Diplotaxodon
| Diplotaxodon | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
From top to bottom: D. limnothrissa, D. apogon and D. macrops |
||||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Diplotaxodon | ||||||||||||
| Trewavas , 1935 |
Diplotaxodon ( Gr .: "Diplo" = double + "taxo" = position + odon = tooth) is a genus from the family of cichlids (Cichlidae) that occurs in Eastern Africa in Lake Malawi and Lake Malombes .
features
Diplotaxodon species reach lengths of 11.5 to 25 cm. They are slender, almost herring-like predatory fish, which are mostly silvery or gray in color and do not show any pattern in the form of stripes, spots or dots. The mouth is slanted and directed upwards. The lower jaw is strong and protrudes slightly. The simple teeth are arranged in two to four rows. Typical of the genus is a paired, flat, bony apophysis below , which runs along the entire length of the third or third and fourth vertebrae.
Way of life
Diplotaxodon species are piscivorous predatory fish that live pelagically in large schools from the surface of the water to a depth of around 125 meters. The most important prey fish is the sardine-like carp fish Engraulicypris sardella . In addition, eggs and young fish of other cichlids are eaten. Like almost all cichlids in Lake Malawi, the Diplotaxodon species are mouthbrooders .
species
The genus Diplotaxodon is assigned to nine species that are difficult to distinguish from one another.
- Diplotaxodon aeneus Turner & Stauffer, 1998
- Diplotaxodon altus Stauffer et al., 2018
- Diplotaxodon apogon Turner & Stauffer, 1998
- Diplotaxodon argenteus Trewavas, 1935 ( type species )
- Diplotaxodon ecclesi Burgess & Axelrod, 1973
- Diplotaxodon greenwoodi Stauffer & McKaye, 1986
- Diplotaxodon limnothrissa Turner, 1994
- Diplotaxodon longimaxilla Stauffer et al., 2018
- Diplotaxodon macrops Turner & Stauffer, 1998
literature
- Ethelwynn Trewavas: A Synopsis of the Cichlid Fishes of Lake Nyasa . From the Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Ser. 10, vol. xvi. p. 65, July 1935.
- Erwin Schraml: Diplotaxodon. In: Claus Schaefer, Torsten Schröer (Hrsg.): The large lexicon of aquaristics. Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart 2004, ISBN 3-8001-7497-9 , p. 328 f.
Web links
- Diplotaxodon on Fishbase.org (English)