Labeo congoro Peters, 1852
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 purple labeo or purple mudsucker (Labeo congoro) is a relatively large African freshwater fish that occurs in rocky stretches of large rivers, including the Zambezi, Incomati and parts of the Congo. Growing up to 41.5 cm long, it feeds on algae and other encrusting organisms, scraping them from boulders and other hard surfaces, including the backs of hippopotamuses. Rather than grazing randomly the Purple Labeo moves along in relatively straight lines as it feeds, leaving characteristic tracks that show where it has been. Although it has been little studied in the wild it is known to migrate upstream when rivers are in flood in order to breed.
Wikipedia contributors, Purple labeo; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T22:57:09.745479+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Labeo congoro Peters, 1852
- Name authority
- Peters, 1852
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Cypriniformes
- Family
- Cyprinidae
- Genus
- Labeo
- 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
- orderCypriniformes
- familyCyprinidae Rafinesque, 1815
- subfamilyLabeoninae Bleeker, 1859
- genusLabeo Cuvier, 1816
- speciesLabeo congoro Peters, 1852
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Labeo. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Labeo alluaudi Pellegrin, 1933 | CyprinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Labeo altivelis Peters, 1852 | CyprinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Labeo ansorgii Boulenger, 1907 | CyprinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Labeo baldasseronii Di Caporiacco, 1948 | CyprinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Labeo barbatulus (Sauvage, 1878) | CyprinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Labeo batesii Boulenger, 1911 | CyprinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Labeo boga (Hamilton, 1822) | CyprinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Labeo boggut (Sykes, 1839) | CyprinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Labeo bottegi Vinciguerra, 1897 | CyprinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Labeo brachypoma Günther, 1868 | CyprinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Labeo calbasu (Hamilton, 1822) | CyprinidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Labeo capensis (Smith, 1841) | CyprinidaeChordata | 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 |
|---|---|
| Labeo rubropunctatus Gilchrist & Thompson, 1913 Gilchrist & Thompson, 1913 | synonym |
| Labeo ulangensis Steindachner, 1914 Steindachner, 1914 | 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.
- Peters, W. (C. H.). (1852). Diagnosen von neuen Flussfischen aus Mossambique. Bericht Über Die Zur Bekanntmachung Geeigneten Verhandlungen Der Königlichen Preussischen Akademie Der Wissenschaften Zu Berlin, 1852: 275–276, 681–685. 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:6NPVG. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.