Labidochromis
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| Trewavas , 1935 |
Labidochromis ( Latin : “labium” = lip + chromis (genus of damselfish , in which cichlids were also described in the past)) is a genus of African cichlids (Cichlidae). They live endemically in Lake Malawi in East Africa and belong to thembuna boundto the biotope of the rocky coasts . They are closely related to the genera Pseudotropheus and Melanochromis .
features
Labidochromis species are considered to be the dwarf cichlids of Lake Malawi, they remain relatively small and in nature in most cases only grow to 7 to 8 cm long, more rarely up to 10 cm. Characteristic of the genus are the one or two-pointed, forward-facing teeth on the outer row of teeth with which they specifically pick out individual invertebrates from the rock growth. Some species are not very territorial, not even the males, and move around in small groups.
All Labidochromis are mouthbrooders and sometimes have a very strong sexual dimorphism , i. H. Males and females look different.
species
At present (2014) 18 described species belong to the genus Labidochromis . In addition, numerous previously undescribed species are known.
- Labidochromis caeruleus Fryer, 1956
- Labidochromis chisumulae Lewis, 1982
- Labidochromis flavigulis Lewis, 1982
- Labidochromis freibergi Johnson, 1974
- Labidochromis gigas Lewis, 1982
- Labidochromis heterodon Lewis, 1982
- Labidochromis ianthinus Lewis, 1982
- Labidochromis lividus Lewis, 1982
- Labidochromis maculicauda Lewis, 1982
- Labidochromis mathotho Burgess & Axelrod, 1976
- Labidochromis mbenjii Lewis, 1982
- Labidochromis mylodon Lewis, 1982
- Labidochromis pallidus Lewis, 1982
- Labidochromis shiranus Lewis, 1982
- Labidochromis strigatus Lewis, 1982
- Labidochromis textilis Oliver, 1975
- Labidochromis vellicans Trewavas , 1935
- Labidochromis zebroides Lewis, 1982
literature
- Andreas Spreinat: Lake Malawi cichlids from Tanzania. Unitext Verlag, 1994, ISBN 3-926142-42-1 .
- Günther Sterba : The world's freshwater fish. 2nd Edition. Urania, Leipzig / Jena / Berlin 1990, ISBN 3-332-00109-4 .
Web links
- Labidochromis on Fishbase.org (English)