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Protopterus annectens

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family
ANIMALIA CHORDATA SARCOPTERYGII LEPIDOSIRENIFORMES PROTOPTERIDAE

Scientific Name: Protopterus annectens
Species Authority: (Owen, 1839)
Infra-specific Taxa Assessed:
Common Name/s:
English – African Lungfish, Lungfish, Mudfish, Tana Lungfish, West African Lungfish
Synonym/s:
Lepidosiren annectens Owen, 1839
Lepidosiren annectens Owen, 1839
Lepidosiren tobal Castelnau, 1855
Lepidosiren tobal Castelnau, 1855
Protopterus anguilliformis Owen, 1841
Protopterus anguilliformis Owen, 1841
Taxonomic Notes: Two subspecies are known - P. a. annectens and P. a. brieni.

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria: Least Concern ver 3.1
Year Published: 2009
Assessor/s: Snoeks, J., Laleye, P. & Contreras-MacBeath, T.
Reviewer/s: Collen, B., Darwall, W., Ram, M. & Smith, K. (SRLI Freshwater Fish Evaluation Workshop)
Contributor/s:
Justification:
P. annectens has been assessed as Least Concern because it has a very large range, and there are no known widespread threats to the species.

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description: P. a. annectens is found in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Cote d'Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Togo; this subspecies is found in, but not limited to, the Volta, Chad, Bandama and Comoé basins, and temporary tributaries of Chari River.

P. a. brieni is found in Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe; this sub-species is distributed throughout the upper Congo River (Luapula), middle and lower Zambezi basin and all east coast rivers south to the Limpopo River, the upper Cubango and Okavango system and Lake Rukwa. This subspecies has also been translocated to additional sites in the Kruger National Park in South Africa (Ref. 7248).
Countries:
Native:
Angola (Angola); Benin; Burkina Faso; Cameroon; Central African Republic; Chad; Congo, The Democratic Republic of the; Côte d'Ivoire; Gambia; Ghana; Guinea; Kenya; Malawi; Mali; Mozambique; Niger; Nigeria; Senegal; Sierra Leone; Sudan; Tanzania, United Republic of; Togo; Zambia; Zimbabwe
Introduced:
South Africa
Range Map: Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Population [top]

Population: Currently, there is a lack of detailed population numbers and the global trend is unknown.
Population Trend: Unknown

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology: P. annectens is a demersal and potamodromous (migrates within fresh water only) species, found in marginal swamps and backwaters of rivers and lakes. It normally lives on flood plains, and when these dry up it secretes a thin slime around itself which dries into a cocoon.
Systems: Freshwater

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s): There are no threats known to be currently affecting this species.

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions: Regional red listing for West Africa is Least Concern.
Citation: Snoeks, J., Laleye, P. & Contreras-MacBeath, T. 2009. Protopterus annectens. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 18 May 2013.
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