Synodontis pleurops, known as the Congo squeaker,[2] the bigeye squeaker,[2] or the bug eyed synodontis,[3][4] is a species of upside-down catfish native to the upper Congo Basin of Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo.[2] It was first described by the Belgian-British zoologist George Albert Boulenger in 1899, based upon a holotype discovered at the Boyoma Falls, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.[3]
The body of the fish is brown and mottled, with brown edges on the caudal fin lobes.[4] It is whitish on the underside.[5] The species is noted for its large head and eyes.[3][4] As individuals age the colors tend to fade somewhat.[4]
Like other members of the genus, this fish has a humeral process, which is a bony spike that is attached to a hardened head cap on the fish and can be seen extending beyond the gill opening.[3] The first ray of the dorsal fin and the pectoral fins have a hardened first ray which is smooth in the front and serrated on the back, a little shorter than the head.[5] The caudal fin is deeply forked.[5] It has short, cone-shaped teeth in the upper jaw.[3] In the lower jaw, the teeth are s-shaped and movable.[3] The fish has one pair of long maxillary barbels, extending far beyond the operculum, and two pairs of mandibular barbels that are often branched.[3][4] The adipose fin is small, 2 to 3 times as long as deep.[5] The anal fin is pointed.[5]
This species grows to a length of 23 centimetres (9.1 in) SL although specimens up to 32.5 centimetres (12.8 in) TL have been recorded in the wild.[2][3]
In the wild, the species inhabits tropical waters with a temperature range of 22 to 26 °C (72 to 79 °F), a pH of 6.0 – 7.0, and dH range of up to 10.[2] It has been found throughout the Congo River basin, with the exception of the Luapula River system.[6]
Synodontis pleurops, known as the Congo squeaker, the bigeye squeaker, or the bug eyed synodontis, is a species of upside-down catfish native to the upper Congo Basin of Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo. It was first described by the Belgian-British zoologist George Albert Boulenger in 1899, based upon a holotype discovered at the Boyoma Falls, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
