Inca dwarf cichlid
| Inca dwarf cichlid | ||||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Apistogramma baenschi | ||||||||||||
| U. Römer , Hahn , E. Römer , Soares & Wöhler , 2004 |
The Inca dwarf cichlid ( Apistogramma baenschi ) is a small species of cichlid from northwestern Peru . The distribution area is in the San Martín region in the lower catchment area of the Río Huallaga . The fish bears its scientific species name in honor of Hans A. Baensch , who founded a book publisher for aquaristic non-fiction and was himself the author of corresponding books.
features
The males examined during the initial description had standard lengths of 3.9 to 5.4 cm, the females between 2.2 and 3.8 cm. The head length is about 35% of the standard length and the body height is about 34% of the standard length. Compared to most other Apistogramma species, the fish are relatively high-backed and not very elongated. The side of the fish are clearly flattened, the body width is only about half the body height. Males are on average a third larger than the females and the sexual dimorphism is also clearly pronounced in their external shape and color . Older males in particular are bulky. The scaling consists mainly of comb scales, only on the cheeks, in front of the dorsal fin, in front of the pelvic fins and at the base of the caudal fin predominantly round scales, interspersed with individual comb scales. The Inca dwarf cichlid has two to four rows of teeth in the upper jaw, two to three, and rarely four rows of teeth in the lower jaw. The teeth are slim and conical. Their upper third is curved backwards and colored reddish or blackish. From the front to the corners of the mouth they decrease in size continuously, the rear teeth are only a third the size of the front teeth. All teeth are embedded in pocket-like recesses on the lips. Gill rakes are poorly developed.
- Fin formula : dorsal XV – XVII / 5–7, anal III / 5–7, pectoral 10–12, ventral I / 5, caudal fin 15–17.
- Scale formula : mLR 20–22.
In terms of color, the Inca dwarf cichlid is very similar to the panda dwarf cichlid ( Apistogramma nijsseni ). The Inca dwarf cichlid differs from this and all other Apistogramma species by the combination of the following features: five fully developed vertical stripes with clear, black spots on their dorsal end, a central, narrow longitudinal band on the sides of the body, a smaller one in most cases Round, rarely oval or square spot on the caudal peduncle, a rounded caudal fin lined with red in the males and, also in the males, strongly elongated fin membranes in the dorsal fin, especially in the front section. A dark anal spot can only be clearly seen during brood care. The end of the cheek strip is greatly widened in females during brood care and can reach down to the gill cover .
Systematics
The Inka dwarf cichlid was scientifically described in a specialist aquarium magazine in 2004, but was already known under the names Inka- Apistogramma , Apistogramma - "Nijsseni 2" or Apistogramma - "Red-Crescent". Within the genus Apistogramma it belongs to the A. cacatuoides complex and there to the A. nijsseni subcomplex.
habitat
The Inca dwarf cichlid occurs in small primeval forest rivers and streams and lives there in flat sections characterized by fallen leaves and dead wood with numerous hiding spots. The water is relatively cool, poor in minerals, in most cases tea-brown in color and has a pH of 4.1 to 6.3.
literature
- Uwe Römer, Ingo Hahn, Erika Römer, David P. Soares and M. Wöhler [2004] - Apistogramma baenschi sp. n. Description of another geophagine dwarf cichlid (Teleostei: Perciformes) from Peru ; The Aquarium (422): 15–30. Birgit Schmettkamp Verlag
Web links
- Apistogramma baenschi on Fishbase.org (English)