Lethrinops
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Lethrinops lethrinus , males (below) and females (above). |
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| Regan , 1922 |
Lethrinops ( Lethrinus + Greek : "opsis" = appearance; because of the similarity with Lethrinus , a genus of the big-headed snapper ) is a genus fromthe cichlid family that occurs endemically in Lake Malawi , in the Upper Shire and in Lake Malombes in East Africa .
features
Lethrinops species are 9.5 to 29 cm long and have the typical shape of a Haplochromis relative. Characteristic for the genus are 2 to 5 rows of teeth in the lower jaw. The teeth of the outer row of teeth are two- or three-pointed at the front and curved inwards, single-pointed at the back and curved backwards. Most Lethrinops species have vertical or horizontal bands or dark spots on the upper half of the body. Some species have formed different color morphs in different areas of the lake. Due to their pointed head shape, species that live above sandy soils can be distinguished from species that live in mixed habitats.
Way of life
Lethrinops species live on sandy or mixed soils and feed by chewing through the sand for food. Some Lethrinops species with particularly pointed snouts thrust upside down, up to the eyes and deeper into the sand. The sand that is taken up in portions is chewed through and small invertebrates such as insect larvae or molluscs are eaten. Lethrinops species are agame mouthbrooders , i. H. only one sex, in this case the female, takes care of the mouthbrood.
Systematics
Like almost all cichlids in Lake Malawi, Lethrinops belongs to the Haplochromini tribe and is closely related to the genera Taeniolethrinops and Tramitichromis , which are also endemic to Lake Malawi . Taeniolethrinops differs from Lethrinops by a diagonal band, Tramitichromis by the shape of the pharynx .
species
There are 25 types described:
- Lethrinops albus Regan, 1922
- Lethrinops altus Trewavas, 1931
- Lethrinops argenteus Ahl, 1926
- Lethrinops auritus (Regan, 1922)
- Lethrinops christyi Trewavas, 1931
- Lethrinops furcifer Trewavas, 1931
- Lethrinops gossei Burgess & Axelrod, 1973
- Lethrinops leptodon Regan, 1922
- Lethrinops lethrinus (Günther, 1894)
- Lethrinops longimanus Trewavas, 1931
- Lethrinops longipinnis Eccles & Lewis, 1978
- Lethrinops lunaris Trewavas, 1931
- Lethrinops macracanthus Trewavas, 1931
- Lethrinops macrochir (Regan, 1922)
- Lethrinops macrophthalmus (Boulenger, 1908)
- Lethrinops marginatus Ahl, 1926
- Lethrinops micrentodon (Regan, 1922)
- Lethrinops microdon Eccles & Lewis, 1977
- Lethrinops microstoma Trewavas, 1931
- Lethrinops mylodon borealis Eccles & Lewis, 1979
- Lethrinops mylodon mylodon Eccles & Lewis, 1979
- Lethrinops oculatus Trewavas, 1931
- Lethrinops parvidens Trewavas, 1931
- Lethrinops stridei Eccles & Lewis, 1977
- Lethrinops turneri Ngatunga & Snoeks, 2003
Web links
- Lethrinops on Fishbase.org (English)
literature
- Andreas Spreinat: Lake Malawi cichlids from Tanzania. Dähne Verlag, 1994, ISBN 3-9261-4242-1 .
- Erwin Schraml: Lethrinops. In: Claus Schaefer, Torsten Schröer (Hrsg.): The large lexicon of aquaristics. Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart 2004, ISBN 3-8001-7497-9 , p. 587.