Classification / Names
Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa
Teleostei (teleosts) >
Cypriniformes (Carps) >
Danionidae (Danios) > Chedrinae
Etymology: Engraulicypris: Greek, eggraulis, -eos = anchovy + Greek, kypris = the name of Aphrodite, proceeding from Kypris, (Cyprus), Greek, kyprinos = carp (Ref. 45335); ngalala: In the Cyao language spoken in the Niassa region of northern Mozambique, the name 'ngalala' denotes any, small, compressed, silvery fish, including Mesobola and species of Brycinus and Hemigrammopetersius; the epithet is treated as a nominative singular noun in apposition (Ref. 116496).
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Freshwater; benthopelagic. Tropical
Africa: Rovuma River system in Mozambique (Ref. 116496) and Lake Chiuta in Malawi (Ref. 116496).
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 5.1 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 116496)
Short description
Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 9 - 10; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 16 - 19; Vertebrae: 38 - 39. Diagnosis: Operculum shiny only on ventral posterior edge and small area at posterior edge of orbit, not entire area; body midline black, not silver; head with tubercles along lower jaw and lower head in breeding males; snout rounded, not pointed; iris white to light grey, not dark grey, with a few melanophores; pelvic fin melanophores present, dark and widely dispersed (Ref. 116496).
Body shape (shape guide): fusiform / normal.
This species is found in ecological conditions very similar to those characteristic of Engraulicypris gariepinus; it favours big rivers, gathering in slack, turbid and shallow regions with sandy, rocky or muddy substrates; in Lake Chiuta specimens were caught in reed beds along the margins (Ref. 116496).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Riddin, M.A., I.R. Bills and M.H. Villet, 2016. Phylogeographic, morphometric and taxonomic re-evaluation of the river sardine, Mesobola brevianalis (Boulenger, 1908) (Teleostei, Cyprinidae, Chedrini). ZooKeys 641:121-150. (Ref. 116496)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-2)
Threat to humans
Harmless
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