Teleostei (teleosts) >
Osteoglossiformes (Bony tongues) >
Mormyridae (Elephantfishes)
Etymology: Marcusenius: Becasue of J. Marcusen, author of "Zur Phauna des Schwarzen Meeres", 1867; ichthyologist.
Eponymy: Dr Johann Andreas Marcusen (1817–1894) was a Latvian of German descent who was a physician, ichthyologist and zoologist. [...] (Ref. 128868), visit book page.
More on author: Steindachner.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Freshwater; demersal; potamodromous (Ref. 51243). Tropical
Africa: Gambia, Senegal, Niger, Chad, Sassandra and Volta basins. Known from all great Sudanian basins and in the basins of the north-Guinean zones (Ref. 81274). Absent in zones of coastal forests (Ref. 2915).
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 32.1 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 2915); max. published weight: 200.00 g (Ref. 3799)
Dorsal spines (total): 0; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 28 - 38. Dorsal origin behind anal fin origin; ratio between base of dorsal and base of anal = 0.7-0.9 body depth 3.1-4.6 x SL; depth of peduncle 2.0-3.6 x of its length.
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. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: minor commercial
Tools
Special reports
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00646 (0.00474 - 0.00879), b=3.05 (2.96 - 3.14), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.2 ±0.4 se; based on diet studies.
Resilience (Ref.
120179): Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low to moderate vulnerability (29 of 100).