Petrocephalus simus Sauvage, 1879
Petrocephalus simus
photo by Mertens, P.

Family:  Mormyridae (Elephantfishes)
Max. size:  12 cm TL (male/unsexed)
Environment:  demersal; freshwater, potamodromous
Distribution:  Africa: Guinea Bissau (Ref. 1880) to Angola (Ref. 11970). Widely distributed in the Congo River basin (Ref. 2970), in Central African Republic (45441), Cameroon (Ref. 51193), Democratic Republic of the Congo (Ref. 2970), Angola (Ref. 11970) and Zambia (Ref. 42135).
Diagnosis:  Dorsal spines (total): 0-0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 20-23; Anal spines: 0-0; Anal soft rays: 31-34
Biology:  Possesses electroreceptors over the entire head and on the ventral and dorsal regions of the body, but absent from the side and the caudal peduncle where the electric organ is located (Ref. 10011). Found schooling with other species having identical electric organ discharge (EOD) waveforms (Ref. 10460). A fractional spawner (Ref. 10605, 10606). Entomophagous (Ref. 51193).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC); Date assessed: 17 March 2020 Ref. (130435)
Threat to humans:  harmless


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