Common names:
True big-scale tetra, Large Scaled Robber
Lunyolo/Lugungu: Waraga Alur: Gowa Jonam: Owaro

Taxonomic tree
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii (ray-finned fish)
Order: Characiformes (Characins)
Family: Alestidae (African tetras)
Genus: Brycinus
Species: Brycinus macrolepidotus (Valenciennes 1850)
Number of Occurrancies: 35

Etymology (based on Scharpf & Lazara, 2019)

• Brycinus : –inus, an adjectival suffix, i.e., Brycon-like, Brycon being a general term for characiform fishes, derived from bryco, to bite, gnash teeth or eat greedily, originally an allusion to fully toothed maxillae


• macrolepidotus:   macro-, large; lepidotus, scaled, referring to its “très-grandes” scales

Synonyms: click here to view IUCN status

Type locality: Senegal. Holotype at Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)

Distinguishing characters for the genus

• Short snout


• Small and non-protractile mouth; teeth firmly fixed, those of the outer series stout and not compressed basally


• Two series of functional multi-cuspidate teeth in the upper jaw, the outer series usually tri-cuspid and less massive than the stout, many cusped teeth in the inner series 

Distinguishing characters for the species

• Very large scales


• Depth of the body contained up to 3.5-4.5 times in standard length, and length of the head 3.5-4.75 times


• Head much flattened dorsally, 1.75 to twice as long as broad; fronto-parietal fontanelle absent


• Snout pointed, clearly projecting beyond the lower jaw; as long as (in young fishes) to twice diameter of the eye (in adults)


• Maxilla not reaching the anterior orbital margin


• 8-10 teeth in each of the upper jaw series, 6-8 and 2 in the outer and inner lower jaw series


• Long and slender gill rakers, 15-22 on the lower limb of the first gill arch


• Dorsal fin with 9-10 rays, the first two unbranched; its origin considerably nearer the caudal fin than the snout


• Anal fin with 15-17 rays, the first three unbranched


• Lateral line with 22-26 scales; 4.5 scales between the lateral line and the origin of the dorsal fin


• Colour silver, bruish grey dorsally; a dark blotch above the pectoral fin in young fishes and dark, narrow longitudinal band on the flank. These markings are more pronounced after death but are faint life. Dorsal, caudal and adipose fin are orange red or pinkish. In adults, the pectoral and pelvic fins, together with operculum are suffused with a pinkish flush

Taxonomic remarks: The species is commonly reported in old literature as Alestes macrolepidotus, which is currently a senior synonym (Froese and Pauly, 2019).

Distribution in Uganda: Lakes Albert, the Albert and Murchison Niles, Aswa river

Occurence: Native

Habitat: Pelagic, common in inshore regions in lakes, but common in rivers than lakes; potamodromous

Feeding: Insects, bottom debris and small fishes  

Biology: Adult fishes range from 40-55 cm. Spawning sites and season in Uganda unknown. 

Economic importance/End use: Not known, probably for food from incidental catches.

IUCN conservation status: click here to view IUCN status

Threats: Damming, fishing

Main references

• Greenwood PH. 1966. The fishes of Uganda. The Uganda Society, Kampala. 131 pages.


• Sharpf C, Lazara J.K. 2019. Fish Name Etymology Database v17. www.etyfish.org


•  Froese R., Pauly, D. 2019. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, version (12/2019).