The elephantnose fish's mouth resembles a trunk. Its body is dark grey to black in colour, and the two fins located in front of the tail – the dorsal fin and the anal fin – are symmetrical.
The strangest fish of the dark
The elephantnose fish lives at the bottom of slow-moving major rivers. It is active at night and with its electrical sense and movable trunk-like mouth, it locates small prey in the mud.
Detects signals
The elephantnose fish's tail is covered with sensory cells that pick up electrical impulses from other animals' nerves, hearts and muscles. Using this electrolocation sense, the elephantnose fish finds worms and insects even though they are hidden in the mud.
Seeing in the dark
The elephantnose fish finds its way around using electrolocation. It creates a weak electrical field around itself. When stones and plants enter into the electrical field, the elephantnose fish can feel them. The elephantnose fish can form a highly detailed picture of its surroundings.
A big brain
The elephantnose fish's brain is quite large in relation to its weight, compared with other fish. It uses its large brain to process all of the different impressions it perceives with its electrolocation sense. However, its large brain does not make the elephantnose fish a particularly intelligent animal.
Electrical talk
The elephantnose fish uses small electrical shocks to talk with members of its own species.
Especially when it is looking for a mate, the elephantnose fish must clearly signal who it is and where it comes from. Elephantnose fish from different areas do not usually breed together. They have developed different electrical dialects to communicate.
Neon tetra
Arowana
The interesting species of the river
Arapaima
Piranha
Stream aquarium
Under the riverbank
River cichlids
The plants in the river
Angelfish
Armored predators
Discusfish
Veiled chameleon
River pool
Archerfish
Endangered species
Lake Tanganyika
Lake Malawi
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