Synodontis

Synodontis is the largest genus of mochokid catfishes. It is the biggest genus within the 10 genera and 190 different species in the family Mochokidae. Synodontis has over 131 different species within the genus. Synodontis are also known as squeakers, due to their ability to make stridulatory sounds through their pectoral fin spines when handled or disturbed. Synodontis make a sound that sounds like squeaking by rubbing their spines together. They do this when they have been frightened or when they become angry. Synodontis may also squeak when they are taken out of the water. These catfish are small- to medium-sized fish with many species exhibiting attractive spotted markings. Some species are also known for naturally swimming belly-up, earning the name upside-down catfish. Some of these species are Synodontis contractus and Synodontis nigriventris. While some Synodontis are known to swim upside down, another species, Synodontis multipunctatus, is a brood parasite. This species, Synodontis petricola, and Synodontis grandiops are collectively known as cuckoo catfish.

Synodontis

Paweł Cieśla Staszek_Szybki_Jest · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikipedia/Commons. May be a photograph of a specimen, or an artist’s reconstruction — an interpretation of a skeleton, since colour and soft tissue are almost never preserved.

On record

Recorded, not inferred
Also called
upside down catfishPBDB
Sits inside
MochokidaePBDB
Diet
carnivorePBDB, for Siluriformes
Life habit
nektobenthicPBDB, for Siluriformes
Motility
actively mobilePBDB, for Siluriformes
Environment
freshwaterPBDB, for Siluriformes

Time the record covers

At least 15 million years on record.

The record covers at least 15.98 Mya to 11.7 ka. No occurrence read is dated outside 23.04 Mya to 0 Mya.

Oligocene — about 0 of 77 occurrencesMiocene — about 22 of 77 occurrencesMiocenePliocene — about 20 of 77 occurrencesPliocenePleistocene — about 29 of 77 occurrencesPleistocene24–23 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences23–22 Mya — about 0.6 occurrences22–21 Mya — about 0.6 occurrences21–20 Mya — about 0.6 occurrences20–20 Mya — about 0.6 occurrences20–19 Mya — about 0.6 occurrences19–18 Mya — about 0.6 occurrences18–17 Mya — about 0.6 occurrences17–16 Mya — about 1 occurrence16–16 Mya — about 1 occurrence16–15 Mya — about 0.6 occurrences15–14 Mya — about 0.6 occurrences14–13 Mya — about 0.6 occurrences13–13 Mya — about 0.6 occurrences13–12 Mya — about 0.6 occurrences12–11 Mya — about 1 occurrence11–10 Mya — about 1 occurrence10–9.4 Mya — about 1 occurrence9.4–8.6 Mya — about 1 occurrence8.6–7.8 Mya — about 1 occurrence7.8–7.1 Mya — about 1 occurrence7.1–6.3 Mya — about 2 occurrences6.3–5.5 Mya — about 2 occurrences5.5–4.7 Mya — about 4 occurrences4.7–3.9 Mya — about 5 occurrences3.9–3.1 Mya — about 6 occurrences3.1–2.4 Mya — about 9 occurrences2.4–1.6 Mya — about 11 occurrences1.6–785 ka Mya — about 7 occurrences785 ka–0 Mya — about 14 occurrences15.98 Mya11.7 ka23.5 Mya0 Mya

77 occurrences of Synodontis on record, most of them in the Pleistocene. The Paleobiology Database records this as a living group. Bar height is expected occurrences, not a count: each fossil is spread across the span it is dated to, so a tall narrow bar means tight dating and a low wide one means loose.

When

77 occurrences

These are dates about fossils, not the animal: the record can only begin after it arose and end before it died out, so either end may reach further. Shares are expected occurrences: a fossil dated to a span is counted partly in each period it straddles. More on what this infers.

Found in

15 formations

Koobi Fora — 3.90°N, 36.24°EKoobi Fora — 4.07°N, 36.37°EKoobi Fora — 3.87°N, 36.37°EKoobi Fora — 3.89°N, 36.29°EKoobi Fora — 3.75°N, 36.36°EKoobi Fora — 3.70°N, 36.32°EKoobi Fora — 4.31°N, 36.28°EKoobi Fora — 4.31°N, 36.22°EKoobi Fora — 4.09°N, 36.31°EKoobi Fora — 3.59°N, 36.24°ENkondo — 1.50°N, 31.00°EWarwire — 1.50°N, 31.00°ENachukui — 2.90°N, 36.05°ENachukui — 4.27°N, 35.82°ENyabusosi — 1.00°N, 30.50°EKakara — 1.00°N, 30.50°ENyaburogo — 1.00°N, 30.50°EShungura — 5.08°N, 36.03°ELusso Beds — 0.03°N, 29.62°ENkondo/Warwire — 1.50°N, 31.00°EMuluk — 30.42°N, 30.25°EKaiso Village — 1.50°N, 31.00°ENawata — 2.90°N, 36.05°ENawata or Nachukui — 2.90°N, 36.05°EMoghara — 30.38°N, 28.82°E

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The named rock units Synodontis has been recovered from, largest first. Drawn where the rock is now, not where it formed. 18 occurrences have no formation on record, which is common for older literature.

Synodontis and its relatives

Pleistocene

Where Synodontis and its relatives were recorded in the Pleistocene.

Found in the same rock

609 taxa

The Paleobiology Database records 73 sites for Synodontis, and this reads all of them. The number is how many of those sites it was catalogued from too. The 24 sharing the most are listed.

This is not a list of everything alive at the time. It is only what has come out of the same ground as this animal and been written down.

Entered from

32 references

Each of the 77 occurrences read was entered from one of these publications, ordered by how many each accounts for. This is not a search for papers mentioning the name. 20 further references are not listed. Entries link to doi.org where the Paleobiology Database holds an identifier, and to its own record where it does not. Relayed as the Paleobiology Database holds them, not checked against what they resolve to.

Media and terms

Media content2

Picture of Synodontis

Credit
Paweł Cieśla Staszek_Szybki_Jest
Licence
CC BY-SA 4.0
Commercial use
the licence allows it

CT scan

Licence
In Copyright
Commercial use
cannot be read from the licence given — check the record
Specimen
Synodontis angelica · CUMV:Fish:91394

Smithsonian Open Access was not reached for this taxon, so this list is what the others held rather than everything there is.

The description on this site

Licence
CC BY-SA 4.0

This is what the site found, which is not the same as what exists.

Keep going

What may have been alongside itMochokidae through timeFormations of the PleistoceneThe world it lived on

Occurrence data from the Paleobiology Database, CC BY 4.0. Cuvier 1816