West African spadefish | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Order: | Acanthuriformes |
Family: | Ephippidae |
Genus: | Chaetodipterus |
Species: | C. lippei
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Binomial name | |
Chaetodipterus lippei Steindachner, 1895
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Synonyms[2] | |
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The West African spadefish (Chaetodipterus lippei) is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the family Ephippidae, the spadefishes. This species is found over sandy and muddy bottoms at depths of 10 to 50 m (33 to 164 ft) in the eastern Atlantic Ocean from Senegal to Angola, including Cape Verde. The West African spadefish reaches a maximum total length of 31 cm (12 in), although 20 cm (7.9 in) is more typical.[2] This species was first formally described in 1895 by the Austrian ichthyologist Franz Steindachner with its type locality given as Freetown in Liberia.[3] Its specific name honours a Dr Lippe who collected the type while on a voyage on the SM Helgoland.[4]