Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) >
Osteoglossiformes (Bony tongues) >
Mormyridae (Elephantfishes)
Etymology: Mormyrus: Greek, mormyros = a fish (Sparus sp) (Ref. 45335). More on author: Günther.
Environment / Climate / Range
Ecology
Freshwater; demersal; potamodromous (Ref. 51243). Tropical, preferred ?
Africa: Niger and Volta basins. Also known from the Bénoué basin in Cameroon (Ref. 2915).
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 30.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 31256)
Short description
Morphology | Morphometrics
Dorsal
spines
(total): 0;
Dorsal
soft rays
(total): 59-68;
Anal
soft rays: 18 - 22. very short snout, massive and rounded; mouth opens before eyes; anal fin base 3.8-4.9x of dorsal fin base; 12-16 scales on caudal peduncle; caudal peduncle height 2.5-3.0x body length; SL 3.4-5.0x body weight.
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. 109396)
CITES (Ref. 94142)
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: commercial
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=0.01096 (0.00661 - 0.01818), b=2.86 (2.72 - 3.00), 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.
69278): Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low to moderate vulnerability (33 of 100) .