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Gnathonemus petersii in Central African Republic
Elephantnose fish

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Gnathonemus petersii   (Günther, 1862)
Family:	Mormyridae (Elephantfishes)			picture (Gnpet_u0.jpg) by Moreau, J.
Order:	Osteoglossiformes  (bony tongues)
Class:	Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes)
FishBase name:	Elephantnose fish
Max. size:	35.0 cm SL (male/unsexed; Ref. 2915)
Environment:	demersal; pH range: 6 - 8; dH range: 5 - 19
Climate:	tropical; 22 - 28°C
Global Importance:	fisheries: subsistence fisheries; aquarium: commercial
Resilience:	Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (Preliminary K or Fecundity.)
Distribution:	Africa: Niger to Congo River basins. Limited to the Lower Niger, in the Ogun, in the Cross River Basin and in the upper Chari.
Diagnosis:	Dorsal spines (total): 0-0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 25-31; Anal spines: 0-0; Anal soft rays: 32-36
Biology:	Occurs close to the bottom where it probes for food with the long snout. Territorial and usually aggressive towards members of its own species. This behavior has been shown to involve electric organ discharge (EOD) activity (Ref. 10011). Feeds mostly at night on worms and insects (Ref. 7020), probably aided by electro-sensory inputs (Ref. 10011). Electroreceptors are distributed over the entire head, the dorsal and ventral regions of the body, but absent from the side and the caudal peduncle where the electric organ is located (Ref. 10011). Sex-related EOD characteristics in this species has been demonstrated in the laboratory with freshly imported samples during the breeding season; such EOD dimorphism changed with time in captivity (Ref. 10764; 10766). Lead nitrate in water significantly increased EOD rate and selectively altered the EOD waveform of this species (Ref. 10469). Dubbed a `hearing specialist' having auditory abilities in the range of 100-2500 Hz, with `best frequencies' between 300 and 600 Hz (Ref. 10830). Aquarium keeping: in groups of 5 or more individuals; minimum aquarium size 150 cm; not recommended for home aquariums (Ref. 51539)
Threatened:	Not Evaluated, see IUCN Red List  , (Ref. 36508)
Dangerous:	harmless
Coordinator:
Main Ref:	Gosse, J.-P.. 1984. (Ref. 3203)
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Central African Republic country information
Common names:	[ No common name ]		Ref:
Status:	native		Ref:
Salinity:	freshwater
Regulations:	no regulations		Ref:
Uses:	no uses
Country Information:	www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ct.html
Occurrences:	Occurrences    Point map
Main Ref:	Gosse, J.-P., 1984
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More information:	Countries FAO areas Occurrences Introductions Ecosystem Ecology Diet Food items Food consumption Ration Predators Ciguatera Fish loss Common names Synonyms Pictures Sounds Reproduction Maturity Spawning Eggs Egg dev. Larvae Larval dynamics References Growth L-W relationship L-L relationship Length frequencies Recruitment Max. age & size Metabolism Morphology Morphometrics Gill area Brains Vision Collaborators Genetics Allele frequencies Heritability Strains Aquaculture Aquaculture profile Diseases Ecotoxicology Processing Speed Swim. type Stamps
	Note: No data are available if label is black .
Tools:	Biogeographic modelling | Bio-Quiz | E-book | Field guide | Identification keys | Length-frequency Wizard | Life-history tool | Point map |
Internet sources:	BiOSC Point Data | CISTI | Google | GOBASE | GenBank ( genome, nucleotide ) | PubMed | Recipes | Scirus | Public aquariums | Tree of Life | Zoological Record Other web sites |
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	Entered:  Capuli, Estelita Emily

	Ref.:				Glossary
		(e.g. 9948)				(e.g. cephalopods)
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Page created by: Eli, 20.10.03, last modified by Eli, 26.06.07