Ningu

Labeo victorianus

FAMILY

Cyprinidae

TAXONOMY

Labeo victorianus Boulenger, 1901, Lake Victoria Nyanza, East Africa.

OTHER COMMON NAMES

None known.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Size small to moderate, maximum 15.75 in (40 cm) in standard length. Body long, slightly compressed. Snout profile smooth and rounded. Jaws with horny cutting ridge, with flap of skin in front of upper lip. Barbels hidden. Dorsal fin with 9–10 branched fin rays. Lateral line running along middle of the flank and the caudal peduncle; scales in lateral line 36–39. Olive dorsally, cream-colored ventrally. Dorsal, anal, and pelvic fins often orange-tipped.

DISTRIBUTION

East Africa: Lake Victoria (Nile drainage basin).

HABITAT

Shallow inshore waters and influent rivers.

BEHAVIOR

Spends most of its life span in lakes, but migrates to spawn in flooded grasslands beside both permanent and temporary streams.

FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET

Feeds on detritus and algae. Also feeds on rotifers growing on the bodies of other fishes.

REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY

Migrates to rivers to spawn in flood season.

CONSERVATION STATUS

Not listed by IUCN. This species has been adversely affected by overfishing and predation by the introduced Nile perch.

SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS

Important food fish.