Hydrocynus vittatus

For other species known as "tigerfish", see Tigerfish.

African tiger fish
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Characiformes
Family: Alestidae
Genus: Hydrocynus
Species:
H. vittatus
Binomial name
Hydrocynus vittatus
(Castelnau, 1861)
Synonyms[2]
  • Hydrocyon vittatus Castelnau, 1861
  • Hydrocyon lineatus Schlegel, 1863
  • Hydrocynus lineatus (Schlegel, 1863)

Hydrocynus vittatus, the African tigerfish, tiervis or ngwesh[3] is a predatory freshwater fish distributed throughout much of Africa. This fish is generally a piscivore but it has been observed leaping out of the water and catching barn swallows in flight.[4][5]

  1. ^ Azeroual, A.; Cambray, J.; Getahun, A.; et al. (2019). "Hydrocynus vittatus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019: e.T181744A84240374. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T181744A84240374.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. ^ "Synonyms of Hydrocynus vittatus Castelnau, 1861". Fishbase. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference FishBase was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ O'Brian, G.C.; Jacobs, F.; Evans, S. W.; Smit, N. J. (2013). "First observation of African tigerfish Hydrocynus vittatus preying on barn swallows Hirundo rustica in flight". Journal of Fish Biology. 84 (1): 263–266. doi:10.1111/jfb.12278. PMID 24354922. Includes a video.
  5. ^ Ella Davies (13 January 2014). "African tigerfish catch swallows in flight". Nature News. BBC. Retrieved 13 January 2014. Includes a video.