Ctenopharynx
| Ctenopharynx | ||||||||||||
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Ctenopharynx intermedius |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Ctenopharynx | ||||||||||||
| Eccles & Trewavas , 1989 |
Ctenopharynx : ( Lat .: "Cteno" derived from the ancient Greek κτείς κτενός "ktēīs, ktenós" for "comb" + pharynx = throat) is a genus of African cichlids (Cichlidae). It is endemic to Lake Malawi in East Africa.
features
Ctenopharynx species are shiny metallic light blue, silvery or yellowish in color and reach body lengths of 14 to 18 cm. The sides of the body are patterned with transverse bands and / or three dark spots. The latter are located under the hard-rayed section of the dorsal fin, under the soft-rayed part of this fin and on the caudal peduncle and become smaller and smaller towards the rear. The spots are more pronounced in females than in males. The closely spaced gill rakes ( gill traps ) are considered to be a diagnostic feature of the genus .
Way of life
Ctenopharynx species live on sandy soils and feed on very small organisms, which they swim upside down and ingest from the substrate and from plankton . Like most of the cichlids in Lake Malawi, the three ctenopharynx species are oviphilic mouthbrooders .
species
- Ctenopharynx intermedius (Günther, 1864)
- Ctenopharynx nitidus (Trewavas, 1935)
- Ctenopharynx pictus (Trewavas, 1935)
literature
- Eccles, DH & E. Trewavas (1989): Malawian cichlid fishes. The classification of some Haplochromine genera. Lake Fish Movies, HW Dieckhoff, West Germany. 1-334.
- Hans J. Mayland: Cichlids. Landbuch-Verlag (1995), ISBN 978-3784205076 , page 272.
Web links
- Ctenopharynx on Fishbase.org (English)