Classification / Names
Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa
Teleostei (teleosts) >
Siluriformes (Catfishes) >
Malapteruridae (Electric catfishes)
Etymology: Malapterurus: Greek, mala = a lot of + Greek, pteron = fin + Greek, oura = tail (Ref. 45335); barbatus: From the Latin "barbatus" = bearded, in reference to the dusky underside of the head typical of this species (Ref. 44050).
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Freshwater; benthopelagic. Tropical
Africa: broadly distributed in western upper
Guinean waters, from the Great Scarcies (=Kolenté) River (Guinea/Sierra Leone) to the Borlor (=Farmington) River (Liberia) (Ref. 44050, 57130).
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 21.5 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 57130)
Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 0; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 8 - 9; Vertebrae: 38 - 41. Diagnosis: tooth patches broad; 8-9 anal-fin rays; 0-4 gill-rakers on upper branch of first arch; 3 unbranched ventral caudal-fin rays; 38-41 vertebrae; caudal fin with prominent pale basal crescent, even in adults; body typically grey; grey flank pigment carried onto the lower lip, mental barbels and, in adults, the underside of the head (Ref. 44050).
Cross section: circular.
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Norris, S.M., 2002. A revision of the African electric catfishes, family Malapteruridae (Teleostei, Siluriformes), with erection of a new genus and descriptions of fourteen new species, and an annotated bibliography. Ann. Mus. R. Afr. Centr., Sci. Zool., 289:1-155. (Ref. 44050)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-2)
Threat to humans
Harmless
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