Malapterurus electricus, Electric catfish : fisheries, gamefish

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Malapterurus electricus (Gmelin, 1789)

Electric catfish
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Malapterurus electricus
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Classification / Names Noms communs | Synonymes | Catalog of Fishes(Genre, Espèce) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

> Siluriformes (Catfishes) > Malapteruridae (Electric catfishes)
Etymology: Malapterurus: Greek, mala = a lot of + Greek, pteron = fin + Greek, oura = tail (Ref. 45335);  electricus: The electric discharging capacity of this electric catfish is described by the specific epithet (Ref. 44050).
More on author: Gmelin.

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

; eau douce benthopélagique; pH range: 7.0 - 8.0; dH range: ? - 20; potamodrome (Ref. 51243). Tropical; 23°C - 30°C (Ref. 1672); 35°N - 30°S

Distribution Pays | Zones FAO | Écosystèmes | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Africa: typical Sudanian distribution; in much of the Nile system (exclusive of Lake Victoria), Lake Turkana, Lake Chad and Senegal basins, throughout the Niger system and smaller southward flowing basins in west Africa, from Bandama through Volta rivers in Ivory Coast and Ghana (Ref. 44050). Absent from Congo basin; reports from Congo basin refer to any of the other species in this system (see Ref. 44050 for details).

Taille / Poids / Âge

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 122 cm SL mâle / non sexé; (Ref. 3850); poids max. publié: 20.0 kg (Ref. 3799); âge max. reporté: 10 années (Ref. 7248)

Description synthétique Morphologie | Morphométrie

Épines dorsales (Total): 0; Rayons mous dorsaux (Total): 0; Épines anales 0; Rayons mous anaux: 9 - 11; Vertèbres: 38 - 41. Diagnosis: tooth patches narrow; pectoral fin placed near body mid-depth; 7-8 branched caudal fin rays (Ref. 44050). 9-11 anal-fin rays, usually 10-11; 38-41 total vertebrae, usually 39-41 (Ref. 57130). Caudal saddle and bar pattern not present in adults (Ref. 57130), poorly developed in all ages (Ref. 44050). Flank and dorsum in adults and young marked with large blotches (some up to 4-5 times eye diameter); caudal fin of adults generally same color as flank ground color or slightly darker, larger specimens usually with spots or blotches in caudal fin (Ref. 44050, 57130).

Biologie     Glossaire (ex. epibenthic)

Occur among rocks or roots. Favors sluggish or standing water. Active at night, feeding mainly on fish stunned by electric shocks. Described as a nocturnal piscivore that breeds during periods of high water; rarely feeds on molluscs (Ref. 44050). The electric organ, capable of discharging 300-400 V, is derived from pectoral muscle and surrounds almost the entire body. It is used both for prey capture and defense. Electric organ discharge (EOD) is intermittent and the amplitude increases with size of the fish (Ref. 10011). Responds immediately to cyclic light changes, exhibiting maximum EOD activity shortly after sunset and lowest activity just after sunrise (Ref. 10798). Its EOD duration decreased from 1.5 to 0.3 ms in response to increased temperature from 15 to 30°C (Ref. 10838). Adults form pairs and breed in excavated cavities or holes (Ref. 7248). Maximum size in Lake Chad reported as 1125mm SL, but most museum specimens much smaller (maximum 400mm SL, Nile River)(Ref. 57130).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturité | Reproduction | Frai | Œufs | Fécondité | Larves

It is assumed that the male tends the clutch. Others report that the male takes the eggs into his mouth. It is also unknown how the fry is immune to the electric shocks by the parents (Ref. 1672).

Référence principale Upload your references | Références | Coordinateur | Collaborateurs

Roberts, T.R., 2000. A review of the African electric catfish family Malapteruridae, with descriptions of new species. Occas. Pap. Ichthyol. 1:1-15. (Ref. 34006)

Statut dans la liste rouge de l'IUCN (Ref. 130435)

  Préoccupation mineure (LC) ; Date assessed: 21 October 2019

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Menace pour l'homme

Other (Ref. 4967)





Utilisations par l'homme

Pêcheries: pêcheries vivrières; pêche sportive: oui
FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

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Maturité
Frai
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Œufs
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Sources Internet

AFORO (otoliths) | Alien/Invasive Species database | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: Genre, Espèce | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: génôme, nucléotide | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | Arbre de Vie | Wikipedia: aller à, chercher | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

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=0.01122 (0.00793 - 0.01588), b=2.96 (2.86 - 3.06), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref. 93245).
Niveau trophique (Ref. 69278):  2.9   ±0.38 se; based on food items.
Résilience (Ref. 120179):  Faible, temps minimum de doublement de population : 4,5 à 14 années (tmax=10; Fec < 1,000).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Very high vulnerability (89 of 100).
Catégorie de prix (Ref. 80766):   Unknown.
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 48.9 [27.2, 92.2] mg/100g; Iron = 1.14 [0.65, 2.02] mg/100g; Protein = 16.4 [15.2, 17.6] %; Omega3 = 0.382 [0.141, 1.050] g/100g; Selenium = 119 [46, 264] μg/100g; VitaminA = 34.3 [11.4, 99.9] μg/100g; Zinc = 1.24 [0.82, 1.79] mg/100g (wet weight);