The Malawi spinyeel (Mastacembelus shiranus) is a species of fish in the family Mastacembelidae from Africa. It is endemic to the Lake Malawi basin, including the main lake itself, Lake Malombe and the lower Shire River.[3][1] It is the only described species of spinyeel in Lake Malawi, but a brightly marked variant, Mastacembelus sp. "Rosette" is also known. It is unclear if it is a variant of the Malawi spinyeel or an undescribed species.[1][2] The Malawi spinyeel reaches about 30 cm (12 in) in length, and likely feeds on invertebrates and small fish.[1]

Malawi spinyeel
The "Rosette" type, possibly a variant of A. shiranus or an undescribed species[1][2]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Synbranchiformes
Family: Mastacembelidae
Genus: Mastacembelus
Species:
M. shiranus
Binomial name
Mastacembelus shiranus
Günther, 1896
Synonyms[4]
  • Aethiomastacembelus shiranus (Günther, 1896)
  • Afromastacembelus shiranus (Günther, 1896)

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c d Konings, Ad (1990). Ad Konings' Book of Cichlids and all the other Fishes of Lake Malawi, pp. 473—476. ISBN 978-0866225274.
  2. ^ a b Oliver, M.K: Aethiomastacembelus sp. "Rosette". MalawiCichlids. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
  3. ^ a b Konings, A.; Kazembe, J.; Vreven, E. (2018). "Mastacembelus shiranus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T61187A47239346. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T61187A47239346.en. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  4. ^ Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Mastacembelus shiranus". FishBase. August 2019 version.