Description

Dorsal spines (total): 15 - 16; Dorsal soft rays (total): 9 - 10; Anal spines: 4; Anal soft rays: 6 - 7. Diagnosis: mouth large and protrusible; premaxilla reaching upwards to level of occipital region; preopercle denticulate; lateral line absent; 5 scale rows on cheeks; caudal fin rounded (Ref. 57397). Coloration: highly variable, depending, among other factors, on emotional state of fish; normally, ground colour dark brown; iris red; opercula with a large black blotch bordered posteriorly by a bright red band; under stress, colour turns rapidly into a marbled pattern with alternating light and dark brown cross bars; in young individuals, sides show a series of light cross bars (Ref. 57397).

Common Names

Taxonomic Hierarchy

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Teleostei

Order: Anabantiformes

Family: Nandidae

Genus: Afronandus

Species: Afronandus sheljuzhkoi (Meinken, 1954)

Climate Zone

Location

• Africa: Banco, Agnébi and Mé, small coastal basins in southern Côte d’Ivoire; also reported from the Boubo (Côte d’Ivoire) and from southwestern Ghana (Ref. 57397).

Biology

Occurs in running freshwater (Ref. 6801). Maximum TL recorded was 4.8cm (Ref. 6801).

Habitat

benthopelagic

Conservation Status

Near Threatened

Threat to Humans

Harmless