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Osteoglossiformes (Bony tongues) >
Mormyridae (Elephantfishes)
Etymology: Petrocephalus: Latin, petra = stone + Greek, kephale = head (Ref. 45335).
Eponymy: Dr Jacques J Pellegrin (1873–1944) was a French zoologist. [...] (Ref. 128868), visit book page.
More on author: Poll.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Freshwater; demersal. Tropical
Africa: Coastal basins between Sierra Leone and Côte d'Ivoire (Sassandra River). Also known from the Niandan River, an affluent of the Niger River in Guinea (Ref. 2915) and from the upper Cavally River in Liberia and Guinea (Ref. 3203) and Ghana (Ref. 272).
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 9.1 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 2915)
Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 19 - 26; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 26 - 31. Body depth 2.7-3.7 x SL. Peduncle depth 11.8-15.8 x SL. Base of anal fin 3.6-4.7 x SL. Eye diameter 3.2-5.2 x head length. Uniformly brown color.
Body shape (shape guide): fusiform / normal; Cross section: compressed.
Affinities: can be mistaken for P. bovei, only difference is its small eye and shorter anal fin base.
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Bigorne, R., 1990. Mormyridae. p. 122-184. In C. Lévêque, D. Paugy and G.G. Teugels (eds.) Faune des poissons d'eaux saumâtres d'Afrique de l'Ouest. tome 1. Faune Trop. 28. Musée Royal de l'Afrique Centrale, Tervuren, and ORSTOM, Paris. (Ref. 2915)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-1)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01549 (0.00684 - 0.03506), b=2.86 (2.68 - 3.04), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this Genus-body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.2 ±0.4 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Resilience (Ref.
120179): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (10 of 100).
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