Diagnosis: dorsal fin up to 1.5 times anal fin length; dorsal fin origin nearer caudal fin base than tip of snout; origin of dorsal fin in advance of anal fin (Ref. 52193). Chin with fleshy bulge; snout rounded in front of mouth; eye well above mouth (Ref. 4967). Male develops concavity to the margin of the anal fin, whereas that of female is straight; high back, with dorsal fin approximately 1/3 of total fish length, serves to separate it satisfactorily from other mormyrids in Zimbabwe (Ref. 13337).

Description: body relatively deep, compressed; dorsal fin longer than anal; caudal fin forked, with rounded lobes; head rounded with blunt snout; mouth with mental lobe; teeth bicuspid, 5—6 in each jaw; females usually smaller than males, latter distinguished by notch or kink in anal fin (Ref. 52193).

Coloration: greyish brown to dark brown, nearly black, lighter below; dark vertical bar sometimes evident between dorsal and anal fins (Ref. 52193).