Fish

Angel squeaker. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

The Dja is a river that forms a natural boundary on three sides of the Cameroonian reserve that bears its name. Our pavilion also features animals that inhabit this aquatic world.

The Dja River has its own endemic species of fish found nowhere else—the leopard squeaker (Synodontis pardalis). You won’t see that species in our pavilion, but if you’re lucky, you might catch a glimpse of two other species of squeaker catfish native to the Congo Basin in the pool beneath the waterfall—the angel squeaker (Synodontis angelicus) and the clown squeaker (Synodontis decorus). The clown squeaker has a wider range, including Cameroon, while the angel squeaker is found in both the “little” and “big” Congo. Some species of the genus Synodontis often swim belly-up, earning them the nickname “upside-down catfish” in English. When disturbed, they produce rasping sounds by rubbing the bones in the sockets of their pectoral fins.