Big-lipped cichlid
| Big-lipped cichlid | ||||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name of the genus | ||||||||||||
| Cheilochromis | ||||||||||||
| Eccles & Trewavas , 1989 | ||||||||||||
| Scientific name of the species | ||||||||||||
| Cheilochromis euchilus | ||||||||||||
| (Trewavas, 1935) |
The bulk lips cichlid ( Cheilochromis euchilus ), also known as suction lips cichlid referred to is an African cichlid , the endemic in the East African Malawisee occurs. The generic name Cheilochromis ( Gr .: "Cheilos" = lip + chromis ) refers to the thickened lips of the species.
features
The fish reach a length of 20 to 35 cm. The body is high back and strongly flattened on the sides. Characteristic of the species are the thick, flared lips, which extend upwards or downwards like hooks at their tips. These lips probably serve as tactile organs with the help of which Cheilochromis euchilus tracks down its prey in the growth. Females of Cheilochromis euchilus are silver-gray with a darker back and a whitish, slightly yellowish shimmering lower third of the body. Males are bluish, throat and chest are yellow. Both sexes show two dark vertical stripes. The upper one runs from the “neck” directly below the base of the dorsal fin to the upper section of the caudal peduncle, the second runs along the middle of the body from the gill cover to the tail fin base. Females can show a third longitudinal stripe below the central one. The dorsal and anal fins of the males taper to a point, while the females are rounded.
- Fin formula : dorsal XV – XVII / 9–10, anal III / 9–10.
- Scale formula : mLR 32.
Way of life
Cheilochromis euchilus occurs on all the rocky coasts of Lake Malawi, but is not common anywhere. The species feeds on the microfauna in the algae that can be felt with its thick lips. Together with Abactochromis labrosus and the two species of the genus Eclectochromis , Cheilochromis euchilus occupies the ecological niche of Lobochilotes labiatus in Lake Tanganyika , of Haplochromis chilotes in Lake Victoria and Amphilophus labiatus in Lake Nicaragua and Lake Managua . Like almost all cichlids in Lake Malawi, the species is a mouthbrooder . Males are not very territorial and polygamous . A clutch contains up to 150 eggs.
literature
- Günther Sterba : The world's freshwater fish. 2nd Edition. Urania, Leipzig / Jena / Berlin 1990, ISBN 3-332-00109-4 , pp. 756-757.
- Erwin Schraml: Cheilochromis euchilus (Trewavas, 1935). Big-lipped cichlid. In: Claus Schaefer, Torsten Schröer (Hrsg.): The large lexicon of aquaristics. Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart 2004, ISBN 3-8001-7497-9 , p. 218 f.
Web links
- Cheilochromis euchilus on Fishbase.org (English)