Teleostei (teleosts) >
Cyprinodontiformes (Rivulines, killifishes and live bearers) >
Procatopodidae (African lampeyes) > Procatopodinae
Eponymy: Dr Johannes Rasch Pfaff (d: 1959) was a Swedish ichthyologist and collector who was Curator of Vertebrates at the University of Copenhagen Zoological Museum. [...] (Ref. 128868), visit book page.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Freshwater; benthopelagic; pH range: 6.5 - 7.2; potamodromous (Ref. 51243). Tropical; 22°C - 26°C (Ref. 2059)
Africa: Bafing and upper Niger rivers in Guinea, Sassandra and Bandama rivers in northern Côte d'Ivoire, Black Volta, White Volta and Comoé in Burkina Faso, upper Niger in Mali, upper Volta in Ghana, Niger River in Niger and northern Nigeria, and Lake Chad basin in northern Nigeria, northern Cameroon, Chad and probably also northern Central African Republic (Ref. 57259).
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 3.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 57259); 3.5 cm TL (female)
Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 6 - 8; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 11 - 15. Diagnosis: Small and slender species with rounded fins and lacking the distinctive colour pattern of the other species of the genus Micropanchax; dorsal fin with 6-8 rays, anal fin with 11-15 rays; scales on mid-lateral series 27-30 (Ref. 57259).
Colouration: Male colouration: translucent pale olive-grey with a light blue iridescence on the sides and narrow dark grey edgings to the scales; the dorsal fin is colourless to pale yellow; the anal fin is a more intense yellow, sometimes with a pale brown border; the caudal fin is colourless to pale yellow (Ref. 57259). Female colouration: translucent pale grey without any iridescence on the sides; all fins are colourless (Ref. 57259).
Found in small rivers, brooks, swamps and shallow parts of larger bodies of water (Ref. 57259). Not a seasonal killifish. Is very difficult to maintain in aquarium (Ref. 27139).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Wildekamp, R.H. and J.R. Van der Zee, 2003. Poeciliidae. p. 300-324 In C. Lévêque, D. Paugy and G.G. Teugels (eds.) Faune des poissons d'eaux douce et saumâtres de l'Afrique de l'Ouest, Tome 2. Coll. Faune et Flore tropicales 40. Musée Royal de l'Afrique Centrale, Tervuren, Belgique, Museum National d'Histoire Naturalle, Paris, France and Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Paris, France. 815 p. (Ref. 57259)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Aquarium: commercial
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5001 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00562 (0.00222 - 0.01425), b=3.07 (2.85 - 3.29), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.1 ±0.4 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (10 of 100).
![Image of Micropanchax pfaffi (Pfaff\](/images/thumbnails/gif/tn_PROCATT0.gif "Image of Micropanchax pfaffi (Pfaff\")
