Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Osteoglossiformes (Bony tongues) > Mormyridae (Elephantfishes)
Etymology: Mormyrus: Greek, mormyros = a fish (Sparus sp) (Ref. 45335).
Eponymy: Dr Francisco José Maria de Lacerda (1753–1798) was a Portuguese explorer born in São Paulo, Brazil. [...] (Ref. 128868), visit book page.
More on author: Castelnau.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Freshwater; demersal. Tropical; 11°S - 21°S

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Africa: Cunene (Ref. 13337, 52193, 120641), Cuvelai (Ref. 120641), Okavango, (upper) Zambezi (Ref. 52193, 120641) and Kafue systems (Ref. 52193).

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: L_m ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 50.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 52193); max. published weight: 2.0 kg (Ref. 52193)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 62 - 68; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 18 - 21. Diagnosis: dorsal fin greater than twice length of anal fin; dorsal origin nearer tip of snout than caudal fin base; snout 3-3.2 times in head length; caudal peduncle more than 4 times in standard length (Ref. 52193).

Prefers quiet stretches of river channels, deep pools and floodplain lagoons with aquatic vegetation; may form small shoals; feeds mainly on insect larvae, shrimps, small snails and small fish (Ref. 52193). Known to move up tributaries when they come down in spate and may breed in newly inundated areas (Ref. 13337). Spawns during the rainy season; females carry up to 7,000 eggs; caught by subsistence fishermen and anglers (Ref. 7248, 52193).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Gosse, J.-P., 1984. Mormyridae. p. 63-122. In J. Daget, J.-P. Gosse and D.F.E. Thys van den Audenaerde (eds.) Check-list of the freshwater fishes of Africa (CLOFFA). ORSTOM, Paris and MRAC, Tervuren. Vol. 1. (Ref. 3203)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)

Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 01 March 2007

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

Harmless

Human uses

Fisheries: commercial; gamefish: yes

FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

More information

Trophic ecology
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Internet sources

Estimates based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804): PD₅₀ = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].

Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01096 (0.00565 - 0.02129), b=2.84 (2.68 - 3.00), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & Genus-body shape (Ref. 93245).

Trophic level (Ref. 69278): 3.7 ±0.61 se; based on food items.

Generation time: 1.4 ( na - na) years. Estimated as median ln(3)/K based on 1 growth studies.

Resilience (Ref. 120179): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (K=0.8).

Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153): Low vulnerability (23 of 100).

Price category (Ref. 80766): Unknown.

Mormyrus lacerda Castelnau, 1861