Synodontis tanganyicae is a species of upside-down catfish endemic to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia, and Tanzania, where it is only known from Lake Tanganyika. It was first described by Russian-American ichthyologist Nikolai Andreyevich Borodin in 1936, from specimens collected at Kasaga, in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The species name tanganyicae comes from the habitat of the species, Lake Tanganyika. Description Like all members of the genus Synodontis, S. tanganyicae has a strong, bony head capsule that extends back as far as the first spine of the dorsal fin. The head contains a distinct narrow, bony, external protrusion called a humeral process. The shape and size of the humeral process helps to identify the species. In S. tanganyicae, the humeral process is wide, triangular, and rough in appearance; the bottom edge does not contain a ridge. The top edge is concave and ends in a blunt point. The fish has three pairs of barbels. The maxillary barbels are on located on the upper jaw, and two pairs of mandibular barbels are on the lower jaw. The maxillary barbel has a well-developed membrane attached near the base and is straight without any branches. It extends at least as far as the base of the pectoral fin. The outer pair of mandibular barbels extends just short of the pectoral girdle, and contains four to seven branches without secondary branches. The inner pair of mandibular barbels is about as long as the outer pair, with four to six branches, with secondary branches present. The skin of S. tanganyicae 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 papilla are present but do not extend onto the fins. The front edges of the dorsal fins and the pectoral fins of Syntontis species are hardened into stiff spines. In S. tanganyicae, the spine of the dorsal fin is long, nearly straight, and ends with short, dark filament. The remaining portion of the dorsal fin is made up of seven to eight branching rays. The spine of the pectoral fin is slightly curved, about as long as the dorsal fin spine, and ends in short, dark filament. The rest of the pectoral fins are made up of eight to nine branching rays. The