''Malapterurus beninensis'' is a species of

electric catfish Electric catfish or Malapteruridae is a family of catfishes (order Siluriformes). This family includes two genera, '' Malapterurus'' and ''Paradoxoglanis'', with 21 species. Several species of this family have the ability to generate electricity ...

native to the African nations of

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north ...

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

, the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

, the

Republic of the Congo The Republic of the Congo (french: République du Congo, ln, Republíki ya Kongó), also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply either Congo or the Congo, is a country located in the western coast of Central Africa to the w ...

Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea ( es, Guinea Ecuatorial; french: Guinée équatoriale; pt, Guiné Equatorial), officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea ( es, link=no, República de Guinea Ecuatorial, french: link=no, République de Guinée équatoria ...

Gabon Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north ...

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

and

Togo Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...

. This species grows to a length of SL. Its habitat is lowland marshes, rivers, and lakes.

Description

''M. beninensis'' is a fleshy, robust fish that grows to a maximum length of . It has a fusiform body (tapered at both ends) with a large head and a thick caudal peduncle. The eyes are small and slit-like, and the jaws are either of equal length, or the lower jaw is slightly longer than the upper. There are three pairs of sensory barbels around the mouth. There is no dorsal fin, but there is an adipose fin close to the tail. The pectoral fins have seven to nine soft rays, the pelvic fins have six soft rays and the anal fin has eight to eleven soft rays. The colour is rather variable, being darker grey above and paler grey below, liberally sprinkled with dark spots on back and flanks. There is a dark saddle on the caudal peduncle and a dark bar in front of the caudal fin. The pelvic fins are colourless, but the pectoral fins and the outer margins of the anal fin and caudal fin are dusky. There are no scales, the

lateral line The lateral line, also called the lateral line organ (LLO), is a system of sensory organs found in fish, used to detect movement, vibration, and pressure gradients in the surrounding water. The sensory ability is achieved via modified epithelial ...

is complete, and the

swim bladder The swim bladder, gas bladder, fish maw, or air bladder is an internal gas-filled Organ (anatomy), organ that contributes to the ability of many bony fish (but not cartilaginous fish) to control their buoyancy, and thus to stay at their curren ...

has two chambers.

Distribution and habitat

''M. beninensis'' occurs in lowland freshwater habitats in tropical West and Central Africa. Its range extends from Ghana to Angola and it is present on the island of Fernando Po. It lives in a range of

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

s including rivers, streams, lakes, marshes and swamps.

Ecology

This electric catfish has been little studied. It may lurk in holes in the riverbank and may even breed there. It is believed to feed on fishes, using its

electric organ An electric organ, also known as electronic organ, is an electronic keyboard instrument which was derived from the harmonium, pipe organ and theatre organ. Originally designed to imitate their sound, or orchestral sounds, it has since developed ...

both to stun them and to ward off

predators Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill the ...

Status

''M. beninensis'' is caught for food and for the aquarium trade, and is used in research. However it has a wide range and is a common species, so the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

has assessed its conservation status as being of

least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3752807 Malapteruridae Catfish of Africa Freshwater fish of Angola Fish of Cameroon Fish of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Fish of the Republic of the Congo Fish of Equatorial Guinea Fish of Gabon Freshwater fish of West Africa Fish described in 1855 Strongly electric fish