Five-spot cichlid
| Five-spot cichlid | ||||||||||||
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Five-spotted cichlid ( Hemichromis fasciatus ) |
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| Hemichromis fasciatus | ||||||||||||
| Peters , 1857 |
The five-spotted cichlid ( Hemichromis fasciatus ) is a medium-sized African cichlid species.
distribution
It is widespread in West Africa from Senegal to Nigeria. In addition, it occurs in the river basin of the Nile , in the catchment area of Lake Chad and in Lake Bokou and in Lake Djara ( lakes of Ounianga ) in northern Chad. The exact distribution area is only insufficiently known, as the species can easily be confused with Hemichromis elongatus . It is possible that both species occur sympatric in parts of their range . The five-spotted cichlid is probably missing in the Congo Basin .
description
The five-spotted cichlid becomes 20 to 26.5 cm long, weighs a maximum of 300 g and has a typical, beefy cichlid shape with a large head and large mouth. The body is slightly stretched to high back and slightly flattened on the sides. The head profile is clearly indented above the eyes. The basic color is olive-brown or light gray-green. On the sides of the body there are the eponymous dark spots, which can be round or oval or extend into horizontal stripes. The first of these spots is on and directly behind the gill cover, the last on the caudal peduncle. The back is often darker. The lower jaw, cheeks, gill cover, chest and stomach are slightly reddish. In the case of dominant animals, these areas are bright red. The unpaired fins are brownish or transparent grayish, the dorsal fin and the upper edge of the caudal fin are sometimes lined with red. The transparent, brownish or reddish brown pelvic fins sometimes have black front edges. Due to the large distribution area, the different populations have a certain variability in their morphological and meristic (countable) characteristics. However, these are too small and uncertain to derive subspecies from them.
The five-spotted cichlid differs from the two other species of the Hemichromis fasciatus species group mainly through numerous black dots between the dark spots on the front of the body.
- Fins formula : dorsal XIV – XV / 10–13, anals III / 8–11.
- Scale formula 16-19 / 8-12 (SL), 26-27 (mLR).
Way of life
The five-spotted cichlid occurs in various bodies of water, both in savannas and in forests, but not in the fast-flowing upper areas of rivers and streams and in rapids, but possibly also in weakly brackish areas in the mouth of the rivers. It feeds mainly on crustaceans, insects and smaller fish. The species forms large territories, is an open breeder and forms one parent family. Both parents take care of the larvae and fry for a period of around 4 to 8 weeks.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Sébastien Trape: Epiplatys bifasciatus (Steindachner, 1881) (Nothobranchiidae) and Hemichromis fasciatus Peters, 1852 (Cichlidae), two relict fish species in the Sahara desert. In: Bonn Zoological Bulletin. Vol. 67, No. 1, 2018, pp. 37-40.
- ↑ a b c d e Anton Lamboj : The cichlids of western Africa. Publisher: Natur und Tier, 2006, ISBN 386-659000-8 , p. 104 u. 105.
- ↑ a b c d Hemichromis fasciatus on Fishbase.org (English)
- ↑ a b Günther Sterba : Freshwater fish of the world. Urania-Verlag, 1990, ISBN 3-332-00109-4 , p. 761.