Malapterurus electricus, Electric catfish : fisheries, gamefish

Malapterurus electricus (Gmelin, 1789)

Electric catfish
Envoyez vos Photos et vidéos
 Images | Timbres, pièces de monnaie, divers | Images Google
Image of Malapterurus electricus (Electric catfish)
Malapterurus electricus
Photo de Nightingale, A.

Classification / Noms Noms communs | Synonymes | Catalog of Fishes(Genre, Espèce) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

> Siluriformes (Catfishes) > Malapteruridae (Electric catfishes)
Etymology: Malapterurus: Greek, mala = a lot of + Greek, pteron = fin + Greek, oura = tail (Ref. 45335); electricus: The electric discharging capacity of this electric catfish is described by the specific epithet (Ref. 44050).
More on author: Gmelin.

Environnement : milieu / zone climatique / profondeur / gamme de distribution Écologie

; eau douce benthopélagique; pH range: 7.0 - 8.0; dH range: ? - 20; potamodrome (Ref. 51243). Tropical; 23°C - 30°C (Ref. 1672); 35°N - 30°S

Distribution Territoires | Zones FAO | Écosystèmes | Occurrences | Carte par point | Introductions | Faunafri

Africa: typical Sudanian distribution; in much of the Nile system (exclusive of Lake Victoria), Lake Turkana, Lake Chad and Senegal basins, throughout the Niger system and smaller southward flowing basins in west Africa, from Bandama through Volta rivers in Ivory Coast and Ghana (Ref. 44050). Absent from Congo basin; reports from Congo basin refer to any of the other species in this system (see Ref. 44050 for details).

Taille / Poids / Âge

Maturité: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 122 cm SL mâle / non sexé; (Ref. 3850); poids max. publié: 20.0 kg (Ref. 3799); âge max. reporté: 10 années (Ref. 7248)

Description synthétique Clés d'identification | Morphologie | Morphométrie

Épines dorsales (Total) : 0; Rayons mous dorsaux (Total) : 0; Épines anales: 0; Rayons mous anaux: 9 - 11; Vertèbres: 38 - 41. Diagnosis: tooth patches narrow; pectoral fin placed near body mid-depth; 7-8 branched caudal fin rays (Ref. 44050). 9-11 anal-fin rays, usually 10-11; 38-41 total vertebrae, usually 39-41 (Ref. 57130). Caudal saddle and bar pattern not present in adults (Ref. 57130), poorly developed in all ages (Ref. 44050). Flank and dorsum in adults and young marked with large blotches (some up to 4-5 times eye diameter); caudal fin of adults generally same color as flank ground color or slightly darker, larger specimens usually with spots or blotches in caudal fin (Ref. 44050, 57130).
Body shape (shape guide): fusiform / normal; Cross section: circular.

Biologie     Glossaire (ex. epibenthic)

Occur among rocks or roots. Favors sluggish or standing water. Active at night, feeding mainly on fish stunned by electric shocks. Described as a nocturnal piscivore that breeds during periods of high water; rarely feeds on molluscs (Ref. 44050). The electric organ, capable of discharging 300-400 V, is derived from pectoral muscle and surrounds almost the entire body. It is used both for prey capture and defense. Electric organ discharge (EOD) is intermittent and the amplitude increases with size of the fish (Ref. 10011). Responds immediately to cyclic light changes, exhibiting maximum EOD activity shortly after sunset and lowest activity just after sunrise (Ref. 10798). Its EOD duration decreased from 1.5 to 0.3 ms in response to increased temperature from 15 to 30°C (Ref. 10838). Adults form pairs and breed in excavated cavities or holes (Ref. 7248). Maximum size in Lake Chad reported as 1125mm SL, but most museum specimens much smaller (maximum 400mm SL, Nile River)(Ref. 57130).

Cycle de vie et comportement reproducteur Maturité | Reproduction | Frai | Œufs | Fécondité | Larves

It is assumed that the male tends the clutch. Others report that the male takes the eggs into his mouth. It is also unknown how the fry is immune to the electric shocks by the parents (Ref. 1672).

Référence principale Téléchargez vos références | Références | Coordinateur | Collaborateurs

Roberts, T.R., 2000. A review of the African electric catfish family Malapteruridae, with descriptions of new species. Occas. Pap. Ichthyol. 1:1-15. (Ref. 34006)

Statut dans la liste rouge de l'IUCN (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-2 (Global))

  Préoccupation mineure (LC) ; Date assessed: 04 March 2025

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Menace pour l'homme

Other (Ref. 4967)





Utilisations par l'homme

Pêcheries: pêcheries vivrières; pêche sportive: oui
FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

Plus d'informations

Écologie trophique
Aliments (proies)
Composition du régime alimentaire
Consommation alimentaire
Rations alimentaires
Prédateurs
Écologie
Écologie
Dynamique des populations
Paramètres de croissance
Âges / tailles maximales
Longueur-poids rel.
Rel. longueur-longueur.
Fréquences de longueurs
Conversion de masse
Recrutement
Abondance
Cycle de vie
Reproduction
Maturité
Maturité/épines rel.
Fécondité
Frai
Agrégats de frai
Œufs
Développement de l'œuf
Larves
Dynamique des populations larvaires
Distribution
Territoires
Zones FAO
Écosystèmes
Occurrences
Introductions
BRUVS - Vidéos
Anatomie
Surface branchiale
Cerveau
Otolithe
Physiologie
Composition corporelle
Nutriments
Consommation d'oxygène
Type de natation
Vitesse de nage
Pigments visuels
Son de poisson
Maladies et parasites
Toxicité (CL50)
Génétique
génôme
Génétique
Hétérozygotie
Héritabilité
Diversité génétique
Liées à l'homme
Systèmes d'aquaculture
Profils d'aquaculture
Souches
Cas de ciguatera
Timbres, pièces de monnaie, divers
Sensibilisation
Collaborateurs
Taxonomie
Noms communs
Synonymes
Morphologie
Morphométrie
Images
Références
Références

Outils

Quiz bio | E-book | Guide de terrain | Clés d'identification | Générateur de fréquences de longueur | Outil de dynamique de population | Carte par point | Capture-MSY |

Articles particuliers

Maintenance en aquarium | Articles sur l'espèce | Rapports d'aquaculture

Télécharger en XML

Page de résumé | Coordonnées géographiques | Noms communs | Photos

Sources Internet

AFORO (otoliths) | Alien/Invasive Species database | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | Websites from users | FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: Genre, Espèce | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | OneZoom | Open Tree of Life | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | TreeBase | Arbre de Vie | Wikipedia: aller à, chercher | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimations basées sur des modèles

Indice de diversité phylogénétique
(Réf. 82804) 		PD50 = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight a=0.01175 (0.00859 - 0.01606), b=2.96 (2.87 - 3.05), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref. 93245).
Niveau trophique
(Réf. 69278) 		2.9   ±0.38 se; based on food items.
Résilience
(Réf. 120179) 		Faible, temps minimum de doublement de population : 4,5 à 14 années (tmax=10; Fec < 1,000).
Vulnérabilité de la pêche
(Ref. 59153) 		High to very high vulnerability (74 of 100). 🛈
Catégorie de prix
(Ref. 80766) 		Unknown.
Nutriments
(Ref. 124155) 		Calcium = 48.9 [27.2, 92.2] mg/100g; Iron = 1.14 [0.65, 2.02] mg/100g; Protein = 16.4 [15.2, 17.6] %; Omega3 = 0.382 [0.141, 1.050] g/100g; Selenium = 119 [46, 264] μg/100g; VitaminA = 34.3 [11.4, 99.9] μg/100g; Zinc = 1.24 [0.82, 1.79] mg/100g (wet weight);