The Purple labeo (Labeo congoro) is a relatively large fish that occurs in rocky stretches of large rivers, including the Zambezi, Incomati and parts of the Congo. Growing up to 41.5 cm long, it feeds on algae and other encrusting organisms, scraping them from boulders and other hard surfaces, including the backs of hippos. Rather than grazing randomly the Purple Labeo moves along in relatively straight lines as it feeds, leaving characteristic tracks that show where it has been. Although it has been little studied in the wild it is known to migrate upstream when rivers are in flood in order to breed.
Famous quotes containing the word purple:
“The thing that struck me forcefully was the feeling of great age about the place. Standing on that old parade ground, which is now a cricket field, I could feel the dead generations crowding me. Here was the oldest settlement of freedmen in the Western world, no doubt. Men who had thrown off the bands of slavery by their own courage and ingenuity. The courage and daring of the Maroons strike like a purple beam across the history of Jamaica.”
—Zora Neale Hurston (1891–1960)