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Malapterurus punctatus Norris, 2002

Image contributors to this species:

Christian Fry (1)

ScotCat Sources:

Other Sources:

Relevant Information:

Description: Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 0; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 8 - 10; Vertebrae: 38 - 39. Diagnosis: tooth patches broad; 8-10 anal-fin rays; 20 caudal-fin rays (nearly always ii-7-8-iii); 38-39 vertebrae; body and head only slightly depressed; snout and head relatively blunt (in dorsal and lateral profile); eyes more or less lateral; body coloured in shades of grey; lower lip and underside of head not especially darkened or stippled; dorsum and flank finely spotted; paired fins frequently spotted in adults; caudal fin darkly pigmented with a pale distal margin, but no pale basal crescent (young up to 70mm SL have a pale spot at the base of the caudal fin but no well-developed crescent or bar). Etymology: The specific name is from the Latin "punctum" = little spot, in reference to the finely spotted dorsum and flank typical of this species.

Common Name:

None

Synonyms:

Malapterurus electricus (non-Gmelin, 1789)

Family:

Malapteruridae

Distribution:

Africa: St. Paul (or Diani) River system (Sierra Leone) to the Cavally River system (Liberia/Ivory Coast). Also reported from the Waanje River (Sierra Leone).

Size:

21.5cm. (8½ins)

Temp:

23-30°C (73-87°F)

p.H.

6.5-7.2.

IUCN Red List

This species is known only from upper Guinean basins in the St. Paul (or Diani), Waanje and Cavally river systems in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Côte d’Ivoire. It has a minimum area of occupancy (AOO) of 24 km2 based on known records, and this is not thought to exceed 500 km2. Individuals are threatened by agriculture and mining activities, urbanisation and deforestation, and based on these threats there are six locations. The habitat is in continuing decline. Therefore, this species is assessed as Vulnerable (IUCN 2020).

Reference:

Diouf, K. 2020. Malapterurus punctatus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2020.
Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2018. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, ( 06/2018 ).
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., 289:155 p.

Family: Malapteruridae Back to Ident-A-Cat Click on Thumbnails

Malapterurus punctatus

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