Details
Apteronotus albifrons
The black ghost knifefish is a South American electric fish with a dark blade-shaped body. At night it senses its surroundings with a weak electric field and hunts small animals.
Map: Ecoregions 2017 © RESOLVE (CC BY 4.0) · Natural Earth (PD)
It lives in forest rivers and flowing freshwater of the Neotropics. Wood, roots, rocks, and dim shelters are important.
Length 30-50 cm; weight 100 g-400 g. A long black compressed body ends in white bands near the tail. It lacks a dorsal fin and moves forward or backward by rippling the long anal fin.
Nocturnal and solitary, it hides by day. Weak electric signals help it detect obstacles and prey in turbid water.
A carnivore, it eats small crustaceans, insect larvae, and small fishes. Electric sense and smell guide it in darkness.
Eggs are laid near shelter during breeding periods. Larvae grow on tiny invertebrate prey.
It is listed as Least Concern, though local populations can still be affected by habitat change, collection, or pollution.
