Mormyridae

[mȯr′mir·ə‚dē]

(vertebrate zoology)

A large family of electrogenic fishes belonging to the Osteoglossiformes; African river and lake fishes characterized by small eyes, a slim caudal peduncle, and approximately equal dorsal and anal fins in most.

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Mormyridae

a family of fish of the order Mormyriformes. The body measures up to 1.5 m long. The snout is extended in a tube and is sometimes bent downward, enabling the fish to extract from the soil the invertebrates on which it feeds. Mormyrs live in fresh bodies of water in Africa. There are several genera (such as Mormyrus and Gnathonemus), comprising more than 30 species. Some representatives of the genus Mormyrus have electric organs on the sides of their tails, which serve for signaling (impulses are sent with different frequencies and received by other individuals). Mormyrs have commercial value.

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References in periodicals archive

[22], develops large trophozoites in the gall bladder of Brienomyrus brachyistus (Mormyridae) in Cameroon.

In decreasing importance order, these host families can be classified as: Cyprinidae (5 species); Claroteidae (2); Distichodontidae (2); Mochokidae (2); Mormyridae (2); Anabantidae (1); Aplocheilidae (1); Channidae (1); Cichlidae (1); Clariidae (1); Latidae (1); Tetraodontidae (1).

Description of Myxidium tetraodoni Sp. Nov., Myxidium anisocapsularis Sp. Nov. and Myxobolus magai Sp. Nov. (Myxosporea: Bivalvulida) Infecting Some Freshwater Fishes in Cameroon (Central Africa)

Feeding habits and digestive enzymes in the gut of Mormyrus rume (Valenciennes 1846) (Osteichthtes, Mormyridae).

Different feeding habits influence the activity of digestive enzymes in freshwater fish/Diferentes habitos alimentares influenciam a atividade das enzimas digestivas em peixes de agua doce

Caption: Figure 2: Fish species identified from Geba and Sor Rivers during the present study; (a) Mormyrus hasselquistii (Mormyridae), (b) Garra sp., (c) Labeo forskalii, (d) Labeo cylindricus, (e) Raiamas senegalensis, (f) Labeobarbus intermedius, (g) Labeobarbus nedgia (Cyprinidae, b-g), (h) Bagrus docmak (Bagridae), and (i) Oreochromis niloticus (Cichlidae).

Population Aspects of Fishes in Geba and Sor Rivers, White Nile System in Ethiopia, East Africa

The families Cichlidae and Mormyridae were each represented by four species, but Cichlidae dominated the fish species in terms of number and weight with 64.56% and 69.31 % respectively.

Influence of watershed activities on the water quality and fish assemblages of a tropical African reservoir

Feulner speculated that the two species of elephant nose fish from the family Mormyridae might still interbreed to produce offspring, but their differing electric fields might keep interspecies sex to a minimum.

Female elephant nose fish only get aroused by own species' sexual charge

Representatives of each of the four osteoglossiform extant families sensu Hilton (2003) are included in the cladistic analysis: Hiodon (Hiodontidae), Pantodon (Osteoglossidae), Xenomystus (Notopteridae) and Mormyrus (Mormyridae).

Teleostean phylogeny based on osteological and myological characters/Filogenia de teleosteos basada en caracteristicas osteologicas y miologicas

Family (14) Species (23) (1) Mormyridae 1-Mormyrus caschive 2-Mormyrus bebe 3-Mormyrus cyprinoids (2) Mochokidae 1-Synodontis schall (3) Bagridae 1-Bagrus bayad 2-Bagrus domac 3-Chrysichthys auratus 4-Auchenoglanis occidentals (4) characidae 1-Alestes dentex 2-Hydrocynus forskalli 3-Alestes nurse (5) Citharinidae 1-Disticodus niloticus (6) Schilbeidae 1-Schilbe mystus (7) Cyprinidae 1-labeo niloticus 2-Labeo horii 3-Barbus bynii (8) Cichlidae 1-Oreochromis niloticus (9) Clariidae 1-Clarias lazera (10) Protopteridae 1-Protopterus aethiopicus (11) Centropomidae 1-Lates niloticus (12) Tetraodontidae 1-Tetraodon lineatus (13)Malapteroidae Malapteroidae 1-Malapterurus electricus (14) Osteoglossidae 1-Heterotis niloticus Table 2: Showed fish production in months of summer 2014.

Effects of Seasonal Variation on Fish Catching in Jebel Aulia Reservoir on the White Nile, Sudan

Distribution, abundance, size and feeding habits of Brienomyrus brachyistius (Gill, 1862) (Teleostei: Mormyridae) in Nigeria rainforest stream, Cybium, 13: 25-36.

Feeding Relationships Among Tilapia zillii (Gervais, 1848), Tilapia guineensis (Bleeker, 1862) and Their Hybrid in Ayame Man-Made Lake, Cote d'Ivoire

These include families Osteoglossidae, Anabantidae, Chanidae, Schilbedae, Cyprinidae, Mormyridae, Cichlidae, Mochokidae, Characidae, Bagridae and Clariidae (Table 1).

Physical factors and their influence on fish species composition in Asa Lake, Ilorin, Nigeria