Tigerfish can refer to fish from various families, and derives from official and colloquial associations of these with the tiger ( Panthera tigris). However, the primary species designated by the name "tigerfish" are African and belong to the family Alestidae.
African tigerfish
Several species belonging to the genus
Hydrocynus of the family
Alestidae are referred to as "tigerfish", and are particularly prized as
game fish. These
fish are found in many rivers and lakes on the continent and are fierce predators with distinctive, proportionally large teeth.
The goliath tigerfish ( Hydrocynus goliath) is among the most famous tigerfish. The largest one on record is said to have weighed .[ Goliath Tigerfish, Animal Planet (March 18, 2014).] It is found in the Congo River system and Lake Tanganyika and is the largest member of the family Alestidae. Another famous species, simply called the tigerfish ( Hydrocynus vittatus), is commonly found in the southernly Okavango Delta, and the Zambezi River, and also in the two biggest lakes along the Zambezi, Lake Kariba which borders Zimbabwe and Zambia, Kabombo River in Zambia and Cabora Bassa in Mozambique, and finally in the Pongolapoort Dam in South Africa. Both the goliath tigerfish and its smaller relative the tigerfish are found in Africa.
Behavior
In the western gamefishing world,
Hydrocynus vittatus is considered Africa's equivalent of the South American
piranha,
[ Africa's Piranha, Smithsonian Channel (accessed September 28, 2015)] though it belongs to a completely different zoological family. Like the piranha, individual tigerfish have interlocking, razor-sharp teeth, along with streamlined, muscular bodies, and are extremely aggressive and capable predators who often hunt in groups. The African tigerfish has been recorded to attack and catch birds in flight.
[ Fish leaps to catch birds on the wing (video), Nature.com (January 9, 2014).]
cichlids">
Cichlids
The name "tigerfish" has occasionally been used for a species of
cichlid in the genus
Rhamphochromis. The species is large, silver-coloured, and individuals typically have one or more black lines running the length of either flank. These fish are native to
Lake Malawi in Africa. Like the other African tigerfish species, they are famed for possessing large, prominent teeth, and they are known to attack humans.
datnioididae">
Datnioididae
Several species of
Coius (or
Datnioides, depending on the taxonomic authority) have been referred to as "tigerfish", particularly in
fishkeeping books and magazines. They are large, wide-bodied fish whose flanks are covered by vivid black stripes.
erythrinidae">
Erythrinidae
The large South American
of the family
Erythrinidae have also sometimes been called "tigerfish".
See also
-
Tiger fish – Guide to the Tiger fish (Hydrocynus forskalii)
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External links
