Xenomystus nigri

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Population

Habitat and Ecology

Threats

Conservation Actions

Bibliography

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	ACTINOPTERYGII	OSTEOGLOSSIFORMES	NOTOPTERIDAE

Scientific Name:

Xenomystus nigri

Species Authority:

(Günther, 1868)

Common Name/s:

English	–	African knifefish, African knife fish, African knife-fish, African knifefish (FB), False featherback
French	–	Poisson couteau

Synonym/s:

Notopterus nigri Günther, 1868

Notopterus nili Steindachner, 1881

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:	Least Concern ver 3.1
Year Published:	2010
Assessor/s:	Getahun, A., Lalèyè, P., Moelants, T. & Olaosebikan, B.D.
Reviewer/s:	Snoeks, J., Tweddle, D., Getahun, A., Lalèyè, P., Paugy, D., Zaiss, R., Fishar, M.R.A & Brooks, E.
Contributor/s:
Justification: This species has a wide distribution, with no known major widespread threats. It is therefore listed as Least Concern. It has also been assessed regionally as Least Concern for central and western Africa. More information is needed on the distribution and status of this species within north eastern Africa before an assessment can be made, and it is therefore listed as Data Deficient.

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	This species has a scattered distribution from Sierra Leone to Angola and Sudan. Central Africa: Xenomystus nigrii is known from Pool Malebo (Stanley Pool) and from the Lower and Central Congo River basin. It has also been recorded from just upstream Kisangani. It is known from the Lower Guinea region where it occurs in the Wouri River, Cameroon and in the Ogowe River and coastal drainages in Gabon. Northeast Africa: It is present in the Bahr el Jebel system, Sudan. Western Africa:Within Western Africa, Xenomystus nigri has been reported from Sierra Leone (Lake Kwarko Krim and River Gbap), Liberia (Farmington Lake), Togo (Togble-Kope River, Kelegougan flood plain), and from Benin to Nigeria and the Chad basin.
Countries:	Native: Angola (Angola, Angola, Cabinda); Benin; Cameroon; Central African Republic; Chad; Congo; Congo, The Democratic Republic of the; Equatorial Guinea; Gabon; Liberia; Nigeria; Sierra Leone; Sudan; Togo
FAO Marine Fishing Areas:	Native: Atlantic – eastern central
Range Map:	Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Population [top]

Population:	No information available.
Population Trend:	Unknown

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	A demersal species, it prefers quiet waters rich in vegetation in streams and lakes. It is a predator feeding on invertebrates. Has a modified airbreathing organ so can survive in polluted or deoxygenated conditions. Can produce barking sounds. Comes to the surface from time to time to swallow air. Feeds at dusk and during the night on worms, crustaceans, insects and snails (Mills and Vevers 1989). Although this fish, with its reduced pelvic fins, long anal fin and loss of dorsal fin superficially resembles gymnotiform electric fishes of South America, it does not have any specializations for generation of electric currents in water. Nevertheless, Xenomystus does possess electroreceptors of the ampullary type which it apparently uses for sensing prey (Braford 1982).
Systems:	Freshwater

Habitat and Ecology:

A demersal species, it prefers quiet waters rich in vegetation in streams and lakes. It is a predator feeding on invertebrates. Has a modified airbreathing organ so can survive in polluted or deoxygenated conditions. Can produce barking sounds. Comes to the surface from time to time to swallow air. Feeds at dusk and during the night on worms, crustaceans, insects and snails (Mills and Vevers 1989). Although this fish, with its reduced pelvic fins, long anal fin and loss of dorsal fin superficially resembles gymnotiform electric fishes of South America, it does not have any specializations for generation of electric currents in water. Nevertheless, Xenomystus does possess electroreceptors of the ampullary type which it apparently uses for sensing prey (Braford 1982).

Systems:

Freshwater

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	This is a hardy species, but it does have commercial importance as an aquarium fish.

Major Threat(s):

This is a hardy species, but it does have commercial importance as an aquarium fish.

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions:	None known.

Conservation Actions:

None known.

Bibliography [top]

	Pan-Africa freshwater assessment references. Currently, full citations for references used in the Pan-Africa biodiversity assessments are unavailable on the Red List web site. These will be added to the site in 2011. We apologise for any inconvenience this causes. IUCN. 2010. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (ver. 2010.3). Available at: http://www.iucnredlist.org. (Accessed: 2 September 2010).

Pan-Africa freshwater assessment references. Currently, full citations for references used in the Pan-Africa biodiversity assessments are unavailable on the Red List web site. These will be added to the site in 2011. We apologise for any inconvenience this causes.

IUCN. 2010. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (ver. 2010.3). Available at: http://www.iucnredlist.org. (Accessed: 2 September 2010).

Citation:	Getahun, A., Lalèyè, P., Moelants, T. & Olaosebikan, B.D. 2010. Xenomystus nigri. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 20 June 2013.
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