Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) >
Synbranchiformes (Spiny eels) >
Mastacembelidae (Spiny eels)
Etymology: Mastacembelus: Greek, mastax, -agos = bite + Greek, emballo = to throw oneself (Ref. 45335).
Environment / Climate / Range
Ecology
Freshwater; benthopelagic. Tropical, preferred ?
Africa: known only from the Cross River basin in Cameroon (Ref. 7394, 57415). Report from the Nigerian part of the Cross River basin (Ref. 31256) questionable and needs confirmation.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 25.9 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 57415)
Short description
Morphology | Morphometrics
Dorsal
spines
(total): 15 - 19;
Dorsal
soft rays
(total): 112-132;
Anal
soft rays: 81 - 98;
Vertebrae: 85 - 92. Diagnosis: 14+1 to 18+1 (median 16+1) dorsal spines; distance from anterior border of snout to last externally visible dorsal spine relatively short, 37.1-44.2% SL (m=40.9), decreasing with size; as a result origin of soft dorsal fin clearly anterior to origin of soft anal fin; 2 pre-opercular spines; 1 pre-orbital spine; origin of 1st dorsal spine always situated before posterior edge of pectoral fin, between (-8.6) and (-1.7)% HL [m = -5.4]; origin of soft dorsal fin far before origin of soft anal fin; distance from anterior border of snout to last externally visible anal spine 51.2-56.8% SL (m=54.2), decreasing with size; post-anal length 47.9-51.8% SL (m=50.1), increasing with size, comparable to pre-anal length, 46.4-51.6% SL (m=48.9), decreasing with size; 9-12 caudal fin rays; 6-7 predorsal vertebrae; 30-33 abdominal vertebrae; (+9)-(+12) in-between vertebrae; 54-61 caudal vertebrae (Ref. 57415).
Coloration: preserved specimens: uniformly light brown overall background colour; dorsal midline with a series of large, dark brown, rectangular spots; dark brown band originating at base of rostral appendage, passing through eye, above pectoral fin and continuing on lateral side of body and tail as a series of large rectangular or more X-like dark brown spots; spots sometimes contacting spots on dorsal midline and/or spots on basal part of unpaired fins; however, a few specimens have more uniformly coloured dark brown sides; lips, ventral surface of head, belly, abdomen and tail light brown, yellowish-white, with some darker parts; belly with large white spots surrounded by a darker brown network; overall background colour of dorsal, caudal and anal fins white ; dorsal and anal fin base with a series of large, dark brown, spots partially situated on tail; dorsal fin base light brown diminishing contrast between dark brown spots and background colour of fin; caudal fin with a vertical, dark brown band; dorsal and anal fins with additional dark brown spots of irregular shape eventually forming a band towards outer margin of fins; nevertheless, outermost part of unpaired fins remains white; pectoral fins white of overall background colour with several irregular shaped, dark brown spots eventually forming some kind of network; size-related colour pattern changes, especially a general darkening of unpaired fins; in addition, sometimes dark brown spots at base of anal fin contact dark brown band situated towards outer margin of fin resulting in a series of light brown, white spots at base of anal fin (Ref. 57415). Live specimens: colour pattern considerably variable (Teugels et al., 1992); Roberts&Travers (1986) reported a grey life colour for background or darker coloration on body and fins of some specimens; further, lighter areas on dorsal and anal fins were yellow or sometimes merely pale or colourless and round spots on abdomen were always yellow (Ref. 57415).
Maximum reported TL was 271mm (Ref. 57415).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Vreven, E.J., 2003. Mastacembelidae. p. 708-737 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. 57415)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 109396)
CITES (Ref. 94142)
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries:
More information
Common namesSynonymsMetabolismPredatorsEcotoxicologyReproductionMaturitySpawningFecundityEggsEgg development
Age/SizeGrowthLength-weightLength-lengthLength-frequenciesMorphometricsMorphologyLarvaeLarval dynamicsRecruitmentAbundance
ReferencesAquacultureAquaculture profileStrainsGeneticsAllele frequenciesHeritabilityDiseasesProcessingMass conversion
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Estimates of some properties based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82805): PD
50 = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00282 (0.00126 - 0.00629), b=2.96 (2.77 - 3.15), based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic Level (Ref.
69278): 3.3 ±0.4 se; Based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Resilience (Ref.
69278): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low to moderate vulnerability (30 of 100) .
