Euchilichthys

Indefinite Euchilichthys species from the Congo.

Euchilichthys is a genus of African catfish family Mochokidae. The species of the genus live from Dja in southern Cameroon and the Ubangi, over Gabon and the Congo Basin south to the Kasai on the border between Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo, to Lake Mweru and the catchment area of ​​the Bangweulusee in Zambia.

Features

Euchilichthys species are 10 to 22 inches long and have an elongated, laterally only slightly flattened scaleless body. Typical of the genus are under a constant, large suction mouth, which is surrounded by lips that are filled with papillae, a bony plate on the head and neck and two pairs of barbels featherless. The eyes are small and lie close to the head midline. The paired nostrils are close together, the upper lobed. The teeth on the premaxilla are curved, pointed and disposed in a wide band. The teeth on the maxillae are slender, have notched, upset or hook-shaped crowns and stand in a narrow range. The short dorsal fin and is situated far forward, behind, just before the caudal peduncle an adipose fin. The caudal fin is forked, the lower lobe is slightly longer than the upper. The pectoral fins are very wide and are supported by a strong, serrated rear fin spine. The shoulder extension is pointed and triangular. The three-piece swim bladder is small. Euchilichthys species are usually colored and mottled grayish or brown - gray.

Species

Fishbase lists five types:

• Euchilichthys astatodon ( Pellegrin, 1928)
• Euchilichthys boulengeri Nichols & La Monte, 1934
• Euchilichthys dybowskii ( Vaillant, 1892)
• Euchilichthys guentheri ( Schilthuis, 1891 ) ( type species )
• Euchilichthys royauxi Boulenger, 1902