Presence of the Amazon sailfin catfish, Pterygoplichthys pardalis (Castelnau, 1855) (Pisces: Loricariidae), in the Shatt al-Arab River, Basrah, Iraq

Abstract

This paper documents the first record of the Amazon sailfin catfish, Pterygoplichthys pardalis (Castelnau, 1855) (Pisces: Loricariidae), in the natural waters of the Shatt al-Arab River, Basrah, Iraq, as a result of aquarium trade activities in the country. The length-weight relationships and condition factors of 175 specimens of P. pardalis, collected in 2017 in the Shatt al-Arab, were calculated. The studied population of P. pardalis showed an allometric growth, where the regression line slope b = 2.548±0.038 and the intercept a = 0.041±0.005. The average condition factor (K) was 8.802±4.208. All 175 specimens had mature gonads and the sample was dominated by females, which had eggs as large as 3.7 mm diameter in the ovaries. Fecundity varied from 2,400 to 19,245 eggs per brood. Fourty-one food items were recognised in the stomach contents, broadly categorised as follows: Algae, Crustacea, insect larvae and pupae, meiofauna, fish, fish eggs, and fish larvae. Suggestions for future studies are given, so as to correlate reproduction and diet with water level and seasonality.