Astatotilapia desfontainii
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Astatotilapia desfontainii |
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| ( Lacepède , 1802) |
Astatotilapia desfontainii ( Syn . : Haplochromis desfontainii ) is a species of cichlid that occurs in some oasis waters in Algeria and Tunisia. Terra typica are the warm springs in the Tunisian oasis town of Gafsa . The species was named in honor of M. Desfontaines, who probablycaughtthe type specimens .
features
The species of fish can reach a total length of 15 cm and has an elongated, laterally flattened body with a large head and mouth. It has a brownish to olive green base color. In incident light, it shines bluish to mother-of-pearl. A dark longitudinal band that runs from the eye over the middle of the body to the base of the caudal fin, and several transverse bands can be present, but they can also be completely or partially absent. A dark stripe from the eye to the corner of the mouth and a dark, golden-edged spot on the gill cover, on the other hand, are almost always present. The dorsal fin has an orange border. They and the caudal fin have numerous small orange or brown spots. The pelvic fins are black. The male anal fin shows four to eight orange, black-edged egg spots. At spawning time the males are steel blue with orange-red drawing elements, black fins and blue lips. Females are generally less colored, their anal fin does not have egg spots.
- Fins formula : Dorsal XIV – XVI / 9–10, Anale III (–IV) / 8–11.
- Dandruff formula : mLR 28–36, SL 17–22 / 6–15.
Way of life
Astatotilapia desfontainii occurs in spring ponds, wells and similar bodies of water in oases on the northern edge of the Sahara . The water is usually very rich in minerals and the temperature fluctuates greatly during the day, on average between 25 and 32 ° C. In addition to the cichlids, in most cases there are numerous guppies that were introduced by humans for the purpose of combating mosquitoes. Like all haplochromine cichlids, Astatotilapia desfontainii is an ovophilic mouthbrooder in which the female takes care of the brood.
literature
- Hans J. Mayland: Cichlids. Landbuch Verlag, 1995, ISBN 3-7842-0507-0 .
- Günther Sterba : The world's freshwater fish. 2nd Edition. Urania, Leipzig / Jena / Berlin 1990, ISBN 3-332-00109-4 , p. 756.
Web links
- Astatotilapia desfontainii on Fishbase.org (English)
- Haplochromis desfontainii in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2010. Posted by: Schraml, E., 2006. Accessed October 17, 2016th