Teleostei (teleosts) >
Osteoglossiformes (Bony tongues) >
Mormyridae (Elephantfishes)
Etymology: Petrocephalus: Latin, petra = stone + Greek, kephale = head (Ref. 45335); mbossou: The specific epithet is the name given to Petrocephalus locally in the Lingala language; speakers of Lingala recognize Petrocephalus as a natural group, which they call 'mbossou' (Ref. 85331).
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Freshwater; benthopelagic. Tropical
Africa: middle Congo River basin: Lékoli River (Likouala River tributary) in Republic of Congo (Ref. 85331), and the Ubangui River in Central African Republic (Ref. 113655).
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 12.7 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 85331)
Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 22 - 24; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 26 - 28. Diagnosis: Petrocephalus mbossou is distinguished from all other Petrocephalus species in Central Africa by the following combination of characteristics: dorsal fin with 22-24 branched rays; anal fin with 26-28 branched rays; mouth inferior and small, with ration head length and mouth width 4.2-5.1, with 9-11 teeth in a single row in the upper jaw and 14-22 teeth in a single row in the lower jaw; distance from the anterior extremity of the snout to the corner of the mouth only 2.8-3.4 times in head length (Ref. 85331, 113655). Weak pigmentation pattern with the presence of two black markings on each side of the body: (1) an irregular patch below the anterior base of the dorsal fin (first to sixth/seventh rays); (2) an irregularly-shaped mark centered at the base of the caudal fin that does not extend onto the rayed portions of the upper and lower caudal fin lobes (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): 3.3 ±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).
