Teleostei (teleosts) >
Osteoglossiformes (Bony tongues) >
Mormyridae (Elephantfishes)
Etymology: Mormyrops: Greek, mormyros = a fish (Sparus sp) + Greek, ops = appearance (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Linnaeus.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Freshwater; demersal; potamodromous (Ref. 51243). Tropical; 22°C - 24°C (Ref. 12468); 10°S - 21°S
Africa: a very wide distribution area which includes most of the West African river basins (Ref. 81274), the White Nile, Uebi Shebeli and Juba (Ref. 3203), and the Congo River basin (Ref. 52193). In southern Africa, restricted to the middle and lower Zambezi, Buzi and Pungwe (Ref. 52193). Also known from Lake Malawi, Lake Tanganyika and Lake Albert [former Lake Mobuto] (Ref. 3203, 52193).
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm 32.5 range ? - ? cm
Max length : 150 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 2915); max. published weight: 15.0 kg (Ref. 52193)
Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 21 - 33; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 38 - 51. Diagnosis: head depressed (Ref. 13337, 52193). Body elongated (Ref. 2915, 13337, 52193), shallow (Ref. 28714), ratio standard length/body depth 4.9-7.5 (Ref. 81274). Mouth large (Ref. 13337, 52193) and terminal (Ref. 13337, 28714, 52193, 81274), with 16-28 teeth in upper, and 14-28 in lower jaw (the number of teeth increases with size) (Ref. 81274). Chin (mental swelling) absent (Ref. 52193). Origin of dorsal fin behind origin of anal fin, nearer caudal fin base than tip of snout (Ref. 4903, 52193). Dorsal fin shorter than anal fin; mouth width subequal to snout length (Ref. 52193). Snout long (Ref. 52193), rounded, its length 1/5-1/4 that of the head (Ref. 4903), almost as broad as head (Ref. 2915, 81274). 21-33 dorsal- and 38-50 anal-fin rays (Ref. 52193, 81274). Head 3.4-5.1 times in standard length; interorbital space relatively broad, ratio head length/interorbital width 2.9-6.8; wide ranges for most of the meristic characters are caused by the existence of geographical clines (Ref. 2915, 81274).
Juveniles occur in marginal habitats, adults prefer deep quiet water between boulders and below overhangs, away from strong currents; also occurs beneath Salvinia mats and in river estuaries in Lake Kariba; juveniles prey on invertebrates, mainly shrimps and insect larvae (Ref. 7248, 52193). Adults/larger individuals are piscivorous (Ref. 28714), feeding on small cichlids, minnows and labeos (Ref. Ref. 7248, 52193). May live for 8 years or more; breeds in summer during the rainy season; mature females carry 25000 or more eggs (Ref. 7248, 52193). A fractional spawner (Ref. 10606, 10605). Affinities: M. breviceps.
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 2024-2)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: commercial; gamefish: yes
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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=0.00562 (0.00419 - 0.00755), b=2.99 (2.91 - 3.07), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.8 ±0.61 se; based on food items.
Resilience (Ref.
120179): Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (K=0.08-0.33; tm > 8).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Moderate to high vulnerability (47 of 100).
Nutrients (Ref.
124155): Calcium = 89 [41, 209] mg/100g; Iron = 1.32 [0.61, 2.81] mg/100g; Protein = 17.7 [15.3, 20.1] %; Omega3 = 0.285 [0.119, 0.717] g/100g; Selenium = 117 [42, 282] μg/100g; VitaminA = 21 [7, 66] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.934 [0.594, 1.879] mg/100g (wet weight);
