Bathybates fasciatus
| Bathybates fasciatus | ||||||||||||
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Bathybates fasciatus |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Bathybates fasciatus | ||||||||||||
| Boulenger , 1901 |
Bathybates fasciatus is a species of African cichlid that is endemic to Lake Tanganyika in East Africa.
features
Bathybates fasciatus is elongated, laterally strongly flattened and can reach a maximum length of 40 cm. The length of the fish is 4.6 to 5.5 times the maximum body height. This makes Bathybates fasciatus the most elongated species of all Bathybates species. The head length is 3.15 to 3.4 times included in the standard length . The tail stalk is 2.3 to 2.5 times longer than high. Like all Bathybates species, Bathybates fasciatus has small secondary scales that are arranged in a ring around the larger primary scales and partially cover them and the grooves that normally stand between the larger scales. These serve to avoid turbulence that occurs on uneven surfaces and to make the fish more streamlined and faster. In contrast to Bathybates vittatus , these secondary scales do not completely cover the primary scales in Bathybates fasciatus in most cases. The dark, striated sides of the body are typical of Bathybates fasciatus .
- Fins formula : Dorsal XVI – XIX / 16–18, Anale III / 17–19.
- Scale formula 81–96 (mLR)
- 16–19 gill rake
Way of life
Bathybates fasciatus lives in small schools and feeds mainly on the two herring species Limnothrissa miodon and Stolothrissa tanganicae that occur in Lake Tanganyika . Spawning takes place in sandy zones close to the shore. After spawning, the female takes the eggs in her mouth (mouth brooders ). The fry mingle with the schools of sand cichlids ( Callochromis , Ectodus , Xenotilapia ) living near the shore until they are about 8 cm long and adopt the way of life of their parents.
source
- Pierre Brichard: The Big Book of Tanganyika Cichlids. With all the other fish on Lake Tanganyika. Bede Verlag GmbH. 1995, ISBN 978-3927997943 , pages 278-279.
Web links
- Bathybates fasciatus on Fishbase.org (English)