Mormyrus mucupe Peters, 1852
Species overview
Larger fish, body moderately elongate, rather deep, head bluntly funnel-shaped, snout slightly bent downwards, mouth terminal. No conspicuous cutaneous sensory organs below the eye. Caudal peduncle rather deep. Back dark, belly whitish, countershaded. Size observed: about 300 mm TL.
M. mucupe(measurements)
Taxonomic description
-Body moderately elongate, rather deep, laterally compressed, cross section oblong-oval, depth of body 28 % SL, greatest depth near origin of dorsal fin.
-Length of head 23 % SL; depth of head 21 % SL, 67 % depth of body.
-Outline of back (dorsal fin inclusive) slightly convex, upper profile of head straight, sloping, underside of head concave; outline of belly (anal fin inclusive) curved.
-Snout funnel-shaped, moderately tapering into a tube, 38 % length of head, 70 % postorbital length.
-Mouth terminal, edge of mouth far away from anterior nostril, edge of upper jaw on a level with underside of head.
-Chin with moderate submental swelling, lower jaw about as deep as upper part of snout.
-Teeth notched, 5-7/8-12.
-Nostrils separate, posterior one slightly oval, anterior nostril on a level slightly below rim of eye, posterior nostril slightly below anterior, distance between nostrils about half their distance from eye, their axis cutting axis of head at an angle of about 45ª.
-Eye diameter 10 % length of head, 26 % postorbital length.
-No conspicuous cutaneous sensory organs, suborbital tuberous organs, below the eye.
-Opercular cleft curved, 42 % length of head, 47 % depth of head.
-Dorsal fin 65-75 fin-rays, base of D 46 % SL, anal fin 17-19 rays, base of A 11 % SL, origin of D very far anterior to origin of A, almost halfway between pectoral and pelvic fin, end of D far posterior to end of A; predorsal length 44 % SL, preanal length 62 % SL.
-Pectoral fin obtusely pointed, extending to middle between pectoral and pelvic fin. V is closer to A than to P.
-Caudal fin obtusely pointed, the scaled lobes covering about half of the entire fin. 88-100 scales in lateral line; 22-28 round caudal peduncle.
-Caudal peduncle 13 % SL, its depth 7 % SL, 56 % its length.
-Coloration, olive brown above, whitish or silvery below, countershaded.
Type locality
»Mossambique«
Distribution
»Lower and Middle Zambezi River«.