Teleostei (teleosts) >
Osteoglossiformes (Bony tongues) >
Mormyridae (Elephantfishes)
Etymology: Mormyrus: Greek, mormyros = a fish (Sparus sp) (Ref. 45335).
Eponymy: Frederik Hasselquist (1722–1752) was a traveler and naturalist. [...] (Ref. 128868), visit book page.
More on author: Valenciennes.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Freshwater; demersal; potamodromous (Ref. 51243). Tropical
Africa: Nile and Chad basins. Known from the great Sahelo-Soudanian basins in Senegal, Gambia and Volta; also in the Mono, the Gêba, the Bandama, the Comoe River, and the Ebrie and Aguien lagoons (Ref. 2915).
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm 19.0 range ? - ? cm
Max length : 50.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 31256); max. published weight: 1.1 kg (Ref. 2915)
Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 63 - 82; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 16 - 20. Diagnosis: snout short, its length about 50% of the post-ocular length of the head (Ref. 28714), prominent, but not drawn out into a proboscis (Ref. 2915, 81274). Dorsal fin with 63-82 rays, beginning clearly in advance of pelvic fins; anal with 16-20 rays, its base comprised from 4.1 to 6.3 times in dorsal-fin base (Ref. 81274). Caudal peduncle relatively deep, its depth comprised 1.1-2.0 times in its length (Ref. 2915, 81274). 26-34 scales around caudal peduncle; ratio standard length/body depth: 4.2-6.2; upper jaw with 6-16, lower jaw with 10-22 teeth (Ref. 81274).
Possesses electroreceptors over the entire head and on the ventral and dorsal regions of the body, but absent from the side and the caudal peduncle where the electric organ is located (Ref. 10011). A fractional spawner (Ref. 10605; 10606).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Bigorne, R., 1990. Mormyridae. p. 122-184. In C. Lévêque, D. Paugy and G.G. Teugels (eds.) Faune des poissons d'eaux saumâtres d'Afrique de l'Ouest. tome 1. Faune Trop. 28. Musée Royal de l'Afrique Centrale, Tervuren, and ORSTOM, Paris. (Ref. 2915)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: commercial
Tools
Special reports
Download XML
Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01230 (0.00729 - 0.02077), b=2.82 (2.68 - 2.96), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & Genus-body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.2 ±0.4 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Resilience (Ref.
120179): Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Moderate vulnerability (44 of 100).
