Cichla temensis
| Cichla temensis | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cichla temensis |
||||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Cichla temensis | ||||||||||||
| Humboldt , 1821 |
Cichla temensis is a freshwater fish from the family of cichlids (Cichlidae). It occurs in the northern Amazon basin in the Rio Negro and in the Rio Uatumã flowing east of it, as well as in the Orinoco riverbasin. The species was named after the Rio Temi , the largest source river of the Río Atabapó .
features
With a maximum length of 99 cm, Cichla temensis is the largest cichlid in the world , ahead of Cichla ocellaris and Boulengerochromis microlepis from Lake Tanganyika in Africa . The maximum weight is 12.2 kg. Cichla temensis has an elongated, less high-backed body than other Cichla species. It is covered with small scales. In a middle longitudinal row there are 98 to 128, in most cases more than 110 scales, while other Cichla species usually have fewer than 110 scales in a longitudinal row. Young fish and females are dark gray and have parallel rows of short, silvery horizontal stripes. Sexually mature males, the sexual maturity occurs with a length of 31 to 36 cm, are dark green to dark brown and have three black transverse bands, the first behind the pectoral fin base, the second in front of the anus and the third above the anal fin. A dark strip of the posterior eye extends from the posterior edge of the eye to the edge of the gill cover . The ventral, anal and caudal fins are bright orange-red in the lower half. The sideline is usually continuous.
- Fin formula : Dorsal XIV – XVI / 15–17, Anale III / 10–11.
Way of life
Cichla temensis usually resides in deeper coastal areas of lakes and over sandy and rocky banks in the main stream of larger rivers and feeds on fish, especially tetras that are less than 10 cm long. It is a substrate and open breeder .
literature
- Horst Linke, Wolfgang Staek: American cichlids II, large cichlids. Tetra-Verlag, Bissendorf 1997, ISBN 3-8974-5101-8 .
- Claus Schaefer: Cichla temensis. In: Claus Schaefer, Torsten Schröer (Hrsg.): The large lexicon of aquaristics. Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart 2004, ISBN 3-8001-7497-9 , p. 233.
- Günther Sterba : The world's freshwater fish. 2nd Edition. Urania, Leipzig / Jena / Berlin 1990, ISBN 3-332-00109-4 .
Web links
- Cichla temensis on Fishbase.org (English)