| FishBase | Complete | Literature | Reference | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Species | Families | Species | Families | |||
| Marine | 218 | 107 | Yes | Giaccardi, M., P. Yorio and M.E. Lizurume, 1997 | ||
| Freshwater | 7 | 6 | Yes | Vatova, A., 1975 | ||
| Total | 228 | 111 | No | |||
| Conservation | About 77 per cent of Cameroon is forested. The following information is to be sought: - Status of knowledge of the freshwater fauna; - Existence of conservation plans; - Information on major aquatic habitats or sites within the country; - Current major threats to species; - Future potential threats to species; - Contact(s) for further information. |
| Geography and Climate |
Cameroon is divided into four distinct topographical regions:
(a) in the south there is a low coastal plain covered with equatorial rain forests;
(b) in the centre there is a transitional plateau which rises to the north to the Adamaoua Mountains;
(c) to the west there are mountain forests peaking in Mt. Cameroon (4,050 m);
(d) to the north of Adamaoua range, rolling savanna slopes gradually down to the marshlands surrounding Lake Chad.
The climate is as varied as the topography but tends to grade from equatorial-humid in the south to Sahelian-arid in the north. In the south there is a prolonged and heavy rainy season which is at its most intense from June to September. The uplands have less rain and two peaks in April and October. Ref. Vanden Bossche, J.-P. and G.M. Bernacsek, 1990 |
| Hydrography |
Cameroon is characterized by an extremely dry north but very wet, high-altitude western regions. There are numerous perennial rivers in the south with extensive floodplains.
Lakes: there are a number of natural lakes in Cameroon. The largest is Lake Chad, of which 800 sq. km. ("Little Chad" phase) to 1,800 sq. km. ("Normal Chad" phase) are Cameroon territory, or 8-40% of the lake area, depending on the floods (Welcomme, 1979) (Ref. 12106). Other minor lakes, amounting to about 1,500 sq. km. (Aubray, 1976) (Ref. 12107), are scattered around the western region of the country.
Rivers, floodplains and swamps: Cameroon is drained from the Adamaoua Range along four major drainage basins: Atlantic, Zaire/Congo, Niger and Chad. A watershed exists along the South Cameroon Plateau separating coastal and Congo systems.
Reservoirs: there are several impoundments in Cameroon:
- 4 in the Sanaga River system (Edea, Song-Loulou, Mbakaou and Bamendjing)
- Lagdo on the Garoua River;
- Maga
- Bini
- Dang
- Mayo Oulou
- 7 reservoirs in the Mount Mandara area.
Two further large dams have been proposed: one on the Benue at Lagolo, and one on the Logone River.
Coastal lagoons: although there are extensive coastal mangrove forests/swamps, there are no significant coastal lagoons. Ref. Vanden Bossche, J.-P. and G.M. Bernacsek, 1990 |