Subfamily Auchenoglanidinae Phylum Chordata Rank Genus | Scientific name Auchenoglanis Higher classification Bagridae Order Catfish | |
Similar Giraffe catfish, Catfish, Claroteidae, Chrysichthys, Bagridae | ||
Auchenoglanis is a genus of claroteid catfishes native to Africa.
Contents
Auchenoglanis is a primitive member of the subfamily Auchenoglanidinae and represents a stem group.
Species of this genus occur predominantly in the Nilo-Sudan region and Western Africa, but also in the Congo River, Lakes Mobutu and Tanganyika.
Auchenoglanis species mainly feed on insect aquatic larvae and eventually on small mollusks, alevin, and swimming insects. These feeding habits should also enable them to stand a relatively wide range of ecological conditions.
Giraffe catfish auchenoglanis occidentalis
Species
There are currently three recognized species in this family:
Fossil record
Auchenoglanis is rare in the fossil record compared to other African catfishes. Auchenoglanis includes an extinct species, Auchenoglanis soye from Western Chad. A few other fossils are also attributed to Auchenoglanis with no specific species described.
