Mastacembelus shiranus Günther, 1896
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The Malawi spinyeel (Mastacembelus shiranus) is a species of fish in the family Mastacembelidae from Africa. It is endemic to the Lake Malawi basin, including the main lake itself, Lake Malombe and the lower Shire River. It is the only described species of spinyeel in Lake Malawi, but a brightly marked variant, Mastacembelus sp. "Rosette" is also known. It is unclear if it is a variant of the Malawi spinyeel or an undescribed species. The Malawi spinyeel reaches about 30 cm (12 in) in length, and likely feeds on invertebrates and small fish.
Wikipedia contributors, Malawi spinyeel; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T23:08:30.599994+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Mastacembelus shiranus Günther, 1896
- Name authority
- Günther, 1896
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Synbranchiformes
- Family
- Mastacembelidae
- Genus
- Mastacembelus
- 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.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderSynbranchiformes
- suborderMastacembeloidei
- familyMastacembelidae Swainson, 1839
- genusMastacembelus Scopoli, 1777
- speciesMastacembelus shiranus Günther, 1896
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Mastacembelus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Mastacembelus apectoralis Brown, Britz, Bills, Rüber & Day, 2011 | MastacembelidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Mastacembelus armatus (Lacepède, 1800) | MastacembelidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Mastacembelus brachyrhinus Boulenger, 1899 | MastacembelidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Mastacembelus brichardi (Poll, 1958) | MastacembelidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Mastacembelus congicus Boulenger, 1896 | MastacembelidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Mastacembelus crassus Roberts & Stewart, 1976 | MastacembelidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Mastacembelus cunningtoni Boulenger, 1906 | MastacembelidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Mastacembelus dayi Boulenger, 1912 | MastacembelidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Mastacembelus decorsei Pellegrin, 1919 | MastacembelidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Mastacembelus frenatus Boulenger, 1901 | MastacembelidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Mastacembelus greshoffi Boulenger, 1901 | MastacembelidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Mastacembelus kakrimensis Vreven & Teugels, 2005 | MastacembelidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Afromastacembelus shiranus (Günther, 1896) (Günther, 1896) | synonym |
| Aethiomastacembelus shiranus (Günther, 1896) (Günther, 1896) | synonym |
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.
- Günther, A. (1896). Descriptions of two new species of fishes (Mastacembelus and Barbus). Annals and Magazine of Natural History (Series 6), v. 17 (no. 101) (art. 57): 397. https://doi.org/10.1080/00222939608680387 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:3YCLS. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.