Interochromis loocki
| Interochromis loocki | ||||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name of the genus | ||||||||||||
| Interochromis | ||||||||||||
| Yamaoka , Hori & Kuwamura , 1998 | ||||||||||||
| Scientific name of the species | ||||||||||||
| Interochromis loocki | ||||||||||||
| ( Poll , 1949) |
Interochromis loocki ( Syn . : Limnotilapia loocki ) is a species of cichlid that is endemic to the East African Lake Tanganyika .
features
Interochromis loocki can reach a length of 10 to 15 cm. It is flattened on the sides and slightly high back with a standard length that is 2.48 to 2.88 times the body height. Characteristic for the species is the dentition, which consists of an outer row of larger, two-pointed teeth and an inner row of smaller, three-pointed teeth. The double-pointed teeth have brown crowns and are movable, that is, they are not firmly attached to the jawbone. In males and females only the right gonad is developed.
- Fin formula : Dorsal XVIII / 8–9; Anal III / 6-7.
- Scale formula : SL 31–33.
- Gill rake : 10–15
- Vertebrae: 15-16 + 15-16.
Interochromis loocki is brownish in color, the abdomen and pelvic fins are whitish. There are nine darker, brownish, vertical stripes on the sides of the body. There are yellowish spots on the head. The section of the anal fin, supported by spines, is orange, while the posterior section shows orange eggspots. The upper and lower edges of the caudal fin are dark.
Way of life
Interochromis loocki lives in relatively shallow water (2 to 4 meters) in the rocky zone of Lake Tanganyika and, like the species of the closely related genus Petrochromis , feeds primarily on unicellular algae ( diatoms ), and to a lesser extent on thread algae. Young fish also eat small amounts of animal food. Like all other Tropheini , Interochromis loocki is a mouthbrooder .
Systematics
The fish was the Belgian 1949 ichthyologists Max Poll under the name Limnotilapia loocki described in 1998 by three Japanese scientists because of of limnotilapia dardennii and genus Simochromis , which feed on filamentous algae differing dentition of the newly introduced species Interochromis assigned.
literature
- Kosaku Yamaoka & M. Hori, T. Kuwamura: Interochromis, a new genus of the Tanganyikan cichlid fish. South African Journal of Science, Vol. 94; pp 381–386 (1998)
Web links
- Interochromis loocki on Fishbase.org (English)