Teleostei (teleosts) >
Osteoglossiformes (Bony tongues) >
Mormyridae (Elephantfishes)
Etymology: Hippopotamyrus: Greek, ippos = horse + Greek,potamos = river + greek, myros = the male of morey eel (Ref. 45335).
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Freshwater; demersal. Tropical; 22°C - 24°C (Ref. 12468)
Africa: in the large Sahelo-Sudanese basins Nile, Niger, Benue, Chad and Volta (Ref. 2915, 28714, 81274); also Mono River in Togo, Sassandra River in Ivory Coast and in Ghana, Burkina Faso, NIgeria and Cameroon (Ref. 3203, 2915, 81274).
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 30.5 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3203); max. published weight: 100.00 g (Ref. 3799)
Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 29 - 39; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 30 - 36. Concave back profile. Dorsal and anal fins on same level. Body height 3.2-4.8 x SL. Chin less developed than H. paugyi. Caudal peduncle height 3.2-4.9 x of its length. Nasal openings forming 45° angle with body axis.
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 2024-2)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: minor commercial
Tools
Special reports
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5002 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01175 (0.00662 - 0.02084), b=2.86 (2.71 - 3.01), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & (Sub)family-body (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.2 ±0.3 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Resilience (Ref.
120179): Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low to moderate vulnerability (27 of 100).