''Auchenoglanis'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

of relatively large, up to SL,

claroteid catfish The Claroteidae are a family of catfish (order Siluriformes) found in Africa. This family was separated from Bagridae. However, the monophyly of the family is sometimes contested. The 12 genera contain 86 known species of claroteids in two subfa ...

es native to various freshwater habitats in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. ''Auchenoglanis'' is a primitive member of the subfamily Auchenoglanidinae (also includes ''

Notoglanidium ''Notoglanidium'' is a genus of claroteid catfishes native to Africa. The formerly recognized genera ''Anaspidoglanis'', ''Liauchenoglanis'' and ''Platyglanis'' have all been merged into ''Notoglanidium''. Species There are currently five recog ...

'' and '' Parauchenoglanis'') and represents a

stem group In phylogenetics, the crown group or crown assemblage is a collection of species composed of the living representatives of the collection, the most recent common ancestor of the collection, and all descendants of the most recent common ancestor. ...

. Species of this genus occur predominantly in the Nilo-

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

region and

Western Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Maurita ...

, but also in the

Congo River The Congo River ( kg, Nzâdi Kôngo, french: Fleuve Congo, pt, Rio Congo), formerly also known as the Zaire River, is the second longest river in Africa, shorter only than the Nile, as well as the second largest river in the world by discharge ...

, Lakes

Albert Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia * Albert Productions, a record label * Albert ...

and

Tanganyika Tanganyika may refer to: Places * Tanganyika Territory (1916–1961), a former British territory which preceded the sovereign state * Tanganyika (1961–1964), a sovereign state, comprising the mainland part of present-day Tanzania * Tanzania Main ...

. ''Auchenoglanis'' species mainly feed on

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...

aquatic

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. The ...

e and eventually on small

mollusk Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is e ...

alevin Fish go through various biological life cycle, life stages between fertilization and adulthood. The life of a fish start as spawn (biology), spawned fish egg, eggs which hatch into immotile larvae. These larval hatchlings are not yet capable ...

, and swimming insects. These feeding habits should also enable them to stand a relatively wide range of ecological conditions.

Living species

Following a

taxonomic Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification. A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. ...

review in 1991, only two living species (marked with a star* in the list) were recognized in this genus. This is followed by

FishBase FishBase is a global species database of fish species (specifically finfish). It is the largest and most extensively accessed online database on adult finfish on the web.

. A review in 2010 found that there are six additional species, bringing the total to eight, and this is followed by

Catalog of Fishes Catalog of Fishes is a comprehensive on-line database and reference work on the scientific names of fish species and genera. It is global in its scope and is hosted by the California Academy of Sciences. It has been compiled and is continuously up ...

. Genetic studies indicate that additional, currently unrecognized species exist. * '' Auchenoglanis acuticeps''

Pappenheim Pappenheim is a town in the Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen district, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the river Altmühl, 11 km south of Weißenburg in Bayern. History Historically, Pappenheim was a statelet within Holy Roman Empire. It ...

, 1914 * '' Auchenoglanis biscutatus''* ( É. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1809) * ''

Auchenoglanis occidentalis The giraffe catfish, ''Auchenoglanis occidentalis'', is an African catfish. It eats plants off the floor of lakes and streams. Distribution and habitat The giraffe catfish is found throughout Africa in lakes and rivers, partially due to introduct ...

''* (

Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; nl, label=also Dutch, Valencijn; pcd, Valincyinnes or ; la, Valentianae) is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced a s ...

, 1840) (Bubu) * '' Auchenoglanis sacchii'' ( Vinciguerra, 1898) * '' Auchenoglanis senegali'' Retzer, 2010 * '' Auchenoglanis tanganicanus''

Boulenger Boulenger is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Benjamin Boulenger (born 1990), French footballer * Edward George Boulenger (1888–1946), British zoologist, director of aquarium at London Zoo * George Albert Boulenger (1858–1 ...

, 1906 * '' Auchenoglanis tchadiensis'' Pellegrin, 1909 * '' Auchenoglanis wittei'' Giltay, 1930

Fossil species

''Auchenoglanis'' is rare in the

fossil record A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved in ...

compared to other African catfishes. ''Auchenoglanis'' includes an

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

species, '' Auchenoglanis soye'' from Western

Chad Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic ...

. A few other fossils are also attributed to ''Auchenoglanis'' with no specific species described.

References

Claroteidae Fish of Africa Catfish genera Freshwater fish genera Taxa named by Albert Günther {{catfish-stub