Mormyroidea

The Mormyroidea (synonymy: Mormyriformes) are a superfamily (formerly an order) of fresh water fishes endemic to Africa that, together with the families Hiodontidae, Osteoglossidae, Pantodontidae and Notopteridae, represents one of the main groups of living Osteoglossiformes. They stand out for their use of weak electric fields, which they use to orient themselves, reproduce, feed, and communicate.

There is no consensus regarding its superior biological classification as some experts state that it belongs to the suborder Osteoglossoidei, while others to the Notopteroidei. In either case, the mormyriformes include the gymnarchids and mormyrids and represent the largest superfamily within the order Osteoglossiformes with about two hundred and thirty-three subordinate taxa that are distributed across various watersheds existing throughout tropical Africa south of the Sahara, including the Nile, Turkana, Gambia, and northern South Africa.