FSM 202/303

THE IMPORTANT FISHES OF WEST AFRICA WITH EMPHASIS ON

NIGERIA SPECIES
Fish and Shell Fish Species of Nigeria
Commercially Important Fin Fish Species in Nigeria
Among the fin fish families and species recognised in Nigerian waters certain families
are of commercial importance therefore, are widely cultured across the country as well as
in some parts of Africa. Some of the known families are hereby highlighted with
emphasis on few species in each family.
3.3.1 Family Clariidae (Catfish)
This family belongs to the catfish family and is generally without scales. They have
mouths, very strong heads and the mouth part possess well- developed barbells. They are
commonly found in swamps, streams, rivers and lakes. Breeding migration is carried out
in school during the onset of rainy season. They move from deep swampy areas or lakes
to flowing shallow streams to spawn. Clariidae is divided into three genera: Clarias,
Heterobranchus and Gymnallabes
The Clarias and Heterobranchus have broad flattened heads, which are rough and
granular with wide mouth. They have strong spines in front of each pectoral fin and also
a structure situated close to the gills which aids breathing for some time outside water.
The main distinguishing feature between Clarias and Heterobranchus is that Clarias has
rayed dorsal fin which extends the entire body length of the fish while Heterobranchus
has a rayed dorsal fin followed by a large adipose fin.
(a) Genus Clarias
These species are so identical that one could hardly make distinction between them. They
are widely distributed around West Africa and Clarias gariepinus remains the most
widely cultured fish species in Nigeria for commercial purpose. Other species are Clarias
anguillaris, C. jaensis, C. macromystax, C. albopunctatus, C. camerunensis, C.
agboyiensis, C. dahomgensis, C. pachynema. The head length is about
30.8% of the standard length, front fontanel long and narrow and distance between
extremes of dorsal fin and origin of caudal fin is
0.0-7.6% of standard length. Vomerine teeth are present and are mostly pointed or
granular. C. gariepinus is an omnivorous bottom feeder,
feeding on plankton, detritus, insect larva, small fishes such as Tilapia and Alestes.

Clarias gariepinus (Burchell, 1822).

(b) Genus Heterobranchus
There are three species of Heterobranchus widely distributed about in West Africa. They
are Heterobranchus bidorsalis, H. longifilis and H. isopterus, H. bidorsalis and H.
longifilis are the most I portent commercial species in Nigeria. Growth is very rapid and
it can reach up to 1.5m in length with a weight of 30kg. The head is well depressed and
coarsely granulated more than Clarias. Vomerine which is 20.8-255 head length,
premaxillary with 25.2-30.9% head length and the dorsal fin consists of the rayed fin and
the adipose fin which has no spot. It is an omnivore, feeding on seeds, fruits, other plant
materials, gastropods, crustaceans, Chrysichthys spp., Tilapia spp. and Brycinus spp.
( c ) Genus Gymnallabes : is worm-like with soft unossified head bones, its dorsal fin is continuous with
caudal and anal fins. The only species so far recorded is Gymnallabes typus

.Reasons for Wide Culturing of Clarias

1. It is generally acceptable in the market

2. It can breed in captivity
3. Clarias are omnivores and so can be fed with varieties of food materials
4. It has sweet flavor and highly palatable
5. It has ability to withstand stress where other types of fish can not survive.

Heterobranchus bidorsalis (Geoffrey Saint-Hilaire, 1809 )

Heterobranchus longifilis (Valenciennes, 1840)

Heterobranchus isopterus (Blecker, 1863)

2 Family Bagridae
This family has five genera and these are: Bagrus, Chrysichthys, Clarotes, Auchenoglanis
and Parauchenoglanis. The most common species to Nigeria are: Bagrus domac niger,
Chrysichthys nigrodigitatus, Chrysichthys auratus, Chrysichthys funcatus, Clarotes
laticeps, Clarotes macrocephalus, and Bagrus bayad.
Family Bagridae are also scales but moderately elongated. They have two dorsal fins, the
first rayed in all and the second being adipose fin which is large in genera Bagrus and
Anchenoglanis but small in Chrysichthys and Clarotes. They have maxillary, mandibular
and nasal barbells .
(a) Genus Bagrus
This genus has moderately elongated body and is bluish-grey. It has four pairs of barbells
and common species are B. bayad, B. docmac and B. filamentosus.

Bagrus docmak(Forsskall, 1775)

Bagrus bayad (Forsskall,

1775)

Bagrus filamentosus (Pellegrin, 1924)

(b) Genus Chrysichthys

The common species in this genus are: Chrysichthys nigrodigitatus, C. walkeri, C.
auratus, C. furcatus and C. aluuensis. They are referred to as silver catfish and have
protruding oval-shapes. The first large dorsal fin has 5-6 rays proceeded by 1-2 spines.
(c) Genus Clarotes
This genus comprises of mainly Clarotes laticeps and Clarotes macrocephalus as
member species. They are basically bottom dwellers in water bodies such as swamps,
rivers and lakes. The head of C. laticeps is relatively small and cranium ornamentation
easily visible but which is not easily visible in C. macrocephalus. C. laticeps can weigh
up to 8kg- 10kg at 70cm in length while C. macrocephalus of 10kg would be about
1000cm. They are piscivorous in feeding habit preying on prawns, species of tilapia,
alestes, clupeids and synodontis.
3 Family Ariidae
The common species in this family are Arius latiscutatus, A. gigas, and A. heudeloti.
They are commonly referred to as marine catfish being mostly found in marine waters.
Apart from A. gigas which appears to be the only pure fresh water species all others
belong to estuaries, mouth of rivers and lagoon habitats. Members of the Ariidae family
are known to live solitary life, piscivorous with inferior mouth type predating small fish
species and prawns. They have adipose fin and can weigh up to
50kg.

Arius gigas
4 Family Mochokidae
This family consists of basically five genera; Mochocus, Brachysynodontis,
Hemisynodontis, Synodontis and Chiloglanis accounting for over twenty species all
together. They are characterised by short, stumpy bodies and a bony (cephalonuchal)
head shield, both the dorsal and anal fins have serrated spine, which can be locked in an
extended position. It is used in self defense which makes it difficult to catch or handle the
fish with bare hand. They have large adipose fin extending from the end of the first dorsal
fin to the caudal fin. They are referred to as up-side down catfish. Common species of
this family include Synodontis clarias, S. resupinatus, S. budgetti, S. batensoda, S. sorex,
S. vermiculatus, S. ocellifer, S. omias, S. gambiensis, S. eupterus, S. gobroni, Mochocus
niloticus, Hemisynodontis membranaceous, Chiloglanis niloticus, C. batessi.
They are characterised by inferior mouth type with barbells and feed mostly on insect
larva, detritus, algae and small invertebrates attached to rocks or other under-water-
surfaces.

Mochokus spp

Synodontis vermiculatus (Daget, 1954)

Synodontis sorex(Gunther, 1864)

Synodontis violaceus (Pellegrin, 1919)

Synodontis courteti(Pellegrin,
1906)
5 Family Cichlidae (Tilapia)
Tilapia are mostly regarded as herbivores but they have been found to also feed on small
invertebrates or on small size fishes in which case are better regarded as omnivores. They
have usually large cycloid scales and body is laterally compressed. They possess two
lateral lines with the upper one running from the head to the base or the end of the dorsal
fin and the second running below from the end of the dorsal fin to the caudal fin. The
dorsal fin consists of a spiny first half and the second soft-branched rays without a break.
Tilapias are characterised by high fecundity in reproduction and are fond of guarding
their young ones. There is presence of black spot on tilapia that is more pronounced in
the juveniles but which become less conspicuous in the adult. Tilapia have up to six
genera which are; Chromidotilapia, Hemichromis, Oreochromis, Tilapia, Sarotherodon
and Tylochromis. They are usually found moving in schools (gregarious).
Reasons for Culturing Tilapia
(i) They can grow well on low protein food substances. (ii) They breed with high
fecundity
(iii) They can tolerate wide range of environmental condition. (iv) The flesh of tilapia is
sweet and highly palatable
(v) They can easily convert agricultural wastes to feed ingredient efficiently
(vi) Tilapia can be stocked intensively and under various culture systems
Some of the common known species are Tilapia zillii, T. rendalli, Oreochromis niloticus,
O. mossambicus, O. aureus, Sarotherodon galilaeus, S. melanotheron, Hemichromis
fasciatus, and H. bimaculatus.

Oreochromis niloticus (Linne, 1758)

Tilapia guineensis (Bleeker, 1862)

Chromidotilapia guntheri guntheri

Oreochromis aureus (Steindachner, 1864)

Hemichromis fasciatus (Peters, 1852)

Tilapia zilli (Gervais, 1848)

Some Commercially Important Shellfish Species in

Nigeria
The shell fish resources of Nigeria waters include marine shrimps, crabs, lobsters, oysters
e.t.c. These shell fishes have proven to be very resourceful in terms of rich protein
sources in the diets of man and being a good source of foreign exchange thereby
enriching Nigerian economy. Artisanal and industrial fishing activities are of great
importance in our coastal and marine waters. Artisanal sector consists of small sub-
sectors such as lagoon, estuarine and inshore canoe fisheries, which are characterized by
low capital outlay and remains the main source of fish production in Nigeria. The
industrial sector however involves high capital outlay required to employ advance
technology, purchase vessels and build cold storage e.t.c.
1. Shrimps and Prawns
Shrimps and pawns are used jointly in most parts of the world in a state of confusion. In
most recent aquaculture study, the name prawn appears to be used for fresh water forms
of Palaemonids and shrimps for the others, particularly the marine species. Shrimps and
prawns have become high-value commodities in many developing countries, including
Nigeria mainly because of their export market potential. Species of prawn
(Palaemonidae) include Palaemonetes monodon, P. indicus, and P. orientalis while
family Penaeidae includes species such as Panaeus orientalis, P. monodon, P. japonicus
and P. setiferus.
In the present state of knowledge on shrimp nutrition, fresh food continues to be
important in larval and fry rearing, as well as adult grow-out. Commercial feeds are
becoming available in many areas, but their acceptance in commercial farming is rather
slow. When used, many farmers supplement them with natural foods and feedstuffs.
2. Crayfishes and Crabs
Aquaculturists worldover have devoted more time for the culture of crayfishes
(crawfishes), lobsters and crabs due to high market demand for them. However, it is only
crayfishes that presently account for any significant production through culture and some
small-scale production of crabs have also been exported from tropical countries, Nigeria
exclusive. The long time (gestation period) the juveniles take to grow to market size and
pronounced cannibalism at both larva and adult stages, have made available technologies
for culture uneconomical commercially. Crayfishes belong to families Cambaridae and
Astacidae and it is widely distributed over all continents including Africa. The most
important species include Procambarus clarkii, Pacifastacus leniusculus, and P. acutus.
The breeding season of crayfish is around September when rising water level entices the
females to release the young and become more active outside their burrows. Crayfish are
omnivorous but the bulk of their diet consists of microbial-enriched detritus. Vascular
plants and epiphytes are also relished as food items while animal matters or remains such
as worms, insect larva, mollusks and zooplankton are very much preferred by juvenile
crayfish.
Crabs belong to the family Brachyura and the common species for commercial purpose is
the Pre-moult blue crabs (Callinectes sapidus) in the U.S.A. Apart from this, Japan has
been the country with the widest or largest commercial production level of crab in the
world. Seed stock
of the Japanese blue crab Neptunus pelagicus is regularly produced in hatcheries for
stocking open waters as well as larva of Portunus trituberculatus. Other successfully
spawned species in Japan is the king crab, Paralithodes camtschatica. This stage of crab
production is however not met by Nigeria aquaculture status as it is under exploited.
There are three groups of marine crabs found in Nigeria waters. They are:
(a) The estuarine species which include members of the family
Gecarcinidae and Grapsidae.
(b) The swimming species in inshore waters all belonging to the family Portunidae.
(c) The deep sea crabs, mainly Geryonidae, which form is an
important component of the benthic ecosystem on the continental shelf.
3 Oysters
Cultivated oysters belong to two genera: Crassostrea (the cupped oysters) and Ostrea
(flat oysters). Though aquaculture production of cupped oysters is much higher than that
of flat oysters, the latter are held in greater esteem to be served on the half-shell, and
command a much higher price in many countries. The more important species being
cultivated world over are; Crassostrea gigas (Pacific oyster), C. virginica (American
oyster), C. angulata (Portuguese oyster), C. commercialis (Sydney rock oyster), C.
glomerata (Auckland rock oyster), C. plicatula (Chinese oyster), C. rivularis (Chinese
oyster), Ostrea edulis (European oyster), Ostrea edulis (European oyster), O. chilensis
(Chilean oyster) and Crassostrea gasar (Mangrove oyster).
Although, not yet at commercial production stage, Crassostrea gasar is found in
abundance in mangrove water of Nigeria coastal swamps and have been exploited
subsistently. Other bivalves that are being exploited in Nigeria include the ark clams
Senilla senilis, Anadara senegalensis and Cardium costratum.