Benthochromis
| Benthochromis | ||||||||||||
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Male of Benthochromis tricoti type species of the genus |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name of the tribe | ||||||||||||
| Benthochromini | ||||||||||||
| Takahashi , 2003 | ||||||||||||
| Scientific name of the genus | ||||||||||||
| Benthochromis | ||||||||||||
| Poll , 1986 |
Benthochromis ( Gr .: "benthos" = depth + "chromis" = old name for cichlids) is a genus from the family of cichlids (Cichlidae), whichis endemic to the East African Lake Tanganyika .
features
Benthochromis species grow to be 15 to 20 cm long, females remain somewhat smaller. The body of the fish is elongated and laterally flattened, the eye is large, the caudal fin is forked. Characteristic for the genus are the elongated ventral fins of the males, which in Benthochromis tricoti can reach more than 30% of the standard length, but in the other two species remain below 25% of the standard length. The dorsal fin is long and supported by numerous rays , 16 to 19 hard and 10 to 13 soft rays. The anal fin has three spines and 9 to 11 soft rays. The fish have 35 to 38 vertebrae.
Way of life
In contrast to most of the other Lake Tanganyika cichlids, the Benthochromis species are not inhabitants of the coastal rocky habitats, but live in huge swarms in open water, usually below a depth of 30 meters, and feed on plankton. They are mouthbrooders and form a mother family .
species
- Benthochromis horii Takahashi, 2008 .
- Benthochromis melanoides (Poll, 1984) .
- Benthochromis tricoti (Poll, 1948) .
literature
- Georg Zurlo: Benthochromis. In: Claus Schaefer, Torsten Schröer (Hrsg.): The large lexicon of aquaristics. Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart 2004, ISBN 3-8001-7497-9 , p. 148.
Web links
- Benthochromis on Fishbase.org (English)