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The food and feeding habits of Physailia pellucida and Schilbe mystus with notes on the diets of S. uranoscopus and Siluranodon auritus , family Schilbeidae (Osteichthyes: Siluriformes) in Lake Kainji, Nigeria
Author(s) -
OLATUNDE AKINOLA A.
Publication year - 1979
Publication title -
freshwater biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.297
H-Index - 156
eISSN - 1365-2427
pISSN - 0046-5070
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2427.1979.tb01501.x
Subject(s) - biology , crustacean , zoology , ecology , competition (biology) , fish <actinopterygii> , fishery
SUMMARY. The food and feeding patterns of four schilbeids in Lake Kainji were studied between November 1974 and October 1975. Physailia pellucida , a small but abundant species, fed on small crustaceans and immature insects, while Schilbe mystus , a larger but less common schilbeid, fed principally on fish, with insects as a supplementary item in its diet. The rare species, Schilbe uranoscopus , was piscivorous, Siluranodon auritus , another small and rare species, is a herbivore feeding mainly on algae, with some crustaceans and immature insects taken as a source of animal protein. Preferential food selection by different length groups was found in S. mystus and P. pellucida . There were seasonal changes in the dietary items. Competition for food within the family was assumed not to occur in view of the different feeding habits of the species.