''Auchenoglanis'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of relatively large, up to SL,

claroteid catfish The Claroteidae are a family of catfish (order Siluriformes) found in Africa. This family was separated from Bagridae. However, the monophyly of the family is sometimes contested. The 9 genera contain 65 known species of claroteids. The family ...

es native to various freshwater habitats in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

. ''Auchenoglanis'' is a primitive member of the subfamily Auchenoglanidinae (also includes '' Notoglanidium'' and '' Parauchenoglanis'') and represents a

stem group In phylogenetics, the crown group or crown assemblage is a collection of species composed of the living representatives of the collection, the most recent common ancestor of the collection, and all descendants of the most recent common ancestor. ...

. Species of this genus occur predominantly in the Nilo-

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

region and

Western Africa West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Ma ...

, but also in the

Congo River The Congo River, formerly also known as the Zaire River, is the second-longest river in Africa, shorter only than the Nile, as well as the third-largest river in the world list of rivers by discharge, by discharge volume, following the Amazon Ri ...

, Lakes

Albert Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert Computers, Inc., a computer manufacturer in the 1980s * Albert Czech Republic, a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street mar ...

and Tanganyika. ''Auchenoglanis'' species mainly feed on

insect Insects (from Latin ') are Hexapoda, hexapod invertebrates of the class (biology), class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (Insect morphology#Head, head, ...

aquatic

larva A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...

e and eventually on small

mollusk Mollusca is a phylum of protostomic invertebrate animals, whose members are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 76,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized, making it the second-largest animal phylum after Arthropoda. The ...

s, alevin, and swimming insects. These feeding habits should also enable them to stand a relatively wide range of ecological conditions.

Living species

Following a

taxonomic 280px, Generalized scheme of taxonomy Taxonomy is a practice and science concerned with classification or categorization. Typically, there are two parts to it: the development of an underlying scheme of classes (a taxonomy) and the allocation ...

review in 1991, only two living species (marked with a star* in the list) were recognized in this genus. This is followed by

FishBase FishBase is a global species database of fish species (specifically finfish). It is the largest and most extensively accessed online database on adult finfish on the web.

and

Catalog of Fishes Catalog of Fishes is a comprehensive on-line database and reference work on the scientific names of fish species and genera. It is global in its scope and is hosted by the California Academy of Sciences. It has been compiled and is continuously up ...

. However, review in 2010 suggested that there are six additional species, which would bring the total to eight. Genetic studies indicate that additional, currently unrecognized species exist. * '' Auchenoglanis acuticeps''

Pappenheim Pappenheim is a town in the Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen district, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the river Altmühl, south of Weißenburg in Bayern. History Historically, Pappenheim was a statelet within the Holy Roman Empire. It was ...

, 1914 * '' Auchenoglanis biscutatus''* ( É. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1809) * '' Auchenoglanis occidentalis''* (

Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; ; or ; ) is a communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced ...

, 1840) (Bubu) * '' Auchenoglanis sacchii'' ( Vinciguerra, 1898) * '' Auchenoglanis senegali'' Retzer, 2010 * '' Auchenoglanis tanganicanus'' Boulenger, 1906 * '' Auchenoglanis tchadiensis'' Pellegrin, 1909 * '' Auchenoglanis wittei'' Giltay, 1930

Fossil species

''Auchenoglanis'' is rare in the

fossil record A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

compared to other African catfishes. ''Auchenoglanis'' includes an

extinct Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...

species, '' Auchenoglanis soye'' from Western

Chad Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North Africa, North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to Chad–Libya border, the north, Sudan to Chad–Sudan border, the east, the Central Afric ...

. A few other fossils are also attributed to ''Auchenoglanis'' with no specific species described.

References

Claroteidae Fish of Africa Catfish genera Freshwater fish genera Taxa named by Albert Günther {{catfish-stub