''Mastacembelus'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

of many species of spiny eel fish from the family Mastacembelidae. They are native to Africa (c. 45 species) and Asia (c. 15 species). Most are found in rivers and associated systems (even in rapids), but there are also species in other freshwater habitats and a particularly rich radiation is found in the Lake Tanganyika basin with 15 species (14

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

). A few species can even occur in

brackish water Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estuari ...

Appearance

The size and pattern varies greatly depending on the exact species of ''Mastacembelus''. The smallest are '' M. latens'' and '' M. simba'', which only reach a maximum total length of . At up to , the largest of both the family and this genus is '' M. erythrotaenia''. ''M. erythrotaenia'', often known as the fire eel, is blackish with an orange-red pattern, and it is a popular aquarium fish. Otherwise species in this genus are typically brownish and often have a spotted, speckled or mottled pattern, either in another brown hue, grayish or yellowish. This pattern is reflected in the common name of another species sometimes kept in aquariums, the zig-zag eel ''M. armatus'' (alternatively called the tire track eel, a name otherwise used for '' M. favus''). A few others also occasionally appear in the aquarium trade, and some are considered good food fish and eaten locally. '' M aviceps'', '' M. brichardi'', '' M. crassus'' and '' M. latens'' are found in dark, deep parts of 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 ...

and sometimes shallower among rocks. These four species have reduced eyes and are all pinkish-white in color (non- pigmented), similar to

cavefish Cavefish or cave fish is a generic term for fresh and brackish water fish adapted to life in caves and other underground habitats. Related terms are subterranean fish, troglomorphic fish, troglobitic fish, stygobitic fish, phreatic fish and ...

Taxonomy

In an evaluation of the Mastacembelidae in 2005, the genera ''Caecomastacembelus'' and ''Aethiomastacembelus'' (formerly used for the African species) were placed in

synonymy A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

with ''Mastacembelus''.

Species

According to FishBase, there are currently 61 recognized species in this genus. 4 additional species (marked with a star* in the list) are recognized 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 u ...

. * '' Mastacembelus alboguttatus'' Boulenger, 1893 * '' Mastacembelus albomaculatus''

Poll Poll, polled, or polling may refer to: Figurative head counts * Poll, a formal election ** Election verification exit poll, a survey taken to verify election counts ** Polling, voting to make decisions or determine opinions ** Polling places o ...

, 1953 * '' Mastacembelus ansorgii'' Boulenger, 1905 * '' Mastacembelus apectoralis'' K. J. Brown,

Britz Britz () is a German locality (''Ortsteil'') within the Berlin borough (''Bezirk'') of Neukölln. History The village of ''Britzig'' was first mentioned in 1273. It was incorporated by the 1920 Greater Berlin Act. It is known for being the site ...

, I. R. Bills, Rüber & J. J. Day, 2011 * '' Mastacembelus armatus'' ( Lacépède, 1800) (Zig zag eel) * '' Mastacembelus aviceps'' T. R. Roberts & D. J. Stewart, 1976 * '' Mastacembelus batesii''* Boulenger, 1911 * '' Mastacembelus brachyrhinus'' Boulenger, 1899 * '' Mastacembelus brichardi''

, 2007 * '' Mastacembelus paucispinis'' Boulenger, 1899 * '' Mastacembelus plagiostomus'' Matthes, 1962 * '' Mastacembelus platysoma''

, 2007 * '' Mastacembelus traversi'' ( Vreven & Teugels, 1997) * '' Mastacembelus triolobus'' W. Zhou & L. P. Yang, 2011 * '' Mastacembelus trispinosus'' Steindachner, 1911 * '' Mastacembelus undulatus'' (

McClelland McClelland is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Alyssa McClelland, Australian actress * Charles A. McClelland (1917–2006), American political systems analyst * Charles P. McClelland (1854–1944), New York politician, and US ...

, 1844) * '' Mastacembelus unicolor'' G. Cuvier, 1832 * '' Mastacembelus vanderwaali'' P. H. Skelton, 1976 (Ocellated spiny eel) * '' Mastacembelus zebratus'' Matthes, 1962

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2233752 Mastacembelidae Taxa named by Giovanni Antonio Scopoli Freshwater fish genera