INTESTINAL- BODY LENGTH

The morphometric analysis of Synodontis courteti and Chrysicthys walkeri was carried out in Ovia River, Edo State, Nigeria. A total of fifty-four specimens of the two species were sampled over a period of six months, June to November, 2024. Specimens were transported to the laboratory and morphometric indices such as Total Length (TL), Standard Length (SL), Head Length (HL), Body Weight (BW), Intestinal Length (IL) and Body Depth (BD)were assessed using standard methods. The standard length and body weight of S. courteti ranged from 11.3 to 17.6cm and 40 to 225g, while the standard length and body weight of C.walkeri ranged from 10 to 19.4cm and 40 to 100g.The growth coefficient (b) was between 1.539 and 0.980 for S. courteti and C. walkeri. Results showed that both species exhibited a negative allometric growth. The intestinal length of S. courteti ranged from 9 to 21.0 while the intestinal length of C.walkeri ranged from 7.2 to 13.2. Following standard gut-length relationship for feeding classification, (<100 carnivore and >100 omnivore), both species were classified as carnivores having ratios of 87.77% and 72.67% respectively.