Grammatotria lemairii
| Grammatotria lemairii | ||||||||||||
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Drawing from the first description by George Albert Boulenger. |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name of the genus | ||||||||||||
| Grammatotria | ||||||||||||
| Boulenger , 1899 | ||||||||||||
| Scientific name of the species | ||||||||||||
| Grammatotria lemairii | ||||||||||||
| Boulenger, 1899 |
Grammatotria lemairii is a species of cichlid that is endemic to the East African Lake Tanganyika .
features
The fish have a streamlined elongated and laterally flattened body, which is covered with comb scales and becomes about 26 cm long. They are colored silvery. The head is large, the jaws strong and the mouth terminal. The teeth are conical or two-pointed and are arranged in four to six rows, with the teeth in the outer row being larger. The pharyngeal teeth are very large. The teeth sitting on the front edge of the pharyngealia are conical and those in the middle and rear are molar-shaped , with the last two being particularly large on the back of the bone. The caudal fin is forked.
In contrast to almost all other cichlids that have two lateral lines , Grammatotria lemairii has three. This feature occurs otherwise only in the genus Xenotilapia , such as Grammatotria lemairii from the Ectodini tribe .
- Fin formula : dorsal XV – XVI / 13–16, anal III / 9–12.
- Scale formula : mLR 44–59.
- Gill rake 10–12.
Way of life
The external appearance of Grammatotria lemairii is reminiscent of Boulengerochromis microlepis or Bathybates and suggests a piscivorous predatory fish. However, studies of stomachs showed that the fish feed on molluscs and crustaceans . The strong, molar-like mouth teeth are used to break the hard-shelled food. Grammatotria lemairii is a semi-pelagic, fast swimmer that moves close to a depth of at least 30 meters over sandy soils in search of food. The fish are mouthbrooders . A clutch contains 60 to 90 eggs that are 4.5 mm in diameter. Details about the behavior of the fish are not known.
literature
- Pierre Brichard: The Big Book of Tanganyika Cichlids. With all the other fish on Lake Tanganyika. Bede Verlag, 1995, ISBN 978-3927997943 . Page 277–278.
Web links
- Grammatotria lemairii on Fishbase.org (English)