| Family: |
Malapteruridae (Electric catfishes) |
| Max. size: |
21.5 cm SL (male/unsexed) |
| Environment: |
benthopelagic; freshwater |
| Distribution: |
Africa: St. Paul (or Diani) River system (Sierra Leone) to the Cavally River system (Liberia/Ivory Coast) (Ref. 44050, 57130). Also reported from the Waanje River (Sierra Leone)(Ref. 44050) |
| Diagnosis: |
Dorsal spines (total): -0; Dorsal soft rays (total): -0; Anal spines: -0; Anal soft rays: 8-10; Vertebrae: 38-39. Diagnosis: tooth patches broad; 8-10 anal-fin rays; 20 caudal-fin rays (nearly always ii-7-8-iii); 38-39 vertebrae; body and head only slightly depressed; snout and head relatively blunt (in dorsal and lateral profile); eyes more or less lateral; body colored in shades of grey; lower lip and underside of head not especially darkened or stippled; dorsum and flank finely spotted; paired fins frequently spotted in adults; caudal fin darkly pigmented with a pale distal margin, but no pale basal crescent (young up to 70mm SL have a pale spot at the base of the caudal fin but no well-developed crescent or bar) (Ref. 44050).
Description: body and head slightly depressed (Ref. 57130). Head cylindrical (Ref. 44050, 57130), with small, laterally placed eyes (Ref. 57130). Lower jaw prominent; 16-18 abdominal vertebrae; 21-23 caudal vertebrae; 20 caudal-fin rays (general arrangement ii-7-8-iii, but also ii-8-8-ii and ii-7-9-ii) (Ref. 44050, 57130).
Coloration: body and head weakly bicolored; dorsum and flanks brown, venter tan; dorsum and flanks well-marked with small spots (few larger than 2 times an eye diameter), with a few scattered spots on venter; pectoral and anal fins sometimes with fine spots in adults; pelvic fin opaque (whitish), frequently spotted in adults; anal fin with wide dark band along posterior 2/3 of its length; anal fin base, distal margin and anterior third usually unpigmented; caudal fin darkly pigmented with pale distal margin and, in juveniles up to 70mm SL, a pale basal mark at the body mid-depth (which is more of a spot than a bar or crescent); caudal bar frequently with acute anterior margin projecting into pale interspace at body mid-depth; pale interspace bright in young specimens and matches ground color in larger specimens; saddle well-developed and solid extending about 3/4 down the flank (Ref. 44050). |
| Biology: |
|
| IUCN Red List Status: |
Vulnerable (VU); Date assessed: 21 October 2019 (B2ab(iii)) Ref. (130435)
|
| Threat to humans: |
harmless |
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