Callochromis
| Callochromis | ||||||||||||
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Callochromis melanostigma |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Callochromis | ||||||||||||
| Regan , 1920 |
Callochromis (from Greek kallos "beautiful", and Chromis , a damselfish genus in which cichlids were also classified from the 18th to the 20th century) is a schooling genus of cichlids endemic to the East African Lake Tanganyika .
features
Callochromis species are 10 to 15 cm long and have a strongly flattened body that is quite high back for Lake Tanganyika cichlids. The highest point is just in front of the beginning of the dorsal fin. The eyes are very big. The mouth sits low on the head and is protractile (can be pushed forward). It is set with small, conical teeth that stand in three to five rows. The teeth on the outer rows are larger than those on the inner rows. The pharyngeal teeth are broad and molar-shaped . The dorsal fin has 12 to 17 hard rays , the anal fin three, as with most cichlids. The strong caudal fin is forked.
- Flake formula : mLR 32–37, SL 1 22–34, SL 2 8–25.
- Gill rake 10–12.
Callochromis species are pastel-colored, light blue, light green, copper-colored, olive-green or blackish, but females are usually less colored than the males.
Way of life
The bottom-bound fish live in small schools but also in schools, which can contain several hundred animals, and occur on sandy bottoms between the bank and a depth of 60 meters. They feed by sifting microorganisms and small invertebrates out of the sand. They are mouthbrooders in which the females take care of the brood in the mother family . A clutch consists of around 50 pink, pear-shaped eggs that are 2 mm in diameter. Spawning takes place in a sand crater dug by the male.
species
There are three species of this genus:
- Callochromis macrops (Boulenger, 1898) , in the entire lake with the exception of the extreme north
- Callochromis melanostigma (Boulenger, 1906) , on the northern shores of Lake Tanganyika
- Callochromis pleurospilus (Boulenger, 1906) , in the entire lake with the exception of the extreme south
literature
- Pierre Brichard: The Big Book of Tanganyika Cichlids. With all the other fish on Lake Tanganyika. Bede Verlag, 1995, ISBN 978-3927997943 . Pp. 274 and 281-283.
- Georg Zurlu: Callochromis. In: Claus Schaefer, Torsten Schröer (Hrsg.): The large lexicon of aquaristics. Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart 2004, ISBN 3-8001-7497-9 , p. 190.
Web links
- Callochromis on Fishbase.org (English)