| Mormyridae (Elephantfishes) |
| 31 cm SL (male/unsexed); max.weight: 1,100.0 g |
|
demersal |
| Africa: Cunene, Okavango, Buzi, Pungwe (Ref. 52193), Zambezi (Ref. 3203, 52193, 95585), Save (Ref. 13337) and Cubango Rivers (Ref. 3203). Absent from the Kafue River (Ref. 7248, 52193, 95585). Also in the Malagarasi, Lake Rukwa (Ref. 27292), lakes Tanganyika and Malawi (Ref. 3203, 52193). In the Congo basin known from the Lindi-Tshopo (Ref. 106290), upper Kasai (middle Congo River basin)(Ref. 2970), Lualaba (Ref. 45434), upper Lualaba (Ref. 2970, 45434) and the Mweru-Luapula-Bangweulu area (Ref. 13337, 95585). |
|
Dorsal spines (total): -0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 30-36; Anal spines: -0; Anal soft rays: 23-27. Diagnosis: dorsal fin up to 1.5 times anal fin length; dorsal fin origin nearer caudal fin base than tip of snout; origin of dorsal fin in advance of anal fin (Ref. 52193). Chin with fleshy bulge; snout rounded in front of mouth; eye well above mouth (Ref. 4967). Male develops concavity to the margin of the anal fin, whereas that of female is straight; high back, with dorsal fin approximately 1/3 of total fish length, serves to separate it satisfactorily from other mormyrids in Zimbabwe (Ref. 13337).
Description: body relatively deep, compressed; dorsal fin longer than anal; caudal fin forked, with rounded lobes; head rounded with blunt snout; mouth with mental lobe; teeth bicuspid, 5—6 in each jaw; females usually smaller than males, latter distinguished by notch or kink in anal fin (Ref. 52193).
Coloration: greyish brown to dark brown, nearly black, lighter below; dark vertical bar sometimes evident between dorsal and anal fins (Ref. 52193). |
| Nocturnal shoaling species; favors large river channels with a soft bottom and fringing vegetation (Ref. 7248, 52193). Found mainly in sheltered bays, lagoons and swampy areas; occurs also in typical sandy or rocky rivers (Ref. 13337). Feeds on bottom-living invertebrates (Ref. 52193) and insect larvae at night (Ref. 5595). Known to migrate up tributary rivers of Lake Kariba during rainy season, though it is not yet clear whether this is a breeding migration (Ref. 13337). Breeds during summer rainy season; females carry up to 5,000 eggs (Ref. 7248). |
|
(Ref. 96402)
|
| harmless |
|
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