sharkthevandal
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
just got a new Polypterus palmas to day. its about 3-1/2 " long (approximately), and is one of the coolest fish i have seen at my lfs. dose any one else out there have one of these. how fast do they grow?
sharkthevandal said:just got a new Polypterus palmas to day. its about 3-1/2 " long (approximately), and is one of the coolest fish i have seen at my lfs. dose any one else out there have one of these. how fast do they grow?
Fruitbat said:There are three subspecies of Polypterus palmas. These are: P. palmas palmas, P. palmas polli, and P. palmas buettekoferi. The three can be quite difficult to distingush but here is some information that might help:
1) Polypterus palmas palmas - Comes from the Cavally River basin in Côte d'Ivoire and the river basins of eastern Liberia up to the St. John River. Dorsal surface of the body is grey colored, with dark grey to black irregular blotches forming a dense and reticulate pattern, ventral surface uniform pale. The fleshy base of the pectoral fin with small spots on the posterior part. Dorsal fin spotted, no dark coloration on pelvic and anal fin.
2) Polypterus palmas polli - Comes from Central Africa: Lower and central Congo basin. Dorsal surface and flanks with large black blotches, forming a dense reticulate pattern, ventral surface uniform pale. The fleshy base of the pectoral fin with a large grey to black spot. Dorsal fin spotted, pectoral fin with a striped pattern in some specimens, pelvic fin pale and anal fin sometimes slightly colored.
3) Polypterus palmas buettekoferi - Comes from West Africa: Known from the Upper Casamance River in Senegal to the Saint Paul River in western Liberia. Dorsal surface of the body is grey colored, ventral surface uniform pale. The flanks have numerous small grey spots; the specimens of Guinea and Senegal show a few large, well-separated blotches on the flanks. The fleshy base of the pectoral fin grey colored on the posterior side. Dorsal fin spotted, pelvic fin unpigmented, pectoral, caudal and anal fins dark.
Good luck!
Fruitbat said:All I can say definitively is that your Polypterus palmas polli is identified correctly. Notice the dark spot on the fleshy part of the pectoral fin on your specimen (typical of polli). Unfortunately...none of your pictures shows the same feature on your unknown Polypterus. If I had to venture an educated guess...I'd say your unknown is probably Polypterus palmas palmas. The thing that leads me to this conclusion is the lack of a dark spot visible (at least in the pictures) on the pectoral fins of your unknown. The pectorals on P. palmas buettekoferi should be dark and your unknown certainly does NOT have that characteristic.
Fruitbat said:That would definitely help. Try to get good shots of the pectorals, ventrals and anal fin. Those are the most diagnostic features that we have to work with.