Black ghost knifefish: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the black ghost knifefish lives – recorded in 3 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Apteronotus albifrons
Group	Bony fish
Status	Least concern (Wikidata, IUCN category label)
Found in	3 countries
Continents	South America
Class	Ray-finned fish
Order	Gymnotiformes
Family	Apteronotidae

Where does the black ghost knifefish live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the black ghost knifefish in 3 countries and territories across South America. Wikidata gives its range as: Cachoeira do Arari.

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

Is the black ghost knifefish endangered?

The black ghost knifefish’s conservation status recorded in Wikidata is “Least concern” (an IUCN Red List category label). Source: Wikidata.

What kind of animal is the black ghost knifefish?

The black ghost knifefish (Apteronotus albifrons) is a ray-finned fish in the order Gymnotiformes and the family Apteronotidae, genus Apteronotus. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the black ghost knifefish

The black ghost knifefish (Apteronotus albifrons) is a tropical ornamental fish belonging to the ghost knifefish family (Apteronotidae). They originate in freshwater habitats in South America where they range from Venezuela to the Paraguay–Paraná River, including the Amazon Basin. They are popular in aquaria. The fish is all black except for two white rings on its tail, and a white blaze on its nose, which can occasionally extend into a stripe down its back. It moves mainly by undulating a long fin on its underside. It will grow to a length of 45–50 centimetres (18–20 in).

Black ghost knifefish are nocturnal. They are a weakly electric fish which use an electric organ and receptors distributed over the length of their body in order to locate prey, including insect larvae.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Black ghost knifefish (revision 1369875905), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q1421523 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).