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Osteoglossiformes (Bony tongues) >
Mormyridae (Elephantfishes)
Etymology: Hippopotamyrus: Greek, ippos = horse + Greek,potamos = river + greek, myros = the male of morey eel (Ref. 45335).
Eponymy: Dr Didier Paugy is a French hydrobiologist who is Senior Scientist at the IRD (Institut de Recherche pour le Développement) and whose specialist area is African freshwater ichthyology, mainly ecology and biogeography. [...] (Ref. 128868), visit book page.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Freshwater; demersal; pH range: 6.5 - 7.5; dH range: ? - 10. Tropical; 23°C - 27°C (Ref. 13614); 10°N - 6°N
Africa: Limited to the Atlantic face of the Guinean mountain range, known from Guinea (Konkouré and Kolenté Rivers), Sierra Leone (Little Scarcies, Jong, Moa and Mano Rivers), and Liberia (Saint Paul River).
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 25.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 2915)
Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 29 - 34; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 26 - 33. Chin well developed, rounded and prominent. Nasal openings aligned on an axis parallel to that of the body. Dorsal fin origin same level as anal fin origin. LS/Depth ratio 4.1-5.2. Caudal peduncle 3-5 x long than wide. Body generally dark and mottled. Dark band vertically across body between the first few rays of dorsal and anal fins.
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
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5002 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01288 (0.00598 - 0.02775), b=2.86 (2.68 - 3.04), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.2 ±0.3 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Resilience (Ref.
120179): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (21 of 100).