Taxonomy & naming
Described by Jacques Daget in 1959. The Catalog of Fishes gives the type locality as Niokolo-Koba Park, Gambia and Senegal. The epithet comes from Greek rheos (current) and philos (loving).
Morphology
Slender and scaleless, with broad horizontal paired fins that grip rock in current, as in the rest of Amphilius. FishBase gives a maximum of 5 in SL.
Habitat
A rheophilic species. FishBase lists the upper tributaries of the Senegal, Gambia, Corubal, Konkoure, Little Scarcies and Niger rivers, plus the Jong/Pampana River, with a single report from the Loffa River in Guinea. Fast, clear, well-oxygenated stretches over rock are the likely microhabitat.
Feeding
A benthic insectivore by family default; no species-specific data.
Mating
Mating behaviour is not documented for Amphilius rheophilus in the sources available to the atlas. Sexes cannot be separated reliably from the information available.
Breeding
No spawning or breeding record is known to the atlas.
In the aquarium
Rarely kept. It needs strong flow, high oxygen and rock cover, and is not a beginner's catfish. Wild-caught stock only.
Conservation
The IUCN Red List assessed Amphilius rheophilus as Least Concern in 2019. Hillstream fishes are sensitive to siltation, damming and altered flow.