Kuba cichlid

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Kuba cichlid
Nandopsis tetracantus.jpg

Kuba cichlid ( Nandopsis tetracanthus )

Systematics
Order : Cichliformes
Family : Cichlids (Cichlidae)
Subfamily : Cichlinae
Tribe : Heroini
Genre : Nandopsis
Type : Kuba cichlid
Scientific name
Nandopsis tetracanthus
( Valenciennes , 1831)

The Kuba cichlid ( Nandopsis tetracanthus , Syn . : Cichlasoma tetracanthus ) is endemic to Cuba.

Appearance

The Kubabuntbarsch grows up to 20 cm long and has a typical beefy cichlid shape. In terms of color, the species is very variable and the ability to change colors is very pronounced. In addition, the basic color is different in the different age stages. Typical in almost all age stages is a network drawing on the trunk and the unpaired fins. It is mainly shown in wellbeing. The head is patterned with worm-shaped, curved lines and irregular spots. There may be larger, dark spots behind the eye, on the middle sides of the body, and on the tail stalk. A horizontal stripe is also possible, especially often on the tail stalk.

Way of life

The Kuba cichlid inhabits both lakes and rivers with strong currents, and also goes into the brackish water of estuaries. It prefers regions with dense vegetation and feeds on worms, insects, shrimp and small fish. Kubabuntbarsche are open brooders , the maximum 600 eggs are laid on a flat stone. The brood is cared for and guarded by both parents. These fish behave very aggressively at spawning time.

The species is widespread all over the island of Cuba. and also occurs on the offshore island of Cayo Coco . Only 38 species of freshwater fish live in Cuba, 19 of which are endemic to the island.

Importance to humans

The cuba cichlid is a popular aquarium fish. In addition to the rarer Nandopsis ramsdeni , it is the only autochthonous Cuban fish species that was important for fishing. However, both species are not suitable for aquaculture. Both species have been fished commercially in the past, the locally called biajata, the kuba cichlid, produced 147 tonnes of fish per year in 1981, and 39 tonnes in 1988, around 4 to 7 percent of the total catch. Due to the degradation of their habitats, the stocks have declined sharply and are now economically meaningless.

Taxonomy

The species was first described by Valenciennes as Centrarchus tetracanthus , it is (as Chromis tetracanthus Poey) the type species of the genus Nandopsis . The type locality is, according to Eigenmann, the Almendares River near Havana, Cuba. The numerous subspecies described by the American ichthyologist Carl H. Eigenmann are no longer recognized today.

Despite the different body shape with the distinctive head hump, the different coloration and the different number of fin rays, the second Cuban species of the genus, the much more rarely found Nandopsis ramsdeni, turned out to be a sister species .

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ^ DS Lee, SP Platania, GH Burgess (1983): Atlas of North American Freshwater Fishes. Occasional Papers of the North Carolina Biological Survey, Contribution No. 1983-6, on page 65.
  2. ↑ Lara A, Ponce de León JL, Rodríguez R, Casane D, Côté G, Bernatchez L, García-Machado E. (2010): DNA barcoding of Cuban freshwater fishes: evidence for cryptic species and taxonomic conflicts. Molecular Ecology Resources 10: 421-430. doi: 10.1111 / j.1755-0998.2009.02785.x
  3. ↑ cichlidae.com, by Juan Miguel Artigas Azas
  4. ↑ VV Sugunan, FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Management Division: Fisheries Management of small water bodies in seven Countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. FAO, Rome, November 1997
  5. ^ CH Eigenmann (1902): The fresh-water fishes of Western Cuba. Bulletin of the United States Fish Commission 22: 211-236, at 230 ff.
  6. ↑ Carl L. Hubbs (1920): A note on the synonymy of the Cichlid fish of Cuba and Barbadoes Cichlasoma tetracanthus. Occasional Papers of the Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan 90: 1-5.
  7. ↑ Sven O. Kullander: Cichlids. In: RE Reis, SO Kullander and CJ Ferraris Jr. (editors): Check List of the Freshwater Fishes of South and Central America. Edipucrs, Porto Alegre, 605-654, at page 639.
  8. ↑ Uwe Werner: Not Just a Phantom The Jotura From Cuba Chichlid News 22 (1), January 2013 online
  9. ↑ ProSanta Chakrabarty (2006): Systematics and historical biogeography of Greater Antillean Cichlidae. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 39: 619-627. doi: 10.1016 / j.ympev.2006.01.014

Web links

Commons : Nandopsis tetracanthus  - Collection of images, videos and audio files