Cyphotilapia gibberosa
| Cyphotilapia gibberosa | ||||||||||||
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Cyphotilapia gibberosa |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Cyphotilapia gibberosa | ||||||||||||
| Takahashi & Nakaya , 2003 |
Cyphotilapia gibberosa is a large cichlid that is endemic to the southern half of East African Lake Tanganyika and lives above rocky bottom. The species was not described until 2003 after Japanese scientists discovered that the Cyphotilapia population in the southern half of the lake differs significantly from the Tanganyika bump head ( Cyphotilapia frontosa ), which is restricted to the northern half ofthe lake . The two species probablyseparated from each otherin the course of an allopatric speciation .
features
Cyphotilapia gibberosa is high-backed, laterally flattened and shows six dark stripes on the sides of the body with a light basic color. In specimens from the coast of the Congo and Zambia , the latter are often clearly blue, which is why Cyphotilapia gibberosa is often referred to as the blue Tanganyika bump head . Older specimens have a distinct forehead hump. Cyphotilapia gibberosa has a higher body than Cyphotilapia frontosa (43.3 to 51.2% of SL vs. 38.2 to 46.5% of C. frontosa ). As a result, there are three rows of scales in the middle of the body between the upper and lower side lines . With C. frontosa there are only two. In a central longitudinal row on the side of the body, C. gibberosa has 34 to 36 scales, in C. frontosa it is 33 to 35. The dorsal fin base and pectoral fins are longer in C. gibberosa (57.1 of the 64.6% of the SL vs. 53.8 to 60.9% of the SL and 36.0 to 47.2% of the SL vs. 31.3 to 41.7% of the SL). In the outer row of teeth in the upper jaw, C. gibberosa has 31 to 52 teeth, in C. frontosa it is 39 to 62.
Way of life
Like its sister species , Cyphotilapia gibberosa lives in more or less large groups mostly at depths of 30 to 40 meters, older animals also deeper. The fish are agame mouthbrooders in the female sex. A clutch can contain up to 50 eggs that are almost the size of a pea.
literature
- Tetsumi Takahashi & Kazuhiro Nakaya: New species of Cyphotilapia (Perciformes: Cichlidae) from Lake Tanganyika, Africa. Copeia 2003 (4), pp. 824-832, 2003 doi : 10.1643 / IA03-148.1
Web links
- Cyphotilapia gibberosa on Fishbase.org (English)