Which demon leads the Malebranche in the eighth circle of Hell?

Malacoda leads the Malebranche in the eighth circle of Hell.

Dante introduces Malacoda in Cantos XXI and XXII of Inferno, where the Malebranche guard the fifth bolgia of Malebolge. This part of the eighth circle punishes barrators—corrupt officials who used public office for private gain. They are submerged in boiling pitch, a darkly comic image of secretive, sticky political dealings.

Malacoda’s name roughly means “evil tail” or “bad tail.” He appears as the commanding demon who gives Virgil and Dante a supposed safe-conduct and assigns a squad of demons to escort them. The group includes figures such as Barbariccia, Alichino, and Cagnazzo, but none of those demons is the overall leader.

Malacoda is also deliberately untrustworthy. He falsely claims that a bridge farther ahead remains intact, although the poets later discover that the route is blocked. Dante uses the Malebranche episode for satire: the demons are violent and menacing, yet their bickering, deception, and crude humor make them among the poem’s most theatrically memorable characters.