Oreochromis tanganicae
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Male of Oreochromis tanganicae in the Berlin Aquarium |
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| Oreochromis tanganicae | ||||||||||||
| ( Günther , 1894) |
Oreochromis tanganicae ( Syn .: Chromis tanganicae , Petrochromis andersonii , P. tanganicae ) is an African species of fish from the family of cichlids (Cichlidae), which occurs endemically in East African Lake Tanganyika , as well as in Lukuga , the runoff of Lake Tanganyika to the Congo . It prefers the estuary areas of the rivers flowing into Lake Tanganyika and other coastal regions rich in sediments.
features
Oreochromis tanganicae can reach a maximum length of 44 cm and a weight of 1.5 kg. Compared to other Oreochromis species, the species is more elongated. The body is flattened on the sides. Color is Oreochromis tanganicae highly variable and the basic color can yellowish, brownish, light blue, turquoise or pink. There is a dark crimson dot on each shed . Young fish show brownish-black vertical stripes of constant width on the sides of the body. These fade with age and may eventually no longer be visible. The dorsal, anal and caudal fin are yellowish, orange and metallic blue and green in color and have crimson-red hems.
The scales on the chest and stomach are very small but overlap. The pre-orbital bone, a bone in front of the eyes, is large and 24 to 29% of the length of the head. The snout, in fish the region from the front edge of the eye to the tip of the mouth, is relatively short and has a length of 1.1 to 2.4 times the diameter of the eye. The jaws are covered with numerous very small, narrow teeth that are arranged in several rows and form felt-like tooth surfaces in both jaws. On the lower branch of the first gill arch there are 23 to 27 gill trap rays .
Males are larger and more conspicuously colored than the females. The dorsal and anal fins are drawn out longer in adult males than those in females.
- Fins formula : dorsal XV – XVII / 11–15, anal III / ?.
- Vertebra: 30-31.
Way of life
Oreochromis tanganicae sometimes lives in smaller schools on the shores of Lake Tanganyika and in the mouths of the flowing rivers. It feeds mainly on phytoplankton and algae and has been observed taking up the surface film of protected water sections. Stomach examinations revealed large amounts of the diatoms Pinnularia and Navicula and a lot of sand. Like all Oreochromis species, Oreochromis tanganicae is a mouthbrooder in which the breeding business is only carried out by the female. Spawning takes place in large, self-dug sand hollows in shallow water.
literature
- Pierre Brichard: The Big Book of Tanganyika Cichlids. With all the other fish on Lake Tanganyika. Bede Verlag GmbH. 1995, ISBN 978-3927997943
- David H. Eccles: Field Guide to the Freshwater Fishes of Tanzania. FAO Species Identification Sheets for Fishery Purposes, Rome, 1992, p. 94.
Individual evidence
- ^ Sven O. Kullander and Tyson R. Roberts: Out of Lake Tanganyika: endemic lake fishes inhabit rapids of the Lukuga River. Ichthyol. Explor. Freshwaters, Vol. 22, No. December 4, 2011 © 2011 by Verlag Dr. Friedrich Pfeil, Munich, Germany - ISSN 0936-9902
- ↑ Brichard, page 412th
- ↑ Brichard, page 421st
- ↑ Oreochromis tanganicae on Fishbase.org (English)
