Teleostei (teleosts) >
Osteoglossiformes (Bony tongues) >
Mormyridae (Elephantfishes)
Etymology: Petrocephalus: Latin, petra = stone + Greek, kephale = head (Ref. 45335); pulsivertens: The species name comes from the Latin 'pulsus', meaning impulse, beating; and from 'vertere', meaning to turn, exchange; the name describes the unusual EOD waveform of the species (Ref. 85331).
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Freshwater; benthopelagic. Tropical
Africa: middle Congo River basin (Ref. 85331, 113655) in Cameroon, Central African Republic and Republic of Congo.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 11.5 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 85331)
Diagnosis: Petrocephalus pulsivertens is distinguished from all other Petrocephalus species in Central Africa by the following combination of characteristics: dorsal fin with at least 25 branched rays; anal fin with at least 31 branched rays; mouth large, the ratio head length and mouth width between 2.0 and 3.7; 15-21 teeth in the upper jaw; 24-30 teeth in the lower jaw; and eye large, the ratio head length and eye-diameter between 3,2 and 3,5 (Ref. 85331). Pigmentation pattern consists of two distinctive melanin markings (black patches): (1) a distinct ovoid mark below the anterior base of the dorsal fin; and (2) a crescent-like mark, sometimes diffuse, centered at the base of the caudal fin and extending onto the upper and lower parts of the caudal fin (Ref. 85331).
The EOD waveform of Petrocephalus pulsivertens resembles an inverted-polarity version of the 'typical' Petrocephalus EOD (Ref. 85331).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae
Lavoué, S., J.P. Sullivan and M.E. Arnegard, 2010. African weakly electric fishes of the genus Petrocephalus (Osteoglossomorpha: Mormyridae) of Odzala National Park, Republic of the Congo (Lékoli River, Congo River basin) with description of five new species. Zootaxa 2600:1-52. (Ref. 85331)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
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Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01585 (0.00697 - 0.03603), b=2.85 (2.67 - 3.03), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this Genus-body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.2 ±0.4 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 (10 of 100).
