Silver Butter Catfish

There are two populations of the species one with and one without an adipose fin. The population lacking an adipose fin are from the north and west of Africa while the populations with an adipose fin are from the central, east and south of Africa. Quite distinctive with a large shovel mouth surrounded by 4-6 nasal barbs and the eyes slightly protrude from head. The anal fin is long, extending from vent almost to the caudal fin. It has four pairs of short, barbels around the mouth. The ground colour is silvery, brownish to olive on the back and upper parts of the head. There are two dark grey to olive bands, the longest running along the lateral line from the upper gill cover to the caudal peduncle, where this band starts on the upper gill cover there is a dark humeral spot. The second shorter band runs from the beginning of the pectoral fins to the end of the anal fin. The fins are transparent, although the anal fin has a dark band near the body and there is a dark streak which runs into each lobe of the deeply forked caudal fin.

Widespread in sub-Saharan Africa from the Senegal River across to Somalia and south as far as the Pongola River in South Africa.