Channallabes apus
(Günther 1873) Teugels 1986
| ORDER | SUB-ORDER | FAMILY |
|---|---|---|
| Siluriformes | Siluroidei | Clariidae |
Synonyms
Gymnallabes apus Günther 1873
Country
Lower Congo River: freshwaterTypes
Only a holotype has been assigned: BMNH 1873.7.28.16.
Systematics
There are six species in the genus:
Channallabes alvarezi (Roman 1971), Channallabes apus (Günther 1873), Channallabes longicaudatus (Pappenheim 1911), Channallabes ogooensis Devaere, Adriaens and Verraes 2007, Channallabes sanghaensis Devaere, Adriaens and Verraes 2007, Channallabes teugelsi Devaere, Adriaens and Verraes 2007.
Biological Notes
The lower Congo River, and especially the northern and southern rapids below Pool Malebo, are home to many endemic species (Roberts and Stewart 1976, Bailey 1986, Thieme et al. 2005, Mamonekene 2005, Alter et al. 2015, Alter et al. 2017, Stiassny 2016). In particular there are at least eleven species, in five Families, which exhibit the troglomorphic features of reduced eyes and pigment:
Clariidae
Channallabes apus (Günther 1873)
Dolichallabes microphthalmus Poll 1942
Gymnallabes nops Roberts and Stewart 1976
Platyallabes tihoni (Poll 1944) Poll 1977
Claroteidae
Notoglanidium pallidum Roberts and Stewart 1976
Mastacembelidae
Mastacembelus aviceps Roberts and Stewart 1976
Mastacembelus brichardi (Poll 1958) Vreven 2005
Mastacembelus crassus Roberts and Stewart 1976
Mastacembelus latens Roberts and Stewart 1976
Cichlidae
Lamprologus lethops Roberts and Stewart 1976
Mormyridae
Stomatorhinus microps Boulenger 1898
These features probably evolved because these species live at depth within the rapids and spend their whole lives in permanent darkness, analagous to life in caves. The ocular and craniofacial anatomy of several of these species have been studied (Schobert et al. 2010, 2011, 2013) but almost nothing else is known about these animals.
Conservation Status
da Costa, L. and Moelants, T. 2010. Channallabes apus . The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2010: e.T167976A6429084. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-3.RLTS.T167976A6429084.en. Downloaded on 18 March 2020.
Internet Resources
Main page for the Congo Project
Elizabeth Alter's work on Congo fishes
New York Times article with good photographs
Convergent evolution in the Congo rapids
Melanie Stiassny video presentation on the Congo River fishes
Key References
- Gunther, A. (1873)
- Pappenheim, P. (1911)
- Roman, B. (1971)
- Teugels, G.G. (1986)
- Devaere, S., Adriaens, D., Verraes, W. and Teugels, G.G. (2001)
- Adriaens, D., Devaere, S., Teugels, G.G., Dekegel, B. and Verraes, W (2002)
- De Schepper, N; Adriaens, D; Teugels, GG; et al. (2004)
- Huysentruyt, F., Adriaens, D., Teugels, G.G., Devaere, S., Herrel, A., Verraes, W. and Aerts, P. (2004)
- Van Wassenbergh, S; Aerts, P; Adriaens, D; et al. (2005)
- Van Wassenbergh, S; Herrel, A; Adriaens, D; et al. (2005)
- Jansen, G., Devaere, S., Weekers, P.H.H. and Adriaens, D. (2006)
- Devaere, S., Adriaens, D. and Verraes, W. (2007)
- Devaere, S., Adriaens, D. and Verraes, W. (2007)
- Stiassny, M.L.J. and Alter, S.E. (2015)
- Alter, S.E., Brown, B. and Stiassny, M.L.J. (2015)
- Harrison, I.J., Brummett, R. and Stiassny, M.L.J. (2016)
- Day, J.J., Fages, A., Brown, K.J., Vreven, E.J., Stiassny, M.L.J., Bills, R., Friel, J.P. and Ruber, L. (2017)
- Stiassny, M.L.J., Monsembula Iyaba, R.J.C., Liyandja, T., Mbimbi Mayi Munene, J.J., Yoko, M., and Alter, E. (2018)
- Stiassny, M.L.J. (2019)
- Aardema, M.L., Stiassny, M.L.J. and Alter, S.E. (2020)
- Elbein, A. (2020)
- Stiassny, M.L. and Alter, S.E. (2021)
| Gunther, A. | Journal Article | 1873 | New fishes from Angola |
| Pappenheim, P. | Journal Article | 1911 | Zoologische Ergebnisse der Expedition des Herrn G. Tessmann nach Süd-Kamerun und Spanisch-Guinea. Fische |
| Roman, B. | Journal Article | 1971 | Nuevas especies de peces de Río Muni (Guinea Ecuatorial) |
| Teugels, G.G. | Book Section | 1986 | Channallabes apus |
| Devaere, S., Adriaens, D., Verraes, W. and Teugels, G.G. | Journal Article | 2001 | Cranial morphology of the anguilliform clariid Channallabes (Gunther 1873) (Teleostei: Siluriformes) are adaptations related to powerful biting? |
| Adriaens, D., Devaere, S., Teugels, G.G., Dekegel, B. and Verraes, W | Journal Article | 2002 | Intraspecific variation in limblessness in vertebrates: a unique example of microevolution |
| De Schepper, N; Adriaens, D; Teugels, GG; et al. | Journal Article | 2004 | Intraspecific variation in the postcranial skeleton morphology in African clariids: a case study of extreme phenotypic plasticity |
| Huysentruyt, F., Adriaens, D., Teugels, G.G., Devaere, S., Herrel, A., Verraes, W. and Aerts, P. | Journal Article | 2004 | Diet composition in relation to morphology in some African anguilliform clariid catfishes |
| Van Wassenbergh, S; Aerts, P; Adriaens, D; et al. | Journal Article | 2005 | A dynamic model of mouth closing movements in clariid catfishes: the role of enlarged jaw adductors |
| Van Wassenbergh, S; Herrel, A; Adriaens, D; et al. | Journal Article | 2005 | Terrestrial feeding in the eel catfish, Channallabes apus |
| Jansen, G., Devaere, S., Weekers, P.H.H. and Adriaens, D. | Journal Article | 2006 | Phylogenetic relationships and divergence time estimate of African anguilliform catfish (Siluriformes: Clariidae) inferred from ribosomal gene and spacer sequences |
| Devaere, S., Adriaens, D. and Verraes, W. | Journal Article | 2007 | Channallabes sanghaensis sp. n., a new anguilliform catfish from the Congo River basin, with some comments on other anguilliform clariids (Teleostei, Siluriformes) |
| Devaere, S., Adriaens, D. and Verraes, W. | Journal Article | 2007 | Survey of the anguilliform Clariidae (Teleostei, Siluriformes) of Gabon and Republic of Congo, with description of two new species and key to the African clariid genera |
| Stiassny, M.L.J. and Alter, S.E. | Journal Article | 2015 | Phylogenetics of Teleogramma, a riverine clade of African cichlid fishes, with a description of the deep-water molluskivore —Teleogramma obama — from the lower reaches of the middle Congo River. |
| Alter, S.E., Brown, B. and Stiassny, M.L.J. | Journal Article | 2015 | Molecular phylogenetics reveals convergent evolution in lower Congo River spiny eels |
| Harrison, I.J., Brummett, R. and Stiassny, M.L.J. | Book Section | 2016 | Congo River basin |
| Day, J.J., Fages, A., Brown, K.J., Vreven, E.J., Stiassny, M.L.J., Bills, R., Friel, J.P. and Ruber, L. | Journal Article | 2017 | Multiple independent colonizations into the Congo Basin during the continental radiation of African Mastacembelus spiny eels |
| Stiassny, M.L.J., Monsembula Iyaba, R.J.C., Liyandja, T., Mbimbi Mayi Munene, J.J., Yoko, M., and Alter, E. | Conference Paper | 2018 | The evolution of extreme phenotypic convergence across fish lineages in the hyper-diverse Lower Congo River |
| Stiassny, M.L.J. | Journal Article | 2019 | Fishes in the lower Congo River An extreme case of species divergence and convergent evolution |
| Aardema, M.L., Stiassny, M.L.J. and Alter, S.E. | Journal Article | 2020 | Genomic analysis of the only blind Cichlid reveals extensive inactivation in eye and pigment formation genes |
| Elbein, A. | Web Page | 2020 | Earth’s deepest river conceals an evolutionary mystery |
| Stiassny, M.L. and Alter, S.E. | Book Section | 2021 | Life in the fast lane: diversity, ecology, and speciation of cichlids in the lower Congo River |