Paramormyrops
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Paramormyrops | ||||||||||||
| Taverne , Thys van den Audenaerde & Heymer , 1977 |
Paramormyrops is a genus of African freshwater fish from the Nilhechte family(Mormyridae). The genus occurs in West Africa from Cameroon to the Republic of the Congo . The main distribution area of the genus is the river basin of the Ogowe in Gabon . The species Paramormyrops jacksoni , which is only known from the type specimen , is said to come from the Longa in Angola , a tributary of the upper Zambezi .
features
Species of paramormyrops grow to be 5.2 to 23.8 inches long. Your body is elongated and flattened on the sides. The body height is 15 to 25% of the standard length . The head length corresponds roughly to the body height or the head is a little longer. The "snout" (region in front of the eyes) rounded or slightly pointed, never tubular, the head profile U or V-shaped when viewed from above. The mouth is small and terminal or subordinate. The teeth, five to seven in the upper jaw and six to eight in the lower jaw, are two-pointed or pincer-shaped. The fleshy "chin" does not protrude and is covered with electroreceptors. Like all Nilhechte, Paramormyrops species are capable of electrical communication and electrical orientation. The nostrils are clearly separated and are equidistant from the eyes and the tip of the snout.
The dorsal and anal fins sit in the back of the body and are symmetrically opposite each other. Both fins are the same length or the anal fin is a little longer with some additional fin rays . The symmetrical arrangement of the dorsal and anal fin and the relatively short anal fin are the clearest distinguishing feature from the genus Brienomyrus , which has a similar shape, but in which the anal fin is always significantly longer. Paramormyrops have 12 to 20 scales around the tail fin stalk . The fish are inconspicuous, mostly monochrome grayish or brownish in color.
species
Nine species are placed in the genus Paramormyrops :
- Paramormyrops batesii ( Boulenger , 1906)
- Paramormyrops curvifrons ( Taverne , Thys van den Audenaerde , Heymer & Géry , 1977)
- Paramormyrops gabonensis tavern, Thys van den Audenaerde & Heymer, 1977
- Paramormyrops hopkinsi (Taverne & Thys van den Audenaerde, 1985)
- Paramormyrops jacksoni ( Poll , 1967)
- Paramormyrops kingsleyae (Günther, 1896)
- Paramormyrops longicaudatus (Tavern, Thys van den Audenaerde, Heymer & Géry, 1977)
- Paramormyrops ntotom Rich, Sullivan & Hopkins, 2017
- Paramormyrops sphekodes ( Sauvage , 1879)
literature
- Melanie Stiassny, Guy Teugels & Carl D. Hopkins: The Fresh and Brackish Water Fishes of Lower Guinea, West-Central Africa, Volume 1. ISBN 9789074752206
