Embryonic and larval developmental stages of African giant catfish Heterobranchus bidorsalis (Geoffroy Saint Hilaire, 1809) (Teleostei, Clariidae).

The dearth of African giant catfish Heterobranchus bidorsalis seeds poses great threat to its aquaculture and biodiversity, hence detailed knowledge and understanding of its embryology is indispensable for its artificial propagation and conservation programmes. Photomicrographs of extruded oocyte through all developmental cell stages of live embryo to larval stage are documented with the aid of a light microscope. The optical transparency of the developing embryo enabled us to describe its deep structures, distinctive features and characterize the stages pictorially.

Stages in the early and larval development of the African catfish Clarias gariepinus (Teleostei, Clariidae).

The African catfish Clarias gariepinus Burchell 1822 is a favourite aquaculture fish in many parts of Africa and Asia because of its hardiness and fast growth rate. In this study, early, post-embryonic and larval developmental stages of C. gariepinus were examined chronologically and described.