Teleostei (teleosts) >
Osteoglossiformes (Bony tongues) >
Mormyridae (Elephantfishes)
Etymology: Hippopotamyrus: Greek, ippos = horse + Greek,potamos = river + greek, myros = the male of morey eel (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Boulenger.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Freshwater; demersal. Tropical; 11°S - 21°S
Africa: Cunene, Okavango, upper Zambezi, Buzi and Pungwe rivers; an isolated population occurs in the Ruo River (lower Zambezi system) in Malawi; also in the Cuanza River, Angola (Ref. 52193). In the Congo basin known from the Kwango in Angola (Ref. 11970). Possibly also in the Inkisi (lower Congo)(Ref. 12818, 120641), Lufira and Luwombwa (upper Congo basin) (Ref. 12818) but this needs confirmation.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 15.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 52193)
Dorsal
spines
(total): 0;
Dorsal
soft rays
(total): 18-19;
Anal
spines: 0;
Anal
soft rays: 24 - 26. Diagnosis: dorsal fin origin nearer caudal fin base than tip of snout; origin of dorsal fin behind origin of anal fin; dorsal fin shorter than anal fin; chin (mental swelling) present but feebly developed; dorsal fin with 19 rays, anal fin with 24-26 rays (Ref. 52193).
Found in rocky habitats in flowing waters (Ref. 7248, 52193). Feeds on small aquatic invertebrates (Ref. 7248, 52193) such as insect larvae (Ref. 7248).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Gosse, J.-P., 1984. Mormyridae. p. 63-122. In J. Daget, J.-P. Gosse and D.F.E. Thys van den Audenaerde (eds.) Check-list of the freshwater fishes of Africa (CLOFFA). ORSTOM, Paris and MRAC, Tervuren. Vol. 1. (Ref. 3203)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 126983)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
More information
Common namesSynonymsMetabolismPredatorsEcotoxicologyReproductionMaturitySpawningSpawning aggregationFecundityEggsEgg development
Age/SizeGrowthLength-weightLength-lengthLength-frequenciesMorphometricsMorphologyLarvaeLarval dynamicsRecruitmentAbundanceBRUVS
ReferencesAquacultureAquaculture profileStrainsGeneticsAllele frequenciesHeritabilityDiseasesProcessingNutrientsMass conversion
Tools
Special reports
Download XML
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=0.00562 (0.00246 - 0.01284), b=3.05 (2.86 - 3.24), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.2 ±0.40 se; based on food items.
Resilience (Ref.
120179): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (10 of 100).