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Description
Mahamba (Hydrocynus mahamba)
Order: Characiformes
Family: Alestidae
Habitat: African rivers and lakes

The Neocene is a time when the world has changed a lot since the Holocene. People and their civilization have disappeared; the animal world has also undergone many changes - such large animals, as African hippos and crocodiles disappeared altogether. They were replaced by other inhabitants of the planet - pigs, terrapins, large monitor lizards. And fish.

Among the fish of the Earth, the Characiform fishes were one of the most diverse groups, which included such unlike each other creatures as piranhas and hatchetfishes. In Africa, they were represented, among others, by the African tetras, among which were the so-called tiger fish, some of which were local analogues of the same piranhas, but among them were also very large, solitary species, which were analogues rather of crocodiles than of anyone else. Crocodilian reptiles, in general, live to the Neocene, but surrendered their position as the main large predators of fresh waters, especially in Africa, where they were replaced by different lizards, and in the north – by the crocodile turtle. And in the west and south of this continent they were replaced by descendants of African tetras, like the mahamba.

The mahamba is a real giant, reaching about 5 m in length. Its’ body is a "typically" fish-ike, resembling the body of a large Holocene tiger fish, i.e. it is stretched-out, torpedo-like, with well-developed fins and a tail. The head partly resembles a crocodile’s: this fish doesn’t have complex behavior, but has plenty of patience, and is able to wait for the suitable prey for several hours and even days; then a sharp strike from an ambush, and the victim is either swallowed whole, or the mahamba inflicts one or more massive wounds on it, causing the victim to either drown or bleed out and die of pain shock.

The mahamba is a lone fish; sometimes there are episodes of cannibalism, but rarely enough. Cold blood and metabolic rate leads to the fact that the mahamba is weakly territorial, and prefers to avoid its relatives. It also does not have a mating period, and at any time of the year, you can find individuals ready to mate. The courtship is precisely simple: the male swims around the female and shows her his physical condition; if it suits the female, it sends a signal, moving fins in a special way. The pairing itself happens quite quickly, and the male mahamba does not care more about the eggs. The female, after it lays the eggds in a secluded place - too. The fry, however, are born already quite large and they grow relatively quickly - but regardless, many of them die in the first months and years of their lives; only after they reach even 75 cm in length, they become more protected from other freshwater predators.

The average life expectancy of a mahamba is several decades, if it is not eaten in childhood.

Description
Mahamba (Hydrocynus mahamba)
Order: Characiformes
Family: Alestidae
Habitat: African rivers and lakes

The Neocene is a time when the world has changed a lot since the Holocene. People and their civilization have disappeared; the animal world has also undergone many changes - such large animals, as African hippos and crocodiles disappeared altogether. They were replaced by other inhabitants of the planet - pigs, terrapins, large monitor lizards. And fish.

Among the fish of the Earth, the Characiform fishes were one of the most diverse groups, which included such unlike each other creatures as piranhas and hatchetfishes. In Africa, they were represented, among others, by the African tetras, among which were the so-called tiger fish, some of which were local analogues of the same piranhas, but among them were also very large, solitary species, which were analogues rather of crocodiles than of anyone else. Crocodilian reptiles, in general, live to the Neocene, but surrendered their position as the main large predators of fresh waters, especially in Africa, where they were replaced by different lizards, and in the north – by the crocodile turtle. And in the west and south of this continent they were replaced by descendants of African tetras, like the mahamba.

The mahamba is a real giant, reaching about 5 m in length. Its’ body is a "typically" fish-ike, resembling the body of a large Holocene tiger fish, i.e. it is stretched-out, torpedo-like, with well-developed fins and a tail. The head partly resembles a crocodile’s: this fish doesn’t have complex behavior, but has plenty of patience, and is able to wait for the suitable prey for several hours and even days; then a sharp strike from an ambush, and the victim is either swallowed whole, or the mahamba inflicts one or more massive wounds on it, causing the victim to either drown or bleed out and die of pain shock.

The mahamba is a lone fish; sometimes there are episodes of cannibalism, but rarely enough. Cold blood and metabolic rate leads to the fact that the mahamba is weakly territorial, and prefers to avoid its relatives. It also does not have a mating period, and at any time of the year, you can find individuals ready to mate. The courtship is precisely simple: the male swims around the female and shows her his physical condition; if it suits the female, it sends a signal, moving fins in a special way. The pairing itself happens quite quickly, and the male mahamba does not care more about the eggs. The female, after it lays the eggds in a secluded place - too. The fry, however, are born already quite large and they grow relatively quickly - but regardless, many of them die in the first months and years of their lives; only after they reach even 75 cm in length, they become more protected from other freshwater predators.

The average life expectancy of a mahamba is several decades, if it is not eaten in childhood.