Marcusenius macrolepidotus (Peters, 1852)

Open encyclopedia reference

Marcusenius macrolepidotus, commonly known as the bulldog, is a bony-tongued freshwater elephantfish from the genus Marcusenius and the family Mormyridae. They are typically found in rivers and lakes in South-Eastern Africa. The species was named after its distinctive feature of a mental lobe on its lower jaw that protrudes beyond the upper jaw, a characteristic similar to that of the bulldog dog breed. The Mormyridae family contains weakly electric fish, all of which have an electric discharge organ located near the tail. This electric discharge organ can be used for object/prey detection, exhibiting aggressive behaviors, and intraspecies communication. M. marcusenius typically appear in groups of fish called shoals, and are most active at night. Overnight, they spend time feeding on insects, algae, and fish. The species was discovered in 1852 by German naturalist Wilhelm Peters, who originally named the fish Morymus macrolepidotus. Since its discovery, the fish has been subject to multiple changes in scientific name, geographic distribution, and common names due to limited scientific research on the Marcusenius genus.

Wikipedia contributors, Marcusenius macrolepidotus; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T23:07:58.326789+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Marcusenius macrolepidotus (Peters, 1852)

Name authority

(Peters, 1852)

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Teleostei

Order

Osteoglossiformes

Family

Mormyridae

Genus

Marcusenius

Extinction status

Not supplied by this source

Source habitat flags: Marine: no · Freshwater: yes · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. gigaclassActinopterygii
8. superclassActinopteri
9. classTeleostei
10. orderOsteoglossiformes
11. familyMormyridae Bonaparte, 1831
12. genusMarcusenius Gill, 1862
13. speciesMarcusenius macrolepidotus (Peters, 1852)

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Marcusenius. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 187 records assigned to Mormyridae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

1. https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=1013694 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:3Y38T. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.