Mastacembelus murinus is a freshwater fish with a long serpentine body. It lives on the bottom of Lake Tanganyika in Africa and uses sharp spines on its back for defense.
Mastacembelus murinus differs from other fish with sharp spines on its back and a serpentine body. It helps maintain balance in the lake by eating small animals and serves as food for large predators.
Searches for prey using its sensitive snout and lateral line, then quickly swallows it.
Immature form that undergoes metamorphosis before adulthood.
Worker
birth time
Searches for prey using its sensitive snout and lateral line, then quickly swallows it.
ambush
bottom
Dogs, dolphins, lynx hang out for 9-25 years and party on their birthday three times a year
m
Map
will celebrate their {n} birthday
g
t
When your next jubilee falls in {name} life years
Human
hot Africa south of the desert, many savannas and forests
days
worms
How old you would be if you lived as {name}
benthic
crustaceans
Theoretical maximum lifespan estimated from the Dynamic Energy Budget (DEB) mathematical model. This value reflects a biological potential derived from metabolic parameters, not from direct observation — real recorded lifespans are often significantly shorter.
small planktonic crustaceans — copepods, krill
adult
Maturity
fish of small size
About health
When your next birthday would fall if you lived as {name}
Repro interval
results
Colors
Sex
Upcoming jubilees
Gremllins
mo
Uses an excavated underground tunnel or chamber for refuge or nesting.
all seas and oceans
Trophic type
Filters
small fish
Upcoming birthdays
standing fresh waters — lakes, ponds, oxbow lakes
Truly long lives: 40-100 years. Bowhead whales, albatrosses, giant tortoises recall their birthday at most once a year
Lifespan
Desert and dry shrubs
insect larvae and caterpillars
Age (from birth to death)
Foraging occurs on the floor of aquatic or terrestrial habitats.
most of Europe and Asia, various forests, steppes and tundra
Wanderers
Jubilee = every 10th birthday
Earliest developmental stage inside an egg or womb.
Business sausages
Lifespan average
Rapidly swallows prey or food items whole without chewing.
Regeneration
What do they look like?
Maturity
emergence (insects)
end of lifespan
How do they live?
fertilization / egg laying
How do they behave?
birth / hatching
metamorphosis / end of larval stage
end of acceleration
Share
littoral
Find a pet...
Mature, fully developed individual capable of reproduction.
Freshwater
hot, uneven rains, lots of grass and trees
gulping
Egg count
Actively hunting and capturing live prey.
65 to 130 grams, 25 – 60 centimeters
Pets
all rivers and lakes
Primary oral structure used to seize, manipulate, or ingest food.
Feeding occurs primarily on land or in vegetation.
whole swallow
lateral line
{name} jubilee
Dorsal spines count
cm
Old-timers
Find an animal or breed...
mouth
turns
Rascals
hot Africa south of the desert, many savannas and forests
Litter size
Dorsal spines color
Tropical savanna
Map data sources: Ecosystem classification — IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology (Keith et al., 2022), indicative distribution maps Keith et al. (2020), https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3546513; Large Marine Ecosystems — NOAA LME Program; Bathymetry — GEBCO Bathymetric Compilation Group (2026), GEBCO_2026 Grid, https://doi.org/10.5285/4f68d5c7-45eb-f999-e063-7086abc036fa; Climate data — Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information; Species occurrence data — GBIF.org, Derived dataset "all animals", https://zveriki.com/dataset/dataset.tsv; Terrestrial ecoregions — RESOLVE Ecoregions 2017 (Dinerstein et al., 2017), CC BY 4.0
How to care for them?
Living from 25 to 40 years. Orangutans, bald eagles, African elephants celebrate their birthday twice a year
°C
Not specified
Actively searching habitats to locate food items.
Egg color
Where are they found?
all rivers and lakes
Locomotion through water employed while searching for or capturing prey.
Legendary longevity: over 100 years. Galapagos tortoises, Greenland sharks, ocean quahogs celebrate with family once every 4 years
Offspring
Elders
Bro
lakes and ponds
Taxons
carnivore
if born as {name}
age
Predator remains still and concealed before launching a sudden attack.
birth date
Palearctic realm
swimming
Close
was
Career from 7 to 15 months. Dwarf hamsters, voles, field crickets celebrate their birthday twice a month
The basics
My weight?
Non-stop carnival: they only live a few days. Mayflies, rotifers, midges celebrate their birthday more than twice a day
primary food sources
burrow
Potential Habitat
d
In husbandry
On the go from 1.3 to 3.5 years. Forest mice, anoles, rainbow fish party on their birthday once a month
Feeding occurs in water bodies such as rivers, lakes, or oceans.
Mass
Mosquitoes, fruit flies, small crustaceans hustle for up to 7 months and throw a birthday party every week
terrestrial
Body size
aquatic
{name} birthday
live annelid worms
Always hot
No results found
On the map
lunge
Pleasant summer
all life stages
Female ♀
Body color
world of Afrotropics
Map data sources: Ecosystem classification — IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology (Keith et al., 2022), indicative distribution maps Keith et al. (2020), https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3546513; Large Marine Ecosystems — NOAA LME Program; Bathymetry — GEBCO Bathymetric Compilation Group (2026), GEBCO_2026 Grid, https://doi.org/10.5285/4f68d5c7-45eb-f999-e063-7086abc036fa; Climate data — Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information; Species occurrence data — GBIF.org, Derived dataset "all animals", https://zveriki.com/dataset/dataset.tsv; Terrestrial ecoregions — RESOLVE Ecoregions 2017 (Dinerstein et al., 2017), CC BY 4.0
Potential habitat modelled from GBIF occurrence data. Map © Zveriki.com, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
Lateral line size
birth year
Maturity
sq mm
yr
comfortable summer, +20…+25 °C
Dorsal spines size
Snout size
How similar?
Egg size
Male ♂
until the celebration
age as {name}
How do they breed?
On the go from 3.5 to 6 years. Hedgehogs, crows, lizards treat themselves to birthday snacks 6 times a year
What if eaten?
Neither
from birth to adulthood
What do they eat?
insect larvae
Where do they live?
Immature individual that has not yet reached reproductive maturity.
Marine world
early young
world of Afrotropics
Freshwater
snout
Duration
This is me
freshwater
Gamers
How are they built?
mm
Theoretical lifespan
ml
Stars
Link copied
My age?
wk
My size?
Asexual
swap
freshwater environment — rivers, lakes, ponds, swamps
active predation
Rabbits, falcons, red-eared turtles hang out for 6-9 years and party on their birthday four times a year
Where do they take shelter?
Sensory system detecting water movements to locate prey.
celebrated their {n} birthday
When you would have been born if you lived as {name}
very hot all year round, frequent rains, but sometimes dry
Daddies
Lifespan maximum
foraging
Hermaphrodite ⚥
embryo
Carrot
Length
kg
very hot and dry, rare rains, cacti live
Rapid forward strike to seize prey.
Observations
◉{N} more on tap