful synodontis species , these do not grow much over 12 centimeters . unlike other species of synodontis , these have been bred in captivity relatively easily , but prefer to live and spawn in groups , so a pair may not spawn alone . these are easily confused with multipunctatus , however they sport a white trim which is not present in the multipuncatus . they tend to be quite expensive .

the mochokid fossil record is represented largely by synodontis , predominately isolated robust fin spines ( pinton et al . 2006 ) . there are good diagnostic characters for fin spines of african catfish genera developed through extensive comparative material ( gayet and van neer 1990 ; pinton et al . 2006 ) , although extant synodontis are currently defined by 2 synapomorphies based only on soft tissue characters ( see vigliotta 2008 ) .

poll , m . 1971 . révision des synodontis africains ( famille mochocidae ) . annales de musée royale de l ' afrique centrale ( ser . 8 ) , sciences zoologiques 191 : 1 - 497 .

synodontis decorus is one of the most magnificent of the synodontis species ! it is hard to find a more stunning sight than that of an adult s . decorus swimming in an aquarium with its long , black dorsal fin trailer flowing behind . when seeing this species at the smaller sizes they are usually imported at , they are quite attractive , but this is merely a hint of the beauty to come .

synodontis schoutedeni is a benthopelagic species . its electric organ is located dorsally and consists of modified striated muscle ( møller 1995 ) . it is oviparous with distinct pairing during breeding ( breder and rosen 1966 ) .

lt cichlids are both polyphyletic , implying independent colonizations of the lake , and paraphyletic , demonstrating that radiations within the lake have subsequently become a source for secondary seeding of rivers and younger lakes ( salzburger et al . 2002 ) . in contrast , platytelphusidae crabs ( marijnissen et al . 2006 ) and cleopatra gastropods ( west & michel 2000 ) are monophyletic , consistent with single origins and no dispersal out of tanganyika . a current phylogeny is lacking for east african synodontis and thus it is not known whether the lt species flock is a single radiation . molecular markers have undermined the traditional taxonomies of some other lt groups ( e . g . rüber et al . 1999 ) , but have not yet been applied to synodontis , so that the extent of phylogenetic diversity of the lt flock is unclear . here , mtdna data are used to test current species concepts and to infer a dated phylogeny for lacustrine and fluviatile species of primarily east african synodontis . the phylogeny is used to test alternative hypotheses of the evolutionary history of synodontis in east africa , and in particular , whether the lt synodontis constitute a single radiation . synodontis catfish provide a parallel system that can be compared to other lake faunas to test the extent to which there are common patterns and processes of diversification in lt .

bishai , h . m . and y . b . abu gideiri . 1965 . studies on the biology of the genus synodontis at khartoum . i . age and growth . hydrobiologia 26 : 85 - 97 .

wright , j . j . and l . m . page . 2006 . taxonomic revision of the lake tanganyikan synodontis ( siluriformes : mochokidae ) . the bulletin of the florida museum of natural history 46 : 99154 .

synodontis schall is a benthopelagic , potamodromous species . it is found both in deep , open water and in quite shallow water , but it is never close to the shore ( worthington , 1929 ) . this species is an omnivore and feeds on insect nymph , larvae , eggs and detritus ( willoughby 1974 ) . it also feeds on fish , bivalves in the sudd and snails in gezira irrigation canals . synodontis schall is oviparous with distinct pairing during breeding ( breder and rosen 1966 ) . breeding occurs during the flood season ( bailey 1994 ) in comparatively shallow and sheltered waters ( worthington and ricardo 1936 ) . synodontis schall is utilized for human consumption .

in another article , i presented a brief overview of some of the basic principles for maintaining synodontis catfishes in the aquarium . now i would like to introduce a few of the various species that are available to hobbyists .

the genus synodontis is by far the largest and most well known in the family , and dozens of species are available in the hobby , ranging in size from just a few cm to well over 30cm / 12 " .

wright , j . j . and l . m . page . 2008 . a new species of synodontis ( siluriformes : mochokidae ) from tributaries of the kasai river in northern angola . copeia 2008 ( 2 ) : 294300 .

in the wild the synodontis live in lagoons and other slow - flowing waters , often forming good sized groups . they are fish of the twilight and darkness and spend much of the day hidden under submerged tree trunks or riverbanks .

synodontis nummifer is known from throughout the congo river basin . it has not been found in centre of the democratic republic of the congo and in the southern tributaries of the congo river . records from the lower congo require confirmation .

synodontis soloni is known from the pool malebo ( stanley pool ) rapids and from libenge . it is also widely distributed in the lower congo ( roberts and stewart 1976 ) and from the ubangui river at zongo ( gosse 1968 ) .

araoye , p . a . ( 2000 ) . " pectoral spine size in synodontis schall ( teleostei : mochokidae ) from asa lake , ilorin , nigeria " . revista de biología tropical 48 ( 2 - 3 ) : 509–10 .

synodontis eupterus is , to my mind , one of the most outstanding of the synodontis catfishes . although it is not especially notable for its coloration ( a base gray - yellow to gray violet with darker markings in the form of winding lines in the young and small spots in the adult ) , the finnage , especially the dorsal , is what catches the eye . this fish well deserves its common name : feather fin synodontis . the dorsal fin , even in many juveniles , shows a distinct feathering . as the fish grows , this is additionally accentuated by increased prolongations of the soft rays , along with the accompanying membrane . the dorsal spine also shows similar extension with the growth of the fish .

monsters , these synodontis can grow over two feet in length . not at all recommended unless you have a very , very large fish tank , even 100 gallons won ' t cut it with one of these fish when they reach maturity .

synodontis nummifer is a demersal species . it is oviparous with distinct pairing during breeding ( breder and rosen 1966 ) . stomach contents contained sand , mud , plant debris , herbs and insect larvae ( mainly chironomids ) ( matthes 1964 ) .

koblmüller , s . , c . sturmbauer , e . verheyen , a . meyer , and w . salzburger . 2006 . mitochondrial phylogeny and phylogeography of east african squeaker catfishes ( siluriformes : synodontis ) . bmc evolutionary biology 6 : 49 .

. . . gy of synodontis in lake kanji ( nigeria ) described s . schall as omnivorous feeding on insect nymph and larvae , fish eggs , and detritus . hickley and bailey ( 1987 ) studying s . schall in the sudd swamps of the river nile ( sudan ) have pointed out the importance of detritus , benthic algae , macrophytes , benthic crustaceans , insects and fish in its diets . ofori - danson ( 1992 ) working on the ecology of some synodontis species in kpong headpond ( ghana ) indicated the dominant food items of s . schall as detritus , insects , oligochaeta , nematoda and hirudinea . sanyanga ( 1998 ) studied the food composition and selectivity of synodontis zambezensis in lake kariba and reported molluscivorous feeding habits . the specie . . .

synodontis ( mochokidae , siluriformes ) is a freshwater catfish endemic to africa . the 118 extant species are present in almost all hydrographic basins . some species are restricted to a single stream , whereas others have a vast distribution . synodontis is known in the fossil record since the miocene , and its history depends on the connections among african basins through time . the identification of species in the fossil record is essential to reconstruct this historical pattern . catfish pectoral and dorsal spines are robust , they preserve well and they form most of the fossil remains for the genus synodontis . unfortunately , the criteria for the identification of extant synodontis species are not applicable to fossil specimens . here , we define 11 original morphological characters that permit to discriminate four extant species from the chad - chari hydrographic system . six of these characters are defined on pectoral spines and five on dorsal spines . we then show that these characters can be used successfully for identifying fossil specimens . in particular , we present a case study in which we identify synodontis cf . schall and brachysynodontis cf . batensoda in the hominid - bearing sector toros - menalla ( late miocene , northern chad ) . we show that spine anatomy can be a powerful tool to recognise catfish species through time and thus to identify historical diversity pattern .

beyond diet , there isn’t a great deal known about the ecology of synodontis or other mochokids . synodontis stomach contents have included insects , nematodes , crustaceans , mollusks , annelids , seeds , algae , fish scales and incidentally sand ( bishai & abu gideiri , 1965 ; sanyanga , 1998 ; winemiller & winemiller , 1996 ) . the diets of the three sucker - mouthed genera ( see above ) may contain a higher proportion of plant matter , but it seems likely that all members of the family are omnivorous .

friel , j . p . , and j . p . sullivan . 2008 . synodontis woleuensis ( siluriformes : mochokidae ) , a new species of catfish from gabon and equatorial guinea , africa . proceedings of the academy of natural sciences of philadelphia 157 : 312 .

friel , j . p . and t . r . vigliotta . 2006 . synodontis acanthoperca , a new species from the ogôoué river system , gabon with comments on spiny ornamentation and sexual dimorphism in mochokid catfishes ( siluriformes : mochokidae ) . zootaxa 1125 : 4556 .

de weirdt , d . , e . vreven , and y . fermon . 2008 . synodontis ngouniensis , a new species ( siluriformes : mochikidae ) from ngounié and nyanga basins , gabon and republic of congo . ichthyological exploration of freshwaters 19 ( 2 ) : 121128 .

most fish have a cryptic colour pattern called countershading and their backs are darker than their bellies , making them more difficult for predators to see . but because synodontis swim the wrong way up , they use reverse - countershading so that their bellies are darker than their backs .

bayesian phylogenetic hypothesis of synodontis catfish reconstructed from the concatenated data set . outgroups ( gray branches ) , bpps are given in full below nodes , bs values are given above nodes : black square > 95 % , gray square 94–90 % , and gray star 89–85 % .

abu - gideiri , y . b . & nasr , d . h . ( december 1973 ) . " sound production by synodontis schall ( bloch - schneider ) " . hydrobiologia 43 ( 3 - 4 ) : 415–428 . doi : 10 . 1007 / bf00015360 .

friel , j . p . and t . r . vigliotta . 2006 . synodontis acanthoperca , a new species from the ogôoué river system , gabon with comments on spiny ornamentation and sexual dimorphism in mochokid catfishes ( siluriformes : mochokidae ) . zootaxa 1125 : 45 - 56 .

synodontis is by far the largest genus in the family mochokidae and , indeed , one of the largest among all catfishes ( about 120 species , a close second to corydoras , about 150 species ) . and so , synodontis is often the stand - in when people think about mochokid catfishes . but , in fact , the family ( 10 genera , ~ 190 species ) is much more morphologically diverse when you consider some of the other recognized genera . euchilichthys , atopochilus and chiloglanis are particularly notable for their ventrally - directed sucker - shaped mouths . others like mochokus and acanthocleithron are very poorly known , but exhibit unique morphologies of their own . synodontis angelicus , like many mochokids , is typified by branched mandibular barbels , well - developed nuchal plates , a large cleithral process and s - shaped mandibular teeth set in a deep cavity / cup of the dentary .

the earliest synodontis is 21 . 8–16 . 6 myr old ( burdigalian ) , but younger fossils cannot be reliably assigned to extant species ( pinton et al . 2006 ) . molecular divergence time estimates were calculated using a pruned tree ( eliminating intraspecific data ) , assuming either 21 . 8 or 16 . 6 myr as the age of synodontis , and using the optimal smoothing parameter value , determined through cross - validation in penalized likelihood as implemented in r8s ( sanderson 2003 ) . confidence limits on age estimates were based on two mcmc chains sampling 500 generations and enforcing topological constraint .

nine genera and approximately 200 valid species are currently recognized . some fossilized pectoral spines have been attributed to synodontis , but none of them are described as new . phylogenetic relationships among the mochokid genera were investigated by vigliotta ( 2008 ) who found that chiloglanis is possibly a paraphyletic assemblage , that synodontis must include s . membranaceous and s . batensoda ( formerly placed in hemisynodontis and brachysynodontis respectively ) and that the reciprocal monophyly of atopochilus and euchilichthys are questionable at best ; all remaining genera are recovered as valid and monophyletic . the general relationships between mochokid genera are illustrated in the phylogeny below .

lt radiations leading to secondary colonization of rivers are rare in lt cichlid tribes ( salzburger et al . 2002 ) . the occurrence of a non - endemic synodontis within the lt species flock might be similarly explained if the flock were monophyletic . the phylogeny does not support this , but it and the time - scale are consistent with s . victoriae having originated in this way . thus , synodontis may provide a second example of recolonization . it is tempting to suggest that the ability to recolonize rivers is correlated with mobility , and that synodontis are more similar to cichlids than to benthic invertebrates , for which there is no evidence of recolonization ( e . g . marijnissen et al . 2006 ) , in this respect . unfortunately , the placement of s . victoriae is not compelling . we cannot reject the alternative hypothesis that the lt endemics are a single monophyletic radiation , which has not seeded any other rivers or lakes . east–west african faunal divisions , consistent with continental - scale vicariance , are reported for many terrestrial ( e . g . matthee et al . 2004 ) , but few aquatic groups . synodontis phylogeny reveals an initial east–west split and subsequent dispersal between the regional faunas .

my synodontis was 2 " long in 1986 ! no typo . . . 1986 ! i know because in 11 / ' 86 we took our appaloosa stallion to the world champ show 100 ' s of miles away , for a week . had so many fish i got an amateur to feed while i was gone but worried what syno would eat . never let an amateur feed pellets ! the fish lucked out as the amateur quit the job after 1 day ( went deer hunting ) . this synodontis is still going as of 10 / 6 / 2013 . . . 27 yrs later !

julia j . day , claire r . peart , katherine j . brown , john p . friel , roger bills , timo moritz ; continental diversification of an african catfish radiation ( mochokidae : synodontis ) , systematic biology , volume 62 , issue 3 , 1 may 2013 , pages 351–365 , urltoken

synodontis catfishes span the entire geographic range of mochokids ; they inhabit a large proportion of african freshwaters including most of sub - saharan africa and the nile river basin and can be found in large rivers , smaller fast - flowing streams and the massive african rift lakes . some species are known to swim in mid - water and some will shoal ; others are primarily benthic and relatively solitary . synodontis angelicus is distributed throughout the congo river drainage ( poll , 1971 ) . anecdotal reports tell of angel squeakers using holes in submerged logs for shelter ; this practice is probably more widespread in the family .

in african freshwater , curved teeth are typical of mochokid fish . within the family , this shape is observed in synodontis , microsynodontis , mochokus and chiloglanis members ( pinton , otero , pers . obs . ) . this kind of tooth is usually attributed to synodontis in the fossil record because living species of microsynodontis are very small and because chiloglanis is a genus that inhabits fast moving waters , whereas synodontis are large - bodied and widespread , living in a variety of habitats . however , the description of giant fossil fish in another minute mochokid genus in the late miocene of chad , i . e . , mochokus [ 32 ] , suggest that one should not rely on size features to assign fossil remains to a given genus , notably in the case of mochokids . finally , the identification of mochokids at dur at - talah based on a single minute tooth is rather fragile and needs further confirmation .

ltt plots for the original synodontis data set ( dark gray ) and including missing species added at random ( light gray ) , estimated from sampling 100 bayesian trees generated from the concatenated data set . the solid line indicates the expected number of lineages under a constant rate model of diversification with no extinction .

unless you have a very common species , it may be difficult to tell if what you have is a hybrid or not . there are currently well over 100 different identifies species of synodontis , and more than one syno has been misidentified as a hybrid when it was , in fact a new species .

synodontis notatus is not one of the most attractive of the synodontis , but because of its general availability it deserves note here . this species has a gray - brown body color , with the ventral region being white . on the sides there are varying numbers of round , black spots along the midline . there may be as few as one spot per side — usually there are less than five — but on occasion there are more . the numbers of spots on each side of the body do not necessarily match . very rarely , an individual without spots on one side or the other may be seen .

a native of lake malawi , synodontis njassae is a pretty catfish with lovely coloration which can vary widely from fish to fish . some specimens may have many spots covering their body , others have but a few . some keepers break these into large and small spotted varieties . they grow to around 20 centimeters .

one species of synodontis is known for an interesting bit of its ecology ; s . multipunctatus is a brood parasite of mouth brooding cichlids such as haplochromis ( sato , 1986 ; wisenden , 1999 ) . adults of this species will ‘dump’ their own fertilized eggs into the mix while cichlids are breeding and the catfish eggs are taken into the mouth of a cichlid . the synodontis eggs hatch first and will eat the host eggs before they leave the host mouth . visit this link to see video of s . multipunctatus spawning with cichlids , and this link to see pictures of s . multipunctatus fry emerging from a cichlid mouth .

even more peculiar is the habit of some species of synodontis that are known to swim upside - down . this habit seems to be correlated with feeding while upside - down at the water’s surface ( bishai & abu gideiri , 1965b ) , but upside - down catfishes will rest and swim in the inverted position on a regular basis . chapman et al . ( 1994 ) showed that an upside - down posture near the surface also facilitates respiration in poorly oxygenated water . while the genus synodontis presents the most well - known species with their fascinating behaviors and natural histories , the family is actually much more interesting when taken as a whole .

the oldest reported fossil synodontis comes from the earliest lower oligocene , sultanate of oman at thaytiniti dated to 34 ma ( roger et al . 1993 ; otero and gayet 2001 ) and is represented by fin spines . these fossils possess a number of characters that in combination are used to diagnose synodontis from other african catfish ( gayet and van neer 1990 ) . these include : strong denticulation on the posterior border , round tubercles on the anterior border , a cleithral surface developed ventrally , a dorso - lateral process developed both anteriorly and laterally , and a well - developed auxiliary process ( gayet and van neer 1990 ; otero and gayet 2001 ) .

since the publication of the most recent taxonomic review of synodontis ( poll 1971 ) , a further 13 species have been described . the inclusion of multiple samples for species that have broad distributions within our study reveal reasonably distinct genetic divergences within taxa with large ranges , particularly across the n - s biogeographic region . k2p distances based on cyt b and coi range between 0 . 7 % and 2 . 1 % and may imply at least some cryptic speciation within the following taxa ( k2p distances for cyt b and coi given in parenthesis ) : synodontis sorex ( 2 % , 1 . 6 % ) , synodontis schall ( 2 % , 2 . 1 % ) , synodontis nigrita ( 1 . 6 % , 1 . 2 % ) , synodontis obesus ( 1 . 8 % , 1 % ) , synodontis clarias ( 1 % , 0 . 8 % ) , and the congo species synodontis angelica ( 1 . 2 % , 0 . 7 % ) . although not all these distances are > 2 % , often indicative of distinct species ( see april et al . 2011 ) , they are much greater than mean within species divergence ( 0 . 39 % based on coi ) reported in various marine fish species , for example ( ward et al . 2005 ) . the minimum timing of divergences within those taxa whose distances are < 2 % is 0 . 7–5 ma based on our multi gene data set . this pliocene–pleistocene timeframe was when the subtropical african climate periodically fluctuated between distinctly wetter and drier conditions , with evidence for increases in aridity at 2 . 8 , 1 . 7 , and 1 . 0 ma ( demenocal 2004 ) . these oscillations would have led to expansion and contractions of waterways potentially leading to isolation of populations . however , more extensive sampling of populations is needed to fully test the hypothesis for cryptic speciation in these taxa . additional new species from the cb that are highly cryptic in nature are also identified in this study ( fig . 1 , s . sp . nov . 2–4 ) . as such , our study highlights the need for further biodiversity surveys of african rivers , particularly the comparatively unexplored congo basin that will undoubtedly yield further species new to science and enhance the opportunity to test hypotheses of diversification scenarios .

synodontis schall was caught throughout the year , but highest catches were recorded in january and february , while total catch decreased from september to november when the lake became flooded as a result of increased water levels ( monthly mean range = 12 . 20 to 12 . 80 cm ) due to the rains that commenced in april (

all synodontis catfishes originate from africa . there are three areas of that continent where the majority of synodontis seen in the hobby come from : west africa ( mainly nigeria ) , zaire ( the “congo” ) and the rift lakes . i will discuss briefly , by geographical origin , some of the more than 100 species in this genus . although there is only space to deal with a small number of these fish , i hope you will have at least a better understanding about some of these fascinating catfishes . ( note : all sizes given are in total length [ tl ] , which is the full length of the fish including the tail fin . )

in the wild , this species is known to feed heavily on algae , so the addition of this or other vegetable fish foods to its diet is strongly recommended . with its small adult size and other similarities to s . nigriventris , this species offers good potential for someone wishing to try their hand at spawning a synodontis species .

lagrange recovered both dispersal and extinction rates of synodontis to be 0 . 003 per million years , respectively . figure 2 shows the most likely scenario of ancestral area reconstructions for nodes of interest summarized on the dated species - tree of the study group . three distinct biogeographical groupings are identified for synodontis based on the analysis combining wa regions . these comprise wa ( that includes the combined ichthyo - provinces : n - s , lgf , ugf ) ea and the cb , with wa rendered polyphyletic . in this scenario , the genus synodontis is inferred to have originated in the broad region of wa with subsequent dispersal within this region ( relative probability [ rp ] 0 . 99 ) . the picture is , however , less clear when these regions are coded separately , with the best likelihood reconstruction inferred for the origin of this genus as n - s with subsequent dispersal within this region , although this finding is equivocal ( likelihood scores were not significantly different between multiple reconstructions , rp 0 . 44 ) .

day , j . j . , peart , c . r . , brown , k . j . , friel , j . p . , bills , r . and moritz , t . 2013 . continental diversification of an african catfish radiation ( mochokidae : synodontis ) . syst biol 62 ( 3 ) : 351 - 365 .

the mochokidae are a family of catfishes ( order siluriformes ) that are known as the squeakers and upside - down catfish . there are 10 genera and about 188 species of mochokids here i will just deal with the most popular genera , the synodontis catfish . they are becoming more popular as availability increases , the synodontis are an interesting addition to any aquaria . their native ranges are the rivers and lakes of africa south of the sahara desert . all the family members are found only in africa . in the home they are most commonly seen in african cichlid tanks fulfilling the role of scavengers . to view some statistics on many individual fish , just click on any picture .

visual inspection of the ltt plot for synodontis indicates a near constant rate of diversification with no strong indication of a slowing down , irrespective of missing species added ( fig . 3 ) . net diversification rate for synodontis is 0 . 12 per ma assuming no extinction ( ϵ = 0 ) , decreasing to 0 . 07 per ma when assuming a high relative rate of extinction ( ϵ = 0 . 9 ) . our data , however , are better explained by low - extinction rates , that is , a pure - birth model ( ϵ = 0 ) , as opposed to a birth–death model ( ϵ = 0 . 9 ) , based on likelihood ratio tests generated in laser ( rabosky 2006a ) .

these are synodontis with shark - like fins which have made them very popular indeed . they can command quite high prices both in pet stores and out of them . these synos grow to around 12 centimeters , so they are not terribly large , and if you have the funds , you can quite happily keep several of them in a 90 gallon tank .

synodontis contractus is a small species ( 4 inches [ 10 centimeters ] ) and one of my personal favorites . it is somewhat similar in appearance to s . nigriventris but has a generally more thickset body and “chunky” build . like s . nigriventris , it will spend a good amount of its time in the inverted position and is also a schooling species .

beyond information gleaned from captive breeding of certain species of synodontis , very little is known about reproduction in mochokids . the best studied mochokids in this regard are most likely nile river synodontis ( including s . membranacea and s . batensoda , previously placed in other genera ) . still , details are limited ; the studies indicate that spawning occurs from july to october , which coincides with the flooding season , and that pairs swim in unison during spawning bouts ( bishai & abu gideiri , 1968 ) . the most interesting and detailed information on mochokid reproduction relates to a species from lake tanganyika , synodontis multipunctatus , which is a brood parasite of mouth brooding cichlids such as simochromis and haplochromis ( sato , 1986 ; wisenden , 1999 ) . adults of this species spawn in the midst of spawning cichlids and the fertilized catfish eggs are taken into the mouth of a cichlid . the catfish eggs hatch first and will eat the host eggs before they leave the host mouth . most amazingly , this species has been able to parasitize mouth brooding cichlids from south america in captivity ( loiselle , 1998 ) .

synodontis gambiensis is one of the more recognizable species that is seen regularly mixed in with shipments of catfish from the group above . it is easily spotted among such imports because it is a solid gray - colored fish . the ventral region is whitish . other identifying characteristics include whitish barbels and a somewhat indistinct dark band on each lobe of the caudal ( tail ) fin .

space considerations dictate that this article must come to a close . i have barely scratched the surface in regards to this interesting group of catfishes . i do hope that i’ve provided at least some useful information on synodontis and strongly suggest that if you haven’t kept them before , consider doing so now . i think you will receive as much enjoyment from them as i have .

based largely on coloration and pattern some scientists and aquarists have recognized ‘species flocks’ of synodontis . the largest and most visually impressive of these is the lake tanganyika synodontis species flock . the flock consists of at least six species , all endemic to the lake , that show amazingly similar coloration and patterning . recent work suggests that this ‘flock’ is not monophyletic and that the biogeographic scenario is more complicated than a simple radiation after lake formation ( day & wilkinson , 2006 ; koblmuller et al . , 2006 ) . regardless , in this group of species , the nearly constant color pattern consists of a light brown base color and darker brown polka - dots . it is made more impressive by the fins , which have dark brown membranes basally and stark white trailing edges . the cryptic nature of lake tanganyika synodontis has led to an underestimate of the actual number of species present ( wright & page , 2006 ) ; three new species were described and two others were resurrected in that work . there are several other smaller flocks with their own unique patterns and pigmentation outside of the lake , and cryptic species probably exist for these as well .

spatio , temporal distribution of synodontis scha ! l in asa lake was studied for 24 months ( march 1991 to february 1993 ) . distribution of individual was : 28 . 40 % ( surface ) , 35 . 60 % ( shore ) , and 36 . 0 % ( bottom ) . catches wilhin lhe habitat were nol significantly differen ! . similarly catches within lhe ha . . .

koblmüller , s . , sturmbauer , c . , verheyen , e . , meyer , a . , & salzburger , w . ( 2006 ) . " mitochondrial phylogeny and phylogeography of east african squeaker catfishes ( siluriformes : synodontis ) " . bmc evolutionary biology 6 : 49 . doi : 10 . 1186 / 1471 - 2148 - 6 - 49 . pmc 1543664 . pmid 16784525 .

quite common , these synos reach just four inches in length , which makes them the perfect catfish for a smaller aquarium . they are known widely as the ' upside down catfish ' . they reach around 10 centimeters , or four inches and are very pretty and entertaining to watch as they defy gravity . it is best to keep this type of synodontis in groups of three or more .

dorsal view of heads illustrating sexual dimorphism of the opercular spine in synodontis acanthoperca : a . cu 89005 , male holotype , 44 . 1 mm sl ; b . cu 89006 , female paratype , 40 . 4 mm sl . the pectoral spines in both specimens have been removed from the images to make the margins of the head more distinct against the background . scale bar equals 1 mm . ©

chronogram , where synodontis are dated at either 21 . 8 ma ( blue ) or 16 . 6 ma ( green ) , with confidence limits calculated as 95 % credible intervals conditional on the tree topology . inset with ages ( and confidence limits in parenthesis ) for nodes a–g . 1 , age of lt ; 2 , onset of deep water conditions in lt ; 3 , age of lm .

the surprise is baby s . multipunctatus ! this species is by far the most commonly spawned ( in captivity ) synodontis . what makes them unique is that they will spawn in conjunction with the cichlid fish and that the female cichlids will then incubate the catfish eggs along with their own . there is not enough room here to go into detail , but do be aware that it can and does happen .

little is known about the ecology of most mochokids . what is known pertains mostly to diet and is biased towards species of synodontis . stomach contents from synodontis have included insects , nematodes , crustaceans , mollusks , annelids , seeds , algae , diatoms , fish scales and , incidentally , sand ( bishai & abu gideiri , 1965a ; bishai & abu gideiri , 1965b ; winemiller & kelso - winemiller , 1996 ; sanyanga , 1998 ) . from observations of stomach contents , the diet of most mochokids is probably very similar ; that is , they are omnivores . for some of the larger sucker - mouthed species ( i . e . , atopochilus and euchilichthys ) the stomach contents contain a high proportion of silt , algae and detritus . for these taxa it seems likely that scraping or grazing is the predominant method of feeding .

within synodontis 2 principal clades are identified ( a and b ) , which are further subdivided into the 4 main subclades ( a1 , a2 and b1 , b2 , fig . 1 ) . support for a monophyletic synodontis and main subclades based on bpps is excellent , with all major nodes except clade a ( 0 . 55 bpp ) receiving > 98 % support , with bs values slightly lower ( fig . 1 ) . support for internal nodes within the main clades is generally good , although some relationships forming the base of clade a1 are less well supported by bpp and receive no bs support . support for clade a is considerably improved ( > 0 . 95 bpp ) by the removal of the unstable sister taxa synodontis albolineatus and synodontis batesii that are sister to clade a2 ( 0 . 53 bpp ) . the position of these taxa is contentious , as while they are also placed as sister to clade a2 in the cyt b gene tree ( supplementary fig . s1b ) and mtdna tree , they are alternately sister to all other synodontis taxa in the rag2 gene tree ( supplementary fig . s1d ) . their placement in the co1 gene tree is unresolved ( supplementary fig . s1a ) , but these taxa are not resolved as sister to clade a2 as found in the cyt b tree . unfortunately , these taxa did not amplify for s7 ( supplementary fig . s1c ) . the disparity in placement of these taxa may represent insufficient data or real conflict , for example , homoplasy or cyto - nuclear discordance . however , to test between these hypotheses additional nuclear genes and samples of these taxa would need to be sequenced . support for the position of synodontis ocellifer as sister to clade b2 is weak ( 0 . 70 bpp , 57 % bs ) with this taxon also indicated as unstable using leaf stability metrics . individual gene trees for cyt b + trna - pro , coi , and s7 reveal reasonably good support for the majority of relationships identified when these data are concatenated and although there is no support for clades a1 , b1 in the co1 or s7 gene trees , there is no support for alternative hypotheses ( supplementary fig . s1b and c ) . conversely , rag 2 ( supplementary fig . s1d ) does not perform as well and yields only partial support for these clades . comparison of the concatenated tree ( p = 0 . 577 ) to the mtdna ( p = 0 . 414 ) and ncdna ( p = 0 . 000 ) trees based on au tests rejects the latter tree as a significantly worse fit to the data .

as noted above , these catfish are suitable inhabitants of malawi cichlid fish aquariums . the water conditions maintained for the cichlids are also excellent for the catfish . s . njassae is generally active enough to stay out of the way of the often aggressive cichlid fish . this synodontis appears to prefer the company of its own kind , so it would be a good idea to try to keep at least two together in an aquarium .


eupanacra automedon is a moth of the family sphingidae .

it is known from north-eastern india , nepal , myanmar , thailand , peninsular malaysia , sumatra , nias , java and borneo .

it is very similar to eupanacra malayana but distinguishable by the forewing outer margin having a single sharp point at the apex and no darker brown longitudinal shadow .

the forewing upperside has postmedian lines closer together and more longitudinal than in eupanacra malayana , almost parallel to the costa .

the larvae have been recorded on lasia spinosa .

the ground colour of the body is jade-green without distinct markings .

it has a pale beige horn .

the body ground colour of the last instar is uniform brown with an unmistakable pair of anterior ocelli located at its first abdominal segment and a tail horn that is shorter and back-curved

eupanacra automedon

eupanacra automedon <EOT> have a fact about eupanacra automedon ? write it here to share it with the entire community .

have a definition for eupanacra automedon ? write it here to share it with the entire community .

how can i put and write and define eupanacra automedon in a sentence and how is the word eupanacra automedon used in a sentence and examples ? 用eupanacra automedon造句 , 用eupanacra automedon造句 , 用eupanacra automedon造句 , eupanacra automedon meaning , definition , pronunciation , synonyms and example sentences are provided by ichacha . net .

eupanacra automedon ( walker , 1856 ) = panacra automedon walker , 1856 = truncata ( walker , 1856 ) = niasana ( clark , 1923 ) = kualalumpuri ( clark , 1935 ) .

in the male genitalia , uncus similar to eupanacra regularis regularis but a little broader . gnathos similar to eupanacra regularis regularis . valve with many stridulatory scales . harpe slender , similar to eupanacra automedon , not distinctly spatulate . aedeagus apical process with right lobe projecting , as in eupanacra regularis regularis , but broader apically and more heavily dentate , scarcely longer than broad ; left lobe similar to eupanacra malayana but broader .

it is similar to " eupanacra automedon " but distinguishable by the forewing outer margin having a blunt double point and generally a darker brown longitudinal shadow present .

eol content is automatically assembled from many different content providers . as a result , from time to time you may find pages on eol that are confusing .

to request an improvement , please leave a comment on the page . thank you !

ne . himalayas - borneo , sumatra , sulawesi , hong kong . see [ maps ]

panacra busiris walker , 1856 ; list spec . lepid . insects colln br . mus . 8 : 158

panacra busiris atima rothschild & jordan , 1915 ; novit . zool . 22 ( 2 ) : 292 ; tl : karwar , south india

panacra busiris marina rothschild & jordan , 1915 ; novit . zool . 22 ( 2 ) : 287 ; tl : andaman is .

panacra mydon elegantulus f . brunnea closs , 1916 ; lepidoptera niepeltiana ( 2 ) : 3 , pl . 16 , f . 8 ; tl : java

oriental tropics - philippines , sundaland , sulawesi , sumba , hong kong . see [ maps ]

[ maps ] warning ! the maps are automatically generated from the textual information , and the process does not always produce acceptable result ; see about maps for more info .

walker , 1856 list of the specimens of lepidopterous insects in the collection of the british museum list spec . lepid . insects colln br . mus . 8 : 1 - 271 ( 1856 )

if you have corrections , comments or information to add into these pages , just send mail to markku savela keep in mind that the taxonomic information is copied from various sources , and may include many inaccuracies . expert help is welcome .

html public " - / / w3c / / dtd html 4 . 01 transitional / / en " " urltoken "

note : you should have a urltoken account to upload new topics and comments . please , create an account or log in to add comments

* our website is multilingual . some comments have been translated from other languages .

there are no photos of this species on the website yet . you can offer your photo by logging into your account

curators : konstantin efetov , vasiliy feoktistov , svyatoslav knyazev , evgeny komarov , stan korb , alexander zhakov .

species catalog enables to sort by characteristics such as expansion , flight time , etc . .

panacra mydon walker , 1856 , list specimens lepid . insects colln br . mus . 8 : 155 . type locality : [ bangladesh , ] silhet [ sylhet ] .

china : iii - ix ( hong kong ) ; vi ( sichuan ) ; vi ( guangdong ) ; 20 . vii ( yunnan ) ; 3 . x ( tengchong ) .

kendrick ( 2002 ) states that this common moth is multivoltine in hong kong , occurring from march until late july and again in late september , with peaks in march and may .

ovum : yellowish - green , the bright orange of the young larva showing through before hatching ( bell & scott , 1937 ) .

larva : full - fed 95mm . , width 8mm . , horn 5mm . according to bell & scott ( 1937 ) , in the first instar the body is long and thin ; the horn straight , of medium length . head and body orange , horn greyish - black . in the second instar , the body surface is smooth and shiny , with the head and body being translucent pale green , the horn black .

in the third and fourth instar the body stays long and thin , but segment six becomes tumid . the horn is now long and straight . the surface of the head and body is smooth and dull and pale yellowish - green in colour . there is an oval , longitudinal , black eye - spot on segment six . the horn is black above , but pale green laterally and centrally .

in the fifth instar the shape is as in others of the genus . the horn is thick at its base , tapering sharply to a blunt point ; basal half at right angles to dorsum of larva , distal half bent sharply downwards . body smooth and dull , excepting the eye - spot and the band above it , which are shiny as though enamelled , and the horn , which is shiny and covered with small tubercles .

in colour , head bright green , body pale yellowish - green . segments 4 and 6 bright green on dorsum , marked with longitudinal white dashes . a dark green , narrow , dorsal stripe runs from segments 2 to 5 , with a pinkish stripe on each side of it on 5 . there is an oval , longitudinal eye - spot on segment 6 . this is black above , reddish - brown below , the reddish - brown portion being outlined by a narrow pale band , the whole edged by a narrow blackish line . above the eye - spot , and touching it , there is a broad white band with a bright red quadrate spot in the centre of it . a broad , brown subdorsal stripe starts from the front margin of 2 , runs across 3 and 4 , then below the eye - spot on 5 , then turns up to the dorsum along the hind edge of 5 , this stripe being edged below by a narrow pale stripe . a brown spiracular stripe runs from the spiracle on segment 6 to the hind margin of 11 . this stripe narrows at the spiracles , but widens between them . segment 13 and anal flap brown , with a broad , green , dorsal stripe from base of horn to tip of flap . segments 6 to 12 are sometimes immaculate except for the spiracular band , or marked with irregular brown patches . when reared in the dark the brown colour may spread over the whole of these segments . horn orange ; true legs pink , prolegs green . spiracles black edged broadly with white .

when alarmed , the larva retracts the head and anterior segments into segment 5 , and expands that segment to show the eye - spots , which are not visible in the resting position ( bell & scott , 1937 ) .

pupa : 50mm . , width 10mm . very similar to that of e . busiris . cremaster broadly triangular , dorsal surface rounded , ventral surface deeply , longitudinally concave , ending in a stout shaft which branches near base , each branch ending in two hooks . there are two shorter shafts , each with a single hook , on each side of base of central shaft ( bell & scott , 1937 ) .

larval hostplants . alocasia odora ( araceae ) in hong kong ( tennent , 1992 ) . colocasia , caladium , arisaema and amorphophallus ( araceae ) elsewhere ( inoue , kennett & kitching , [ 1996 ] 1997 ) .

in laos and thailand , recorded from scindapsus pictus , syngonium podophyllum and syngonium vellozianum ( eitschberger & ihle , 2008 ) .

china : sichuan ( zhongjiang ) ; chongqing ; yunnan ( cangyuan ; menglun ; tengchong , 1800m ; simao / pu ' er ) ; guangdong ( guangzhou ; e . nan ling ; ? ? wai - tzi - san ) ; hong kong ( north point ; shau kei wan ) ; guangxi ( miao ling ; maoer shan , 1800m ) ; hainan ( jianfeng ) .

nepal , northeastern india ( subhasish arandhara , 2016 ) , bangladesh , burma / myanmar , southern china , thailand , laos , vietnam , peninsular malaysia .

sign in to disable all ads . thank you for helping build the largest language community on the internet .

have a better pronunciation ? upload it here to share it with the entire community .

simply select a language and press on the speaker button to listen to the pronunciation of the word . leave a vote for your preferred pronunciation .


bell 's sparrow ( artemisiospiza belli ) is a medium-sized sparrow of the western united states and northwestern mexico .

it used to be placed in the genus amphispiza , but recent evidence suggested it be placed in its own genus .

four populations are resident to the west : subspecies canescens breeds in south-central california , the dark nominate subspecies belli in the california coast ranges and part of the western slope of the sierra nevada south to about 29 ° n in baja california , the equally dark subspecies clementeae limited to san clemente island , and subspecies cinerea in western baja california from 29 ° n to 26 ° 45 ′ n .

the aou now considers bell 's sparrow a separate species , formerly grouped with the sagebrush sparrow , and together previously known as the sage sparrow .

bell 's sparrow is difficult to separate in the field from the sagebrush sparrow .

both species measure about 6 in ( 15 cm ) long and weigh approximately 16.5 g ( 0.58 oz ) .

in general , with bell ’s sparrow the malar is darker than the head while on the sagebrush it is about the same shade of darkish gray .

bell ’s sparrow also has a thicker malar strip than sagebrush .

the amount a streaking on the back as well as the shade of the mantle may also be used to separate the two , but this is affected by wear on the feathers .

bell 's also has little or no white in the tail , but this field mark alone may not be diagnostic .

bell 's sparrows are indeed often tied to sagebrush habitats , although they can also be found in brushy stands of saltbush , chamise , and other low shrubs of the arid west .

the subspecies a. b. clementeae has been listed as threatened since 1977 .

the species ' common name and binomial ( belli ) refer to john graham bell .

bell ' s sparrow

bell ' s sparrow <EOT> taxonomy can be confusing , even for the experts . in the nineteenth century all the “sage” sparrows from the rocky mountains west to the pacific coast were known as bell’s sparrow , although ornithologists noted there were several regional forms . by 1910 they had split bell’s sparrow into the two distinct species we know today , but a revision in 1957 lumped them together as the sage sparrow . in 2013 they were split back into two species , now known as the sagebrush sparrow and bell’s sparrow .

the oldest known bell’s sparrow was at least 9 years , 3 months old when it was recaptured and re - released at a california banding station .

contrast between the head and the malar stripe , along with the strength of the malar seems to be one of the most reliable fields marks . on bell’s sparrow the malar is darker than the head while on sagebrush it is about the same shade . bell’s sparrow also has a thicker malar strip than sagebrush .

nina , both of those would be sagebrush sparrow . bell’s in winter hasn’t been recorded east of phoenix and sagebrush is the only one that breeds in az .

bell’s sparrow is more local in arizona than in california and the reverse is true of sagebrush sparrow . bell’s sparrow does not breed in arizona , but sagebrush sparrow does breed in the great basin portion of california . both species winter in the salton sink , but like the the lcrv the status of each has yet to be worked out . the status of sagbrush sparrow as a migrant ( and possibly in winter ) in the mojave desert is largely unknown . within the arizona portion of the mohave desert at places such as the sacramento valley it appears to be largely sagebrush sparrow ( again see comments on id below ) . bell’s sparrow has been found east to phoenix in arizona , but how regular is it east of the lcrv ?

song ' s and calls from a group of three bell ' s sparrows . the birds were chasing each other through the saltbush and sagebrush . call quality a , song quality c .

the bell’s sparrow is a neat , gray - headed sparrow emblematic of california’s coastal sage and chaparral . they also occur in baja california , the mojave desert , and on san clemente island , california ( a federally threatened subspecies ) . like the very similar sagebrush sparrow , these birds spend much of their time foraging for insects and seeds on the ground underneath shrubs . in spring males sing a fast mix of trills and chips from the tallest perches they can find .

pair of bell ' s sparrow , one singing , the other one non - vocal . this pair was visiting saltbush ( atriplex sp . ) and sagebrush ( artimesia sp . ) , inspecting the bush , and then moving on .

– interior sc california ( s san joaquin valley , inyo region , and s & w edges of mojave desert ) and adjacent w nevada ; non - breeding also w to sw california , e to s nevada and w arizona , and s to ne baja california .

bell’s sparrow at quail hollow in parker strip ca on 19 jan 2013 . note the thin back streaking that is hard to see and the thick dark malar stripe . same individual as the next photo . copyright ( c ) 2013 david vander pluym

amount of white in the tail has been cited as a field mark for sagebrush vs nominate bell’s . though it is variable the amount of white ( sagebrush ) vs buffy ( bell’s ) in the outermost rectrices may be of some use . another field mark that if useful would likely be difficult to use in the field .

caution is warranted as we learn about identification of the two species , and for the time being it may be best to leave most birds on the winter grounds as “sage” sparrow or use the modifier presumed / probably . that being said with practice i think most individuals are identifiable in the field . check out this photo of a bell’s sparrow and this one of a sagebursh sparrow posted online . notice the head color in both individuals and despite the photo of the sagebrush sparrow looking like it has a darker head , the contrast between the head and the malar is minimal . the bell’s sparrow shows a strong contrast between the malar and the head . notice also the amount of streaking on the back of each individual ; this characteristic , though , needs further evaluation and should be used possibly only as a supporting characteristic . robert royse’s webpage has a nice selection of both species ( along with nominate bell’s sparrow ) , though more location data would be useful to assure yourself that they couldn’t have been a different taxa than that listed . i also recommend checking out this urltoken post on the identification by song . finally birding is fun has a nice review of the split .

– california on w slopes of c sierra nevada ( s to mariposa county ) and coastal ranges ( from trinity county and shasta county ) s to extreme nw mexico ( nw baja california s to c . 29° n ) .

given that sagebrush and bell’s were once considered to be one species , differences between habitat preferences on their wintering grounds are not well - studied . regional conservation plans that might consider conservation strategies for sage sparrows’ wintering habitat were likely written before the taxonomic split , and just as many listers found themselves with only an unsatisfying sagebrush / bell’s sparrow on their lists after the split , the species themselves are left with a similarly unsatisfying , generic conservation strategy .

initial impressions suggest that bell’s sparrow winters farther east than was generally expected . in absence of detailed field study of multiple markings mentioned by pyle above , we encourage observers to report their observations of wintering individuals as bell’s / sagebrush sparrow ( sage sparrow ) from pima , pinal , and maricopa counties in arizona , as well as in counties in western arizona and southeastern california . careful scope viewing is highly recommended , and one’s impressions of important field markings are definitely impacted by lighting conditions in the field . we have found that it may take me an hour to achieve good looks at only a small fraction of the many wintering artemisiospiza one might find at a location . further , we suggest observers photograph these whenever possible throughout the species’ ranges , and it is always useful to describe the vegetation where you find birds .

birders of the arid southwest have been experiencing headaches this winter , and it is not just dehydration . the recent aou split ( here ) of sage sparrow into two distinct species , bell’s sparrow ( artemisiospiza belli ) and sagebrush sparrow ( a . nevadensis ) , has led to an outbreak of head - shaking and hand - wringing on blogs , listservs , identification discussion groups , and even reviewer discussion groups in the region . chris mccreedy of point blue conservation science provides us with an overview of the challenges and the field work being done to supply some answers .

song described as “tweesitity - slip tweesitity - slip swer” . call a short , bell - like . . .

presumed bell’s sparrow at quail hollow in parker strip ca on 19 jan 2013 . another look at the same individual where you can better see the thick dark malar extending up to the bill , strongly contrasting with the rest of the head . note also again the thin back streaking that is hard to see . copyright ( c ) 2013 david vander pluym

bell ' s sparrow pair reported between mile markers 7 . 1 and 7 . 2 on blue ridge road in mix canyon . the habitat was chamise and manzanita chaparral mixed with oak woodland . male sparrow immediately perched high and visible in shrub when playback was called and began singing . female hid in shrub nearby . all bird species were singing in the early morning chorus ( wrentits , spotted towhees and california thrashers most prominent ) . weather was sunny , clear with a light breeze .

i haven’t explored the blythe area south enough in winter to give good sites there but check urltoken for good locations there . the parker strip is likely your best bet for sage sparrows in california , as along the river there are still nice patches of suaeda . good spots to check include the brush areas around quail hollow day use area and the crossroads campground . i’ve had birds matching bell’s sparrow at both spots ( but see below on problems of identification ) . on the arizona side your best bets are probably pintail slough on the havasu nwr where i’ve also had birds matching bell’s . i’ve had them once in the parker valley and it is likely still worth checking , but that area has lost a lot of habitat to agriculture which is typically unsuitable for sage sparrow . kohen ranch in the bill williams river nwr is another site i have had the species and is worth the hike in winter to check out . interestingly these areas all have a lot of atriplex ( saltbush ) which bell’s sparrow breeds in , perhaps there is some ecological partitioning on the wintering grounds ?

sage sparrow is a terrestrial inhabitant of arid lands including desert with sagebrush and saltbush , open slopes with juniper and pinyon , and chaparral with sagebrush , greasewood , baccharis , and cactus . it inhabits elevations from sea level to about 2000 m . adults have a gray head and white eye ring , a white dot over the lores , black and white malar and sub - malar ( moustache ) stripes , white underparts with a dark breast spot . resemble immature black - throated sparrow ( amphispiza bilineata ) but lack that species’ white supercilium . sage sparrow is widespread in the western u . s . ( races nevadensis and canescens ) , nesting as far north as washington , eastward to wyoming and colorado , and west to california . birds of the western u . s . ( except coastal california ) migrate southward as far south as sonora and chihuahua , mexico . the distinctive race belli of western california ( bell’s sparrow ) nests southward into baja california norte . it is slightly smaller ( length 14 . 5 cm ) and has a smaller bill . it has a darker gray head , a broader black moustache stripe , and is richer brown on the mantle , wings , flanks , and tail . in the central portion of the baja peninsula , bell ' s sparrow is replaced by the similar but paler race cinerea .

by now i am sure that most everyone has heard about the split of sage sparrow into ( at present ) two species : bell’s sparrow ( artemisiospiza belli ) and sagebrush sparrow ( a . nevadensis ) , two names i think are appropriate or at least i can’t think of anything else better . bell’s has multiple subspecies within it and for the purposes of this blog post , all mention of bell’s sparrow refers to a . b . canescens . it is interesting to note that this split is not without its detractors and it is well worth reading the proposal , as well as the literature cited . especially worth reading is patten and unitt 2002 ( claims that canescens is not a valid taxa and should be lumped with nevadensis ) and cicero and johnson 2006 ( which is a rebuttal to the prior paper’s claims ) . really it is a good idea to read over all proposals you have an interest in , as well as any of the publications you can get your hands on ( important parts of which can be left out of the proposals ) . read it and decide for yourself if you agree with the committee decision ! i know i don’t always agree with the decisions , but after reading the material present and committee comments , i can at least usually understand the rationale behind it . anyway i’m getting way off the topic of sage sparrows .

tell congress and the department of the interior to uphold the country ' s most important bird protection law .

( c . h . townsend , 1890 ) – c baja california ( s to 26° n ) .

rising , j . ( 2018 ) . bell ' s sparrow ( artemisiospiza belli ) . in : del hoyo , j . , elliott , a . , sargatal , j . , christie , d . a . & de juana , e . ( eds . ) . handbook of the birds of the world alive . lynx edicions , barcelona . ( retrieved from urltoken on 9 july 2018 ) .

prominence of a supercilium has been cited , but this seems to be variable as well , a complete lack of any pale area in the supercilium may be only found in bell’s , but this could be nearly impossible to tell without a bird in the hand .

same individual as xc382447 and xc382448 . the bird was making this call and hopping between sagebrush ( artemesia sp . ) in a rectangular pattern . it was unclear whether the bird was agitated with my presence , or the presence of other nearby bell ' s sparrows .

13·7–15·7 cm ; 12·7–16·8 g . a medium - sized sparrow , with long tail often held cocked . nominate race has head and nape brownish - grey , . . .

the reason ? it is quite difficult to tell the two species apart in the field ( read here for an excellent summary by peter pyle of some apparent differences in plumage ) . many contend that it is currently impossible to separate the two taxa in the field for a majority of individuals – and perhaps all of them . despair deepens due to the inclusion of the ‘mojave’ subspecies of sage sparrow ( a . b . canescens ) within bell’s sparrow and not with sagebrush . ‘mojave’ canescens are intermediate in appearance . plus , the canescens wintering distribution appears to overlap heavily with sagebrush in southeastern california , southern arizona , and northwest mexico .

only members are able to post public comments . to make the most of all of hbw ' s features , discover our subscriptions now !

as with many inconspicuous sparrows , the best way to find bell’s sparrows is to look for them in the early morning during the breeding season , when males perch out in the open on tall shrubs and sing for your attention . at other times they may be considerably harder to find . just be aware that in the right habitat—particularly in coastal sagebrush in southern california—these sparrows are fairly numerous . they tend to forage on the ground and scurry rather than fly between patches of shrub cover . patient watching and listening either for the sounds of foraging or for this bird’s bell - like tink call will help you find them .

) , in neotropical birds online ( t . s . schulenberg , editor ) . cornell lab of ornithology , ithaca , ny , usa . retrieved from neotropical birds online :

there are many ways to contribute—we need species information , photographs , audio , video , translations , maps , distribution data , and bird sightings . there ' s a role for everyone !

the main reason for this post is that the lcrv is one of the few places were both species can occur . this can present a great opportunity to study each species , as well as for listing with the lcrv being one of the best places for bell’s sparrow in arizona , as well as sagebrush in california . within the lcrv , though , both taxa are reported to occur , but it is not known the exact status of each species . we have not seen many “sage” sparrows in the lcrv , but rosenberg et al 1991 reports that they have a preference for inkweed / iodine weed ( suaeda torreyana ) which is found in alkaline soils and is a localized habitat we do not visit very often . i know this winter though i will be spending more time in it !

this entry was posted in birding locations , havasu nwr , high desert , identification , imperial county , la paz county , lcrv , mohave county , san bernardino county , species profiles , uncategorized and tagged arizona , california , lcrv , mojave desert , sage sparrow , salton sink . bookmark the permalink .

formerly considered part of the same species as the sagebrush sparrow , this bird is locally common in sage scrub habitat near the california coast and locally in open habitats of the interior . it is often seen running about on the ground , with its longish tail cocked up above the level of its back ; when perched up on a shrub , it twitches its tail in a down - up motion like a phoebe .

we hope to have analysis of this month’s work completed by the summer of 2014 , and if additional proposals are successful , we are looking forward to adding more sites in arizona and along an east - west transect across southern california during the winter of 2014 - 2015 . if you are interested in volunteering in the field next season , we need you ! our volunteers enable us to increase capture rates and have made our project a success in arizona . please contact chris mccreedy .

given how new this split is and given the wide range of opinions as to how identifiable in the field the two taxa are , the following paragraph on identification should be considered tentative and in need of further evaluation . the papers used to split the two have cited morphological differences in the form of size , but little on plumage . one thing that is known is that both species molt before they reach the wintering grounds , so once present in the lcrv they should be at their freshest . below i will review some of the field marks i have seen mentioned . currently measurements are considered to be the most reliable way to identify the two species , i think however that the two are identifiable in the field though identification may be difficult especially when the two are worn in summer . the head / malar contrast of birds in the lcrv do seem to differ from those just east of there and some unscientific looking at photos online i am able to identify the majority of birds correctly . at this point i should note that of the field marks discussed below , patten and unitt 2002 only used measurements ( which they did find largely differed ) , mantle shade , and presence of back streaking . things like malar / head contrast were not evaluated . i should also mention that though hybridization appears to be rare ( hence why they were split ) my understanding is that it does occur .

head coloration may be useful , but i think how dark the head is can be difficult to judge and it is better to use the contrast between the head and the malar . i’ve also seen mention of the darkness of the auriculars , but this seems to be variable .

back streaking and mantle shade : both the amount and the boldness of streaking on the back may be useful , but there appears to be overlap , possibly only extremes may be identified using this field mark , or it may be useful in conjunction with other field marks . it may also be more useful when they are fresh as photos online of birds on the wintering grounds seem to have a more noticeable difference than photos from the breeding grounds . some fresh birds do seem to differ in mantle shade , but again it seems to be wear related and a lot of overlap .

primary projection maybe be useful as well , as the wing length measurements differ between the two . however this can be difficult to use in the field and needs further examination .

underpart streaking and coloration has been cited as a field mark , but this seems to be variable and i haven’t noticed any real difference looking at photos .

it may take a while to fully figure out the field marks of these two species , but i think we will come to a better understanding of identification . remember how impossible other splits were thought to be ( like cackling goose ) ? i don’t think this is going to be a “western” flycatcher type split , but one that with time we will come to better understand . course i could always be wrong only time will tell !

literature cited : rosenberg , k . v . , et al . 1991 . birds of the lower colorado river valley . the university of arizona press , tuscon , az .

birder biologists currently living and working in the lower colorado river valley . when not out in the field i spend a lot of my time reading and writing about birds . i have always been drawn to areas under birded and species that we know little about .

david , thank you for a detailed post concerning this split . this will be a challenge at first , but as you pointed out , i think it will become easier to discern the differences over time , especially if a person gets out there and observes them as frequent as possible . thanks again !

all content and photographs © lauren harter and david vander pluym . no commercial use is allowed without permission .

western arizona ebird bar charts : click here . western arizona birding locations : click here . lcrv rarities map : click here .

privacy & cookies : this site uses cookies . by continuing to use this website , you agree to their use . to find out more , including how to control cookies , see here : cookie policy

copyright © 1999 - 2018 john wiley & sons , inc . all rights reserved

enter your email address below . if your address has been previously registered , you will receive an email with instructions on how to reset your password . if you don ' t receive an email , you should register as a new user

as with various other species along california coast , may be vulnerable to loss of habitat . the endemic race on san clemente island , california , is endangered .

coastal sage scrub , chaparral ; in winter , also deserts . found year - round in unique sage scrub habitat on the california coastal slope and foothills . in the interior , also breeds in saltbush , chamise , and other low shrubs of arid flats . in winter some spread eastward into open flats and deserts with scattered brush .

forages mostly on the ground , picking up items from the soil or from plant stems , sometimes scratching with its feet . also does some feeding up in low bushes . when not nesting , may forage in small flocks .

3 - 4 , sometimes 2 - 5 . bluish white to pale blue , variably spotted or blotched with brown , gray , and black . incubation lasts about 13 - 16 days .

probably both parents feed the nestlings . young leave the nest about 9 - 11 days after hatching . often 2 broods per year , sometimes 3 .

mostly seeds and insects . feeds on many insects , especially in summer , including grasshoppers , beetles , true bugs , and others , also spiders . also eats many seeds of weeds , grasses , and shrubs . young are fed mostly insects .

male returns to same nesting territory each year , defends it by singing from a raised perch . nest site is usually in low shrub , less than 4 ' above the ground . sometimes placed on the ground under a shrub . nest is a bulky open cup , made of twigs , sticks , lined with fine dry grass , weeds , sometimes animal hair .

populations west of the sierra in california are mostly permanent residents . those from the interior are more migratory , with some spreading eastward into arizona in winter .

audio © lang elliott , bob mcguire , kevin colver , martyn stewart and others .

visit your local audubon center , join a chapter , or help save birds with your state program .

tell congress to oppose a harmful rider that threatens sage - grouse and other wildlife .

from a broader perspective , each of these species winter in a part of the continent that is projected to be much hotter and drier in the future due to climate change . they winter in arid scrub habitats that respond dramatically to rainfall – and to lack thereof . diminishing seed crops on their wintering grounds due to drought may decrease survival rates and individuals’ condition upon return to their breeding grounds .

given a lack of resolution in the species’ field identification , how can we survey birds to inform land managers and owners on how best to conserve these taxa ? point blue conservation science ( formerly prbo ) is currently in the field in southwestern arizona , hoping to shed as much light as possible on these identification , distribution , and habitat questions . with support from arizona field ornithologists and a cadre of amazing volunteers , we captured individuals at sites near phoenix , yuma , and lake havasu city during the first half of february 2014 . we took measurements on as many of the previously - noted potential differences in field marks and morphology as we could find in the literature and online , have added a few of our own , assessed the appearance of some of these features in different lighting conditions , at different distances and with different optics , and explored apparent differences in habitat preferences between the two species . dr . adrienne kovach ( university of new hampshire ) has offered her assistance to help us ground our captures’ field identification with confirmation of individuals’ sex and species via dna analysis .

previously considered conspecific with a . nevadensis . race canescens , very similar in appearance to a . nevadensis and possibly hybridizing with it where ranges meet , has been thought perhaps to represent a separate species ; alternatively , canescens may simply reunite present species and a . nevadensis ; research needed . race cinerea intergrades with nominate in nc baja california . race clementeae should perhaps be subsumed into nominate . four subspecies provisionally recognized .

generally in dry chaparral and coastal sage scrub , inland valleys , and lower foothills . . . .

variety of animal and plant items . generally seeds and other vegetable matter . young fed with insects . forages principally on or near . . .

) , or mid - apr to mid - may through early jun ( nominate ) . probably monogamous . singing and territory . . .

far n populations of nominate race migratory ; insular populations resident . some nominate birds . . .

not globally threatened . classified as “declining” in the usa ( yellow watchlist priority species for conservation ) . san clemente race

only subscribers are able to see the bibliography . login or subscribe to get access to a lot of extra features !

formerly included in a broader emberizidae . recent phylogeny # r has recovered evidence of eight major clades within this newly recognized grouping : ( i ) melospiza and allies ; ( ii and iii ) melozone , atlapetes , pipilo and allies , which form two sister - clades ; ( iv ) zonotrichia , junco and allies ; and ( v–viii ) all other species , which form a polytomy at base of tree , but can be split into ( a ) arremon , ( b ) spizella , amphispiza , chondestes and calamospiza , ( c ) peucaea , arremonops , ammodramus and rhynchospiza , and finally ( d ) two genera that have often been placed in thraupidae , oreothraupis and chlorospingus .

until recently included in amphispiza , but molecular work indicates that these species are members of a well - resolved clade of “grassland” sparrows that includes pooecetes , oriturus , passerculus , melospiza and xenospiza , as well as several species formerly treated in ammodramus .

get access to the contents of the hbw including all species accounts , family texts , plates , audiovisual links , updates and related resources .

also available : 2 - year subscription package : 55 . 90 € ( instead of 59 . 90 € ) 3 - year subscription package : 82 € ( instead of 89 . 85 € )

supporting members help us to develop and update the project more quickly and to reach more people by keeping prices down .

view more information , tracking references to their source ( when available on the internet ) .

also available : 2 - year subscription package : 82 . 5 € ( instead of 89 . 9 € ) 3 - year subscription package : 122 . 5 € ( instead of 134 . 85 € )

there is a registration fee of 20€ . this is a one - time only fee when you become a subscriber of hbw alive . you won’t pay it again as long as you renew your subscription before it expires .

if you represent an organization or institution , click here for more information on institutional subscriptions .

this map displays aggregated data from ibc and my birding ( anonymously ) ; markers do not indicate precise localities .

hbw alive contains information on descriptive notes , voice , habitat , food and feeding , breeding , movements , status and conservation plus a list of bibliographical references for this species account .

no flash player has been set up . please select a player to play flash videos .

frontal , lateral , and dorsal views of an adult perched on sage singing with others singing near by .

upper big tujunga canyon road mile 2 . 5 , san gabriel mountains , los angeles county , california

recorded at a range of about 10 meters in chaparral dominated by chamise . this area burned extensively during the station fire in 2009 .

equipment : sony pcm - m10 recorder , sennheiser me62 microphone , and a telinga 22 inch parabola . edits : trimmed and normalized to - 3 db . minor handling noise and a distant car are also audible .

recorded at a range of about 15 meters in chaparral dominated by chamise . this area burned extensively during the station fire in 2009 .

equipment : sony pcm - m10 recorder , sennheiser me62 microphone , and a telinga 22 inch parabola . edits : trimmed and normalized to - 3 db .

recorded in an area of extensive chamise bushes that are regenerating after the station fire from 2009 .

equipment : sony pcm - m10 recorder and a sennheiser me67 microphone . edits : trimmed and normalized to - 3 db .

blue ridge road between mile markers 7 . 1 and 7 . 2 , solano county , california

sonogram images © xeno - canto foundation . sonogram images share the same license terms as the recording they depict .

four scenes of adults perched on sage singing . april 2009 , lockwood valley , ventura county , california , usa .

if you come here often , you should tell us ( and the whole world , really ) about yourself in the bio section of your profile .