Red List of South African Species

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Notes

Amphilius natalensis was described from the Kranzkloof River, a tributary of the uMngeni River System in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The species has a disjunct distribution which follows an archipelago of mountains from the uMkhomazi River System in South Africa to the Ruo River in Malawi (Skelton 1984, 2001). The species shows considerable morphological variation across its range. Preliminary results from an ongoing study indicate that A. natalensis is a complex of at least four distinct lineages whose taxonomic integrity is being determined through integration of molecular and morphological data (Mazungula and Chakona, unpublished data).

habitat_narrative

Freshwater (=Inland waters)

This species inhabits fast flowing mountain streams among rocky substrates and stones. The natal mountain catfish is a nocturnal feeder, with aquatic insects of the orders Diptera, Ephemeroptera and Trichoptera being the dominant dietary items (Marriot et al. 1997).

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