Malawi spinyeel

Malawi spinyeel
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Synbranchiformes
Family: Mastacembelidae
Genus: Mastacembelus
Species: M. shiranus
Binomial name
Mastacembelus shiranus
Günther, 1896
Synonyms

Aethiomastacembelus shiranus (Günther, 1896)
Afromastacembelus shiranus (Günther, 1896)

The Malawi spinyeel (Mastacembelus shiranus) is a species of fish in the Mastacembelidae family from Africa. It is endemic to the Lake Malawi basin, including the main lake itself, Lake Malombe and the lower Shire River.[1][2] It is the only described species of spinyeel in Lake Malawi, but a brightly marked variant, Mastacembelus sp. "Rosette" is also known. It is unclear if it is a variant of the Malawi spinyeel or an undescribed species.[2][3] The Malawi spinyeel reaches about 30 cm (12 in) in length, and likely feeds on invertebrates and small fish.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 Kazembe, J. & Vreven, E. 2005. Mastacembelus shiranus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 4 August 2007.
  2. 1 2 3 Konings, Ad (1990). Ad Konings' Book of Cichlids and all the other Fishes of Lake Malawi, pp. 473—476. ISBN 978-0866225274.
  3. ↑ Oliver, M.K: Aethiomastacembelus sp. "Rosette". MalawiCichlids. Retrieved 11 April 2017.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.