Mormyrops anguilloides

General description: 

Description of Mormyrops deliciosus (here regarded as synonym of M. anguilloides) from Boulenger 1909, pp. 32-34:

Depth of body 5½ to 6½ times in total length, length of head 3½ to 4½ times. Head nearly twice as long as deep, upper profile slightly concave; snout rounded; jaws equal; width of mouth nearly equal to length of snout; teeth truncate or conical in the adult, more or less distinctly notched in the young, 24 to 36 in each jaw; eye small, in anterior third of the head, its diameter 2 (young) to 4 times in length of snout or in interocular width. Dorsal 21-27, ½ to 2/3 length of anal, originating 2 to 2 ½ times as far from end of snout as from base of caudal. Anal 40–51, originating considerably in advance of dorsal (its 12th to 16th ray corresponding to the first dorsal ray), and a little nearer head than root of caudal. Pectoral rounded, 2/5 to 1/2 length of head, ventral 1/4 to 1/3. Caudal rather small, densely scaled, with rounded lobes. Caudal peduncle 2 to 2½ times as long as deep, 1/3 to ½ length of head. 85-100 scales in lateral line, 15-18 / 18-22 in transverse series on body, 22-26 in transverse series between dorsal and anal, 14-18 round caudal peduncle. Brownish or olive above, silvery beneath.

Size: 

to 1.5 meters SL.

Evolution: 

Phylogenetic study of the widely distributed populations of M. anguilloides is needed to examine monophyly of this species as its currently defined.

Distribution: 

Widespread: Senegal, Gambia, Nile, Niger, Lake Chad, Congo Basin and Zambezi, Lake Malawi.

Scratchpads developed and conceived by (alphabetical): Ed Baker, Katherine Bouton Alice Heaton Dimitris Koureas, Laurence Livermore, Dave Roberts, Simon Rycroft, Ben Scott, Vince Smith