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Oliver Drescher (3)

These catfish commonly known as 'African Whiptails' tends to ratify the theory that the two great continents of the America's and Africa where at one time, one great mass of land as they look on first glance to be superficially like South American "Whiptails", such as from the Rineloricaria/Hemiloricaria genera. Description: Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 7; Anal spines: 2; Anal soft rays: 7 - 9. Diagnosis: pectoral-fin tips not reaching to pelvic-fin bases; pelvic-fin insertions placed behind a vertical line from last dorsal-fin ray; snout long, its length over 55% of head length; posterior nostrils separated from orbits by a distance about equal to orbit width and not separated by bony crest; humeral process pointed; branchiostegal membrane with a shallow ventral invagination; width of occipital process comprised from 3.5-6 times in its length. Body shape elongated. Habitat: These catfish inhabit fast flowing waters and spend a lot of their time clinging to aquatic leaves and if you provide long stemmed plants, such as Vallisneria for instance, you will see this habit. Aquarium Care: To keep this species and other members of this African hillstream family you will have to provide a well oxygenated planted aquarium and keep up your water changes as they are not as hardy as their South American equivalents. Etymology: The specific name clauseni: In honour of Claus Herluf Stenholt Clausen (1921–2002) who was a California-born Danish ichthyologist and biologist. He collected in Liberia (1965). He wrote: Tropical Old World Cyprinodonts (1967). He collected the holotype.

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Amphiliidae

West-central Africa: Tributaries of the Comoe and Black Volta Rivers, Upper Volta, Ogun River, Nigeria, and Upper Benoue River, Cameroon. Type locality: Haute Comoé à Samago Iri.

8.0.cm (3½ins)

20-24°c (67-75°f)

Ferraris, C.J. Jr., 2007. Checklist of catfishes, recent and fossil (Osteichthyes: Siluriformes), and catalogue of siluriform primary types. Zootaxa 1418:1-628.
Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2025. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, ( 11/2025 ).
Olaosebikan, B.D., Entsua-Mensah, M. & Lalèyè, P. 2020. Phractura clauseni. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2020.
Skelton, P.H., L.M. Risch and D. Paugy, 2003. Amphiliidae. p. 117-143 In C. Lévêque, D. Paugy and G.G. Teugels (eds.) Faune des poissons d'eaux douce et saumâtres de l'Afrique de l'Ouest, Tome 2. Coll. Faune et Flore tropicales 40. Musée Royal de l'Afrique Centrale, Tervuren, Belgique, Museum National d'Histoire Naturalle, Paris, France and Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Paris, France. 815 p.