Epinephelidae
Captain fine
Epinephelus albomarginatus
FISH SPECIES
African Fish
Discover fish with recorded distributions in Africa, across inland lakes, ancient river systems and coastal waters.
FISH ATLAS / FIELD GUIDEAfrican FishIN THIS CHAPTER01 / Characteristics02 / Lifestyle03 / Species04 / Field notes
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01 / NATURAL HISTORY
Characteristics
African ichthyofauna is famous for the rapid adaptive radiation of Rift Lake cichlids alongside archaic, relic lineages like lungfish and bichirs. These species demonstrate remarkable evolutionary resilience across dramatic tropical dry and wet cycles.
- 01Rift lake cichlid radiations
- 02Ancient river basin lineages
- 03Extreme drought adaptations
02 / LIFESTYLE
Lifestyle
In the Great Rift Valley lakes (Victoria, Tanganyika, and Malawi), hundreds of cichlid species partition microscopic spatial zones—from rock-scraping mbuna to shell-dwelling dwarfs and scale-eating specialists. In contrast, riverine species navigating the Congo and Nile systems endure massive seasonal water level drops, with some surviving dry periods through aestivation or facultative air-breathing.
OBSERVATION INDEX
- Rift lake micro-niche partitioning
- Substrate scraping and brood defense
- Floodplain and dry-season aestivation
03 / SPECIES
Representative species
Discover representative species illustrating the ecological diversity, morphologies and adaptations of this group.
Captain fine
Labridae
Captain parrotfish
Chlorurus enneacanthus
Apogonidae
Cardinal fish
Apogon imberbis
Nothobranchiidae
Cardinal Nothobranchius
Nothobranchius cardinalis
Blenniidae
Cargados Coral Blenny
Cirripectes randalli
Labridae
Cargados Wrasse
Pteragogus variabilis
Bramidae
Caribbean pomfret
Brama caribbea
Cyprinidae
Carp
Enteromius bigornei
Cyprinidae
Carp
Enteromius liberiensis
Cyprinidae
Carp
Labeobarbus parawaldroni
Sparidae
Carpenter seabream
Argyrozona argyrozona
Sciaenidae
Cassava croaker
Pseudotolithus senegalensis
Epinephelidae
catface grouper
Epinephelus andersoni
Claroteidae
Catfish
Auchenoglanis biscutatus
Clariidae
Catfish
Clarias agboyiensis
Clariidae
Catfish
Clarias laeviceps
Mochokidae
Catfish
Synodontis membranaceus
Mochokidae
Catfish
Synodontis nigrita
Mochokidae
Catfish
Synodontis ocellifer
Amphiliidae
Catfish
Zaireichthys wamiensis
Chlopsidae
Catherine's False Moray
Robinsia catherinae
Clariidae
Cave catfish
Clarias cavernicola
Cirrhitidae
Cave hawkfish
Cirrhitichthys guichenoti
Platycephalidae
Celebes flathead
Thysanophrys celebica
04 / FIELD NOTES
A closer look
Why are African Rift Lake cichlids famous in evolutionary biology?
The Great Lakes of East Africa witnessed explosive evolutionary radiations where a few ancestral species diverged into hundreds of ecologically specialized species in remarkably short geologic time spans.
How do African freshwater fish survive seasonal droughts?
Certain species, like the African lungfish, can burrow into muddy riverbeds and secrete a protective mucous cocoon to aestivate for months until rains restore the waterway.