Exochochromis anagenys
| Exochochromis anagenys | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name of the genus | ||||||||||||
| Exochromis | ||||||||||||
| Eccles & Trewavas , 1989 | ||||||||||||
| Scientific name of the species | ||||||||||||
| Exochochromis anagenys | ||||||||||||
| Oliver , 1989 |
Exochochromis anagenys ( Gr .: “exokos” = excellent + Chromis ; “ana” = backwards + “genys” = lower jaw) is an African cichlid species that is endemic to the Thumbi West Island ( type locality ) and in the southeastern section of the East African Lake Malawi .
features
The fish reach a length of 20 to 30 cm. The body is elongated and flattened on the sides. The mouth is cut deep. Above the nostrils the snout is bulged like a hump. The kind is predominantly yellow-blue colored, whereby it morphs with larger or smaller yellow or blue component in the coloring. Females are yellow or gray-brown. The dorsal and anal fins are rounded. All females and males who are not in courtship mood show three black spots on the sides of the body, one on the middle of the body, one on the base of the caudal fin and one in between. There are also five to six black spots at the base of the dorsal fin. Males in courtship color are light blue, brown-gray on the back and increasingly yellowish towards the tail. The dorsal fin is greenish-yellow to bluish, lined with light blue at the upper edge and patterned with many blue lines and dots between the fin rays. The anal fin is yellowish and transparent. It shows numerous yellow egg spots. The caudal fin is yellow and patterned with a few blue dots. The dorsal and anal fins are slightly pointed.
Way of life
Exochochromis anagenys occurs at depths of 10 to 125 meters above sandy and rocky floors, is nowhere common and feeds on smaller fish, especially juvenile fish. Like almost all cichlids in Lake Malawi, the species is a mouthbrooder . A clutch contains up to 100 eggs.
literature
- Eccles, DH & E. Trewavas (1989): Malawian cichlid fishes. The classification of some Haplochromine genera. Lake Fish Movies, HW Dieckhoff, West Germany. 1-334.
- Erwin Schraml: Exochochromis anagenys. In: Claus Schaefer, Torsten Schröer (Hrsg.): The large lexicon of aquaristics. Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart 2004, ISBN 3-8001-7497-9 , p. 371.
Web links
- Exochochromis anagenys on Fishbase.org (English)