The Elephant Nose which is also called Peter’s Elephant Nose Fish, Long Nosed Elephant Fish and Ubangi Mormyrid (after the Ubangi River) is a very unusual looking fish. What looks to be the nose of an elephant is actually an extension of its mouth. This trunk-like extension is used for food foraging, communicating, navigating and self defense. The elephant nose is nocturnal and somewhat territorial in nature. It produces a weak electrical field from specially adapted muscle tissue which helps the fish locate food, a spawning mate and potential predators. According to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, elephant fish are of least concern. They are widespread through West and Central Africa.
Range
Native to the rivers of West and Central Africa, in particular the lower Niger River basin, the Ogun River basin
Habitat
Dark and muddy bottoms which support heavily vegetated areas in slow-moving rivers
Diet
Small aquatic insects, worms and shrimp
