The Lake Victoria Squeaker (Synodontis victoriae) is a freshwater upside-down catfish. It often swims upside down. It is called a squeaker because it makes a noise to communicate with one other.

The Lake Victoria Squeaker has a long narrow grey, silver, or brown body with dark round spots. Its underbelly is white. It has three pairs of barbels from its mouth – one pair on the upper jaw and two pairs on the lower jaw. Its caudal fin (tail fin) is deeply forked, with the upper part, called a lobe, longer than the lower lobe. It has a mouth sucker with several rows of short, chisel-shaped teeth.

Lake Victoria Squeaker

It grows to about 35 centimetres (14 inches) long.

It is from the freshwater Lake Victoria basin in Lake Kyoga, in Kenya, Uganda, Burundi, and Tanzania. It prefers shallow water.

The Lake Victoria Squeaker is a bottom and surface catfish, foraging on the bottom of the lake for food.

It feeds on molluscs, small fish, snails, and insects. It can also take out the flesh from snail shells without crushing the shells.

Lake Victoria Squeaker

Lake Victoria Squeaker

Photographer: Martina Nicolls

Martina Nicolls: SIMILAR BUT DIFFERENT IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM