Cryptomyrus
| Cryptomyrus | ||||||||||||
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Cryptomyrus ogoouensis , the type species of the genus |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Cryptomyrus | ||||||||||||
| Sullivan , Lavoue & Hopkins , 2016 |
Cryptomyrus is a genus of African freshwater fish from the Nilhechte family(Mormyridae). The genus occurs with two species in Gabon in the river areas of Ogooué and Moukalaba.
features
The fish are small; the specimens examined for the first description of the genus and the two species were 10 to 11 cm in length. The body is slightly high back, the body height at the base of the pelvic fins is 21 to 24% of the standard length, and flattened on the sides. The Cryptomyrus species differ from all other Egyptian pike by a combination of the following features. The scales are relatively large, 44 or 45 are located on a central longitudinal row on the sides of the body, 42 of which are provided with the lateral line pores. Only large-scale Marcusenius species such as Marcusenius moorii and small species of the genera Stomatorhinus and Pollimyrus have so few lateral scales. The mouth of Cryptomyrus is below, the chin swelling is more pronounced than in Ivindomyrus and Paramormyrops but it does not protrude far above the mouth as in Marcusenius . Seen from the side the head is rounded, seen from above it is V-shaped. The eyes are large, their diameter is 19 to 20% of the length of the head. The distance between the eyes is 32 to 35% of the length of the head. The four central teeth in the lower jaw are wide, spade-shaped and almost horizontal. The larger middle pair together have a trowel-like shape. The length of the dorsal fin is 78 to 88% of the anal fin length. The tail stalk is relatively high. At the end of the anal fin, its height is more than 30% of its length. A dark, only diffuse, broad band extends from the front part of the dorsal fin to the front part of the anal fin.
Cryptomyrus differs from paramormyrops , the most species-rich genus of Nile pike in Gabon and Lower Guinea, in that it has a more spindle-shaped body and larger eyes (19–20% of the head length vs. 19–20% KL). Paramormyrops also lack the dark band between the dorsal and anal fin. Like all Nilhechte, Cryptomyrus species are capable of electrical communication and electrical orientation.
species
- Cryptomyrus ogoouensis Sullivan, Lavoue, Hopkins, 2016
- Cryptomyrus ona Sullivan, Lavoue, Hopkins, 2016
literature
- John P. Sullivan, Sebastien Lavoue, Carl D. Hopkins: Cryptomyrus : a new genus of Mormyridae (Teleostei, Osteoglossomorpha) with two new species from Gabon, West-Central Africa, ZooKeys 561: 117–150 (08 Feb 2016) doi: 10.3897 / zookeys.561.7137
