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Scientific Name Parauchenoglanis monkei  (Keilhack, 1910)
Common Names Dotted Catfish
African Shovelnose Catfish, Spotted Catfish
Type Locality Near Logobaba, Cameroon (4°02'N, 9°45'W).
Type Locality Notes The original description lists the type locality as "a small stream in the jungle 2 km south of Logobaba (4°2' N, 9°45' E of Gr.)." The correct longitude should be 9.75, not -9.75.
Synonym(s) Auchenoglanis fasciatus, Auchenoglanis guttatus, Auchenoglanis monkei, Parauchenoglanis fasciatus, Parauchenoglanis guttatus, Parauchenoglanis loennbergi, Parauchenoglanis lonnbergi, Pimelodus guttatus
Pronunciation munk eye.
Etymology Parauchenoglanis: The Greek prefix para means near; in reference to the resemblance to Auchenoglanis. monkei, in honor of Dr. H. Monke who collected the holotype.
Hop to next section Species Information
Size 245mm or 9.6" SL. Find near, nearer or same sized spp.
Identification In all Parauchenoglanis the small eyes are not covered by a transparent skin (having a free border). The first dorsal spine is small, the second large and strong followed by seven branched fin rays (rarely eight). Pectoral fin with one spine and 7-8 branched rays, pelvic fin with six rays (of which five are branched), anal fin with 6-10 branched rays. Edge of caudal is straight or rounded.

For P. guttatus overall coloration light brown to greyish brown with five or six (exceptionally four or seven) dark vertical bands on flanks, that sometimes appear to consist of very large, merging spots. Small spots may be present between these bands, as well as on head and fins. As in most Parauchenoglanis species, the degree of pigmentation may vary between individual specimens.
General Remarks See also Oefvers. Svensk. Vet. Akad. Förh.1895 (no. 3) - pp184 Fresh and Brackish Water Fishes of Lower Guinea, West Central Africa, Stiassny, Teugels, Hopkins, pg.603 Geerinckx T., Adriaens D., Teugels G.G. & Verraes W., 2004. A systematic revision of the African catfish genus Parauchenoglanis Boulenger, 1911 (Siluriformes: Claroteidae). Journal of Natural History, 38 (6): 775-803. Geerinckx T., Risch L., Vreven E., Adriaens D. & Teugels G.G., 2007. Claroteidae. In Poissons d’eaux douces et saumâtres de Basse Guinée, ouest de l’Afrique Centrale – The fresh and brackish water fishes of Lower Guinea, West Central Africa (Stiassny M.L.J., Teugels G.G. & Hopkins C.D., eds). RMCA (Tervuren) & IRD (Paris), p. 586-629; and Sithole et al. (2024). Nine in one: Integrative taxonomic evidence of hidden species diversity in the widespread Zambezi grunter, Parauchenoglanis ngamensis (Siluriformes: Auchenoglanididae), from southern and south-central Africa. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 202(3), zlae121.
Hop to next section Habitat Information
Distribution Africa: from the Ouémé River in Benin to the Sanaga River in Cameroon. Reported from Democratic Republic of the Congo.
African Waters, Cross (click on these areas to find other species found there)
African Waters, N dian (click on these areas to find other species found there)
African Waters, Ouémé (click on these areas to find other species found there)
African Waters, Cameroon waters, Sanaga (click on these areas to find other species found there)
African Waters, Congo, Dja (click on these areas to find other species found there)

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IUCN Red List Category
Least Concern
, range map and more is available on the IUCN species page. Last assessed 2019.
Hop to next section Husbandry Information
Feeding Preys on insect larvae, crustaceans, and small fishes. User data.
Breeding Unreported in the aquarium.
Breeding Reports There is no breeding report.
Hop to next section Further Information
Reference Mitteilungen aus dem Zoologischen Museum in Berlin v. 5 (no. 1), pp 120.
Registered Keepers There is no registered keeper.
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Last Update 2024 Nov 23 00:31 (species record created: 2001 May 04 00:00)