Synodontis grandiops is a species of upside-down catfish endemic to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, and Tanzania, where it is only known from Lake Tanganyika. It was first described by Jeremy John Wright and Lawrence M. Page in 2006, from specimens collected at multiple points along the shore of Lake Tanganyika. The species name is a Latinized combination of the Latin "grandi", meaning large or big, and the Greek "ops", meaning eye, a reference to the relatively large eyes of this fish. Description Like all members of the genus Synodontis, S. grandiops has a strong, bony head capsule that extends back as far as the first spine of the dorsal fin. The head is about of the standard length of the fish. The head contains a distinct narrow, bony external protrusion called a humeral process. The shape and size of the humeral process help to identify the species. In S. grandiops, the humeral process is narrow, long, and rough in appearance, and contains a distinct ridge on the bottom surface. The top edge is convex and it ends in a sharp point. It is almost of the length of the head. The eyes are large, about of the length of the head. The fish has three pairs of barbels. The maxillary barbels are located on the upper jaw, and two pairs of mandibular barbels are on the lower jaw. The maxillary barbel does not have a membrane near the base and is straight without any branches. It extends at least as far as the base of the pectoral fin, most of the length of the head. The outer pair of mandibular barbels extends just short of the pectoral girdle, about of the length of the head, and contains four to five branches without secondary branches. The inner pair of mandibular barbels is about to as long as the outer pair, about to of the length of the head, with four to five pairs of branches without secondary branches. The skin of S. grandiops has a large number of tiny vertical skin folds. The exact purpose of the skin folds is not known, but is a characteristic of the species of Syndontis that are endemic to Lake Tanganyika. External granular papilla are not present. The front edges of the dorsal fins and the pectoral fins of Syntontis species are hardened into stiff spines. In S. grandiops, the spine of