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Common names:
Marbled lungfish
Lunyoro/Luganda: Mamba Jonam/Lango: Lut North-Eastern Uganda: Ebileng

Taxonomic tree
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Sarcopterygii (lobe-finned fishes)
Order: Ceratodontiformes (Lungfishes)
Family: Protopteridae (African lungfishes)
Genus: Protopterus
Species: Protopterus aethiopicus (Heckel, 1851)
Number of Occurrancies: 578

Etymology(based on Sharpf & Lazara, 2018)


  • Protopterus: protos, meaning first; pterus, meaning fin, referring to rudimentary or embryonic condition of its fins

  • aethiopicus: –icus, belonging to: Aethiopia, classical Greek term for the upper Nile region, where it occurs

Synonyms: click here to view synonyms on FishBase

Type locality: White Nile, Sudan. Holotype at National Museum of Wales (NMW)

Distinguishing characters for the genus


  • An elongate and sub-cylindrical body

  • A pointed tail that is confluent with the long dorsal and anal fins

  • Pectoral fins that are slender and filamentous

  • Toothless jaws with the dentition consisting of upper and lower tooth-plates in form of sharp cutting ridges

  • Thin scales that are deeply embedded in the skin

Distinguishing charaters for the species (Only 1 species occurs in Uganda): The characters used to identify the genus above suffice to identify the species in Ugandan waters. Colour is varibale depending on substrate and water trurbidity; typically dark slaty-grey dorsally and yellowish grey or pinkish ventrally, often with numerous dark spots.

Distribution in Uganda: Widely distributed across the country's water bodies. Known in all major lakes (Victoria, Kyoga, Edward, Albert and George) and affluent rivers, minor lakes (although not known from Nakivali and Kijanebalola), small streams and swamps associated with major rivers and lakes.

Occurence: Native

Habitat: Demersal, living and feeding mainly at the bottom. In large lakes, the species occurs most abundantly in shallow inshore regions, especially in vicinity of swamps, although occasionary can be found in deep water.  Deep water lake populations still move to inshore wetlands when ready to spawn and may return to open waters soon after spawning. Juveniles are common in matted roots of papyrus. Since the fish must surface at frequent interals for air breathing, the depth of water is important in determining its distribution within a lake.

Feeding: Predominantly molluscivore (feeding on both gasptropods and bivalves), although it also takes in insects and small/juvenile fishes.

Biology: Marbled lungfish breathes by means of well-developed, paired lungs and degenerate gills. The true external gills, which occur in young fishes, are usually absent in individuals above 15 cm total length. The species is also known for its aestivating habits, where it burrows into mud at the onset of a dry season. Under the mud, it forms a sac-like enlargement (lined by a capsule of harhed mucus) at the botttom of the burrow, which protects the fish from extreme dehydration. Aestivation may not be a common occurence in Uganda since most populations live in permanent water bodies, except in seasonal swamps and rice fields in Eastern Uganda. With regard to breeding, the Marbled lunfish exhibits parental care, where pits or hole nests are made, guarded, and constantly aerated by males for up to eight weeks. Once the eggs are laid, the female leaves the nest (without coming back) and the male assumes all parental roles. After fertilization, the eggs hatch in about two weeks and the male stays around until the young fish have developed external gills (at about 3.5 cm total length). Juveniles are common in matted roots of papyrus. Males may become mature at a larger size than females, possibly because they must construct and defend nest sites, and provide care to eggs and young. Breeding is pricipally seasonal, and largely occurs during the rainy season in sheltered bays and water fringed with papyrus. Fecundity ranges between 468-58,222 eggs.

Economic importance/End use: No quantitative data available on economic value. In major lakes, it forms a local commercial fishery, but around small water bodies it only constitutes a local subsistence fishery, mainly harvested for food. It is harvetsed mainly by using bottom set baited long lines or gillnets (incase of shallow waters). Preparation for human food is mainly by boiling, smoking, or deep frying.

IUCN conservation status: click here to view IUCN status

Threats: Habitat degredation, especially clearence of near-shore wetlands and papyrus where the species feeds and breeds

Main references


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

  • Sharpf C, Lazara J.K. 2018. Fish Name Etymology Database v2. www.etyfish.org

  • Witte F & van Densen W.L.T. 1995. Fish Stocks and Fisheries of Lake Victoria: a handbook for field observations. Samara Publishing Limited, Netherlands

     



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Citation


Natugonza, V. & Musinguzi, L. (editors) 2021. Freshwater Biodiversity Portal for Uganda. www.freshwaterbiodiversity.go.ug, version (01/2021).

Contact


National Fisheries Resources Research Institute (NaFIRRI)
P.O Box 343, Jinja, Uganda
Telephone: +256 434 121369 / +256 434 120484
General Inquiries: inquiries@freshwaterbiodiversity.go.ug
Technical Support: info@freshwaterbiodiversity.go.ug,
Physical Location: Nile Crescent, Opposite the wagon ferry Terminal, Plot 39/45, Jinja, Uganda