The bayad (''Bagrus bajad''), is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of bagrid catfish from Africa.

Distribution

The natural habitat of the bayad are lakes and rivers in Africa. These include lakes such as

Lake Chad Lake Chad (, Kanuri language, Kanuri: ''Sádǝ'', ) is an endorheic freshwater lake located at the junction of four countries: Nigeria, Niger, Chad, and Cameroon, in western and central Africa respectively, with a catchment area in excess of . ...

, Lake Albert, and

Lake Turkana Lake Turkana () is a saline lake in the Kenyan Rift Valley, in northern Kenya, with its far northern end crossing into Ethiopia. It is the world's largest permanent desert lake and the world's largest alkaline lake. By volume it is the world ...

, as well as rivers such as the

Nile The Nile (also known as the Nile River or River Nile) is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa. It has historically been considered the List of river sy ...

, the

Niger Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state Geography of Niger#Political geography, bordered by Libya to the Libya–Niger border, north-east, Chad to the Chad–Niger border, east ...

, and the

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

Description

The bayad's body is generally elongated in shape. The dorsal fin has a smooth spine, and the pectoral fins have spines with serrations on the inside. There are four pairs of barbel anatomy barbels. The maxillary barbels usually reach to the ventral fin or pelvic fins. This fish is yellow-greenish or blackish with a white belly. The fins are darker, sometimes reddish purple. Juveniles have little black spots on the sides. The bayad has a maximum size of about 112 centimetres (44.1 in) FL. It has a maximum published weight of 12.5 kilograms (27.5 lb), but is reputed to reach 100 kg (220 lb). Mean sizes and weight of males are less than those of females from the same age. Males grow up to 7 years old, females 8 years (Ref. 51644).

Ecology

The bayad is found in lakes, swamps and rivers. It avoids salt water. This species spends nearly the whole of the daylight hours in crevices of rocks and is therefore seldom seen. It lives and feeds on or near the bottom. Adults are exclusively

piscivorous A piscivore () is a carnivorous animal that primarily eats fish. Fish were the diet of early tetrapod evolution (via water-bound amphibians during the Devonian period); insectivory came next; then in time, the more terrestrially adapted rept ...

; it preys on small fish, particularly '' Alestes'' species, or '' Chrysichthys auratus'' as in Lake Kainji. These fish also feed on

insect Insects (from Latin ') are Hexapoda, hexapod invertebrates of the class (biology), class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (Insect morphology#Head, head, ...

crustacean Crustaceans (from Latin meaning: "those with shells" or "crusted ones") are invertebrate animals that constitute one group of arthropods that are traditionally a part of the subphylum Crustacea (), a large, diverse group of mainly aquatic arthrop ...

mollusk Mollusca is a phylum of protostomic invertebrate animals, whose members are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 76,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized, making it the second-largest animal phylum after Arthropoda. The ...

s, and vegetable matter. The efficiency of catching prey catfish is maximised by face to face attack, avoiding damage by dorsal and pectoral spines of the prey. There is some indication that the species comes to shallower water to breed.

Spawning Spawn is the Egg cell, eggs and Spermatozoa, sperm released or deposited into water by aquatic animals. As a verb, ''to spawn'' refers to the process of freely releasing eggs and sperm into a body of water (fresh or marine); the physical act is ...

season extends from April to July. The parents build and guard the nest, which is like a flat disc with a central hole where the eggs are dropped; the size of the nest and the central hole depend on the fish size.

Relationship to humans

The bayad is an important food fish. The bayad flesh is good eating and is of economic importance, commonly sold as food.

References

Images and details at Planetcatfish
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3768532 Bagrus Fish of Lake Turkana Freshwater fish of Kenya Freshwater fish of West Africa Fish of Cameroon Fish of Chad Fish of Egypt Fish of Ethiopia Fish of Sudan Fish of Uganda Catfish of Africa Fish described in 1775 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot