Some Varieties of Synodontis petricola

Post by **Dinyar** » 08 Mar 2003, 16:26

Here's a preliminary sample of some fish that seem to be Synodontis petricola or part of the Synodontis petricola species complex. More to come as I catch and photograph the rest.

Synodontis cf. petricola "dwarf", Zambia?
"Dwarf" Juvenile

"Dwarf" Adult

What I assume to be the "real" Synodontis petricola, Burundi?

Synodontis petricola "Zambia"

Synodontis cf. petricola "giant", Tanzania?

Comments?

Dinyar

Sid Guppy · Post by **Sid Guppy** » 08 Mar 2003, 21:29

Impressive!!
AFAIK you're really on to it; there are even some that I haven't seen before: that Zambian petricola for example: it looks a lot like a dwarf exept for that mouth....
How big is that one, and is it a single; or do you have a few?

And the giants I've seen were quite a bit lighter in color; and had a wider mouth; like that Zambian has. It might be the tank in wich they were; but they had less spots and the white parts were more prominent. Maybe there are a few "Giants" not just one....
How big is that "Giant" petricola?

That Burundi matches perfectly with what I know as such.

Those are pics of your own fish?

Post by **Silurus** » 08 Mar 2003, 22:21

AFAIK from what I can see now. The Zambian petricola is definitely an undescribed species. Hopefully, Rusty can tell you more in a few months time (when I've done enough cracking of the whip...heh heh).

Post by **Dinyar** » 09 Mar 2003, 04:48

Quoting SG_Eurystomus below:

> How big is that [Zambian petricola] , and is it a single; or do you have a few?

About 8 cm SL. I have two. I have the opportunity to get some more, but a certain friend of mine

has told me I have too many fish in my tank, so I think I'll have to resist this temptation!

> And the giants I've seen were quite a bit lighter in color; and had a wider mouth; like that
> Zambian has. It might be the tank in wich they were; but they had less spots and the white
> parts were more prominent. Maybe there are a few "Giants" not just one....

Could be. Erwin Schraml, a good friend who knows his fish, thinks this fish looks more like S. tanganaicae. IMO, I also have S. tanganaicae and it looks different from the fish I captioned as S. petricola "giant". There is a similarity, though.

> How big is that "Giant" petricola?

10-11 cm SL
>
> That Burundi matches perfectly with what I know as such.
>
> Those are pics of your own fish?

The top two of the "dwarf" petris are not my pix (though I have dwarf petris also), and the second picture of the "real" Burundi petricola is not my fish. All others are.

I also have an unusual Zambian petri with a very copper color and a very rounded head. It rarely hangs out in the open, so is hard to photograph. Another 3-4 fishes that look rather like petris in body shape but have coloring more similar to S. polli. They each look different, I don't think they are the same race/species.

This is one of the fish on the petri-polli interface:

Different from my "real" polli, but also different from my other petris.

The other pictures I'll post when I can get good pix of these fish without having to tear the tank down.

Dinyar

Post by **Dinyar** » 09 Mar 2003, 04:56

Silurus wrote:AFAIK from what I can see now. The Zambian petricola is definitely an undescribed species. Hopefully, Rusty can tell you more in a few months time (when I've done enough cracking of the whip...heh heh).

Cool! We're both excited. I'm especially delighted that I can partially hand over the whip cracking role to you on this subject!

. He's a good fry, though.

Dinyar

Sid Guppy · Post by **Sid Guppy** » 09 Mar 2003, 15:45

LMAO!
poor Rusty

That last pic looks quite a bit like what I know as Zambian polli or "polli II"; how big is that fish, and I want to know if it's dorsal spine ever was white; the way the color is divided is definitely different from petricola, the eye is bigger too, not to mention a lot more 'coppery' if you get my drift....
Does it have a broad band of orange teeth in the upper jaw and a smaller but fairly visible band in the lower? Polli, "polli II" and all "petricola's" can be fairly well distinguished by their teeth; you should see the faces of customers when I am alowed to catch my own cats in a LFS and pick them up by hand to shine on their teeth with a small flashlight....
it's a sight to behold!

Post by **Dinyar** » 09 Mar 2003, 17:21

Just heard from Aaron Kerigan on where "dwarf" petricola come from. This is what he has to say:

There are a couple of dwarfs that I have heard of. one comes from the north and supposedly is a lighter form. The ones you got were from Zambia and are a little darker.

Dinyar