Lichnochromis acuticeps
| Lichnochromis acuticeps | ||||||||||||
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male |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name of the genus | ||||||||||||
| Lichnochromis | ||||||||||||
| Trewavas , 1935 | ||||||||||||
| Scientific name of the species | ||||||||||||
| Lichnochromis acuticeps | ||||||||||||
| Trewavas, 1935 |
Lichnochromis acuticeps ( size : "lichnos" = voracious + "chromis" = old name for. Cichlids; "acutus" = pointed + "ceps" = head) is a medium-sized cichlid species that is endemic to the East African Malawi lake.
features
Lichnochromis acuticeps becomes 20 to 25 cm long and has an elongated body with a large head with a gently rising profile and a long, laterally flattened snout. The lower jaw protrudes. The females are silver-gray to yellow-brown and have transparent fins. The females' dorsal and anal fins are rounded. Males are green-blue, the scales of the flanks are reddish to orange in front and light blue in the back. The chest and stomach are often yellowish. The bluish, white-lined dorsal fin and the anal fin are extended. Both sexes show a dark stripe that extends from the "neck" to the tail stalk, but in dominant males it can be covered by the blue color on the back. Three Mylochromis species look very similar to Lichnochromis acuticeps in shape and drawing, but do not have a laterally flattened snout.
Way of life
Lichnochromis acuticeps is likely to be common throughout Lake Malawi, but is relatively rare. The fish are not true to their location, live in shallow water to depths of 15 meters and individually. Despite the predatory fish habit, Lichnochromis acuticeps only feeds on small animals that the species snaps up in vertical crevices or under stones. The fish thrusts into crevices as far as possible with its flat snout; if the stones are hollow on the floor, it turns 90 ° on its side and picks up particles and small animals, probably without having seen them beforehand. Like almost all cichlids in Lake Malawi, Lichnochromis acuticeps is a mouthbrooder . The males are territorial during reproduction. The fish spawn on stones or on the sand without digging a spawning pit beforehand.
literature
- Andreas Spreinat: Lake Malawi cichlids from Tanzania. Dähne Verlag, 1994, ISBN 3-9261-4242-1 .
- Erwin Schraml: Lichnochromis acuticeps. In: Claus Schaefer, Torsten Schröer (Hrsg.): The large lexicon of aquaristics. Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart 2004, ISBN 3-8001-7497-9 , S. 589th
Web links
- Lichnochromis acuticeps on Fishbase.org (English)