Petrochromis

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Petrochromis
Petrochromis sp.  Moshi, a color morph from Tanzania.

Petrochromis sp. Moshi, a color morph from Tanzania.

Systematics
Ovalentaria
Order : Cichliformes
Family : Cichlids (Cichlidae)
Subfamily : Pseudocrenilabrinae
Tribe : Tropheini
Genre : Petrochromis
Scientific name
Petrochromis
Boulenger , 1898

Petrochromis ( Greek : "Petra" = rock + Chromis , a genus of damselfish in the formerly tilapias were incorporated) is a cichlid - genus , which is endemic in Tanganjikasee in East Africa occurs.

features

Petrochromis species are 15 to 21 cm long and are the cichlid genus of Lake Tanganyika that is most adapted to grazing on growth. The head is relatively large, the mouth is terminal, set deep and wide. The broad lips are covered with numerous teeth. The body is a little stretched and slightly flattened on the sides. In contrast to the closely related Tropheus moorii , Petrochromis species are generally inconspicuous in color. The digestive tract is ten times the length of a fish. The dorsal fin, anal fin and the pelvic fins taper to a point and are sometimes somewhat elongated.

Way of life

Petrochromis species live close to the rocky coastline and feed on thread algae, as well as diatoms , mussel crabs and unicellular algae, which they comb out of the thread algae with their specialized teeth. They are territorial and aggressive towards each other.

Reproduction

Petrochromis species are agame mouthbrooders , i. H. only one sex, in this case the female, takes care of the mouthbrood. Mating takes place in a protected place in the territory of the male. The female lays some eggs and then takes them into her mouth, where they are fertilized by the male. A total of 10 to 20 eggs are laid and fertilized. Until they leave the mouth for the first time, the juvenile fish are then about 2 cm long, the eggs and juvenile fish are protected in the mouth for about 30 days.

Systematics

There are 13 types described:

Petrochromis polyodon , the type species of the genus Petrochromis

literature

  • Horst Linke, Wolfgang Staek: African Cichlids II, cichlids from East Africa. Tetra-Verlag, Bissendorf 1997, ISBN 3-8935-6152-8 .
  • Soren Neergaard: Tanganyika - Cichlids. Kernen Verlag, 1982, ISBN 3-8740-1005-8
  • Georg Zurlo: Petrochromis. In: Claus Schaefer, Torsten Schröer (Hrsg.): The large lexicon of aquaristics. 2 volumes. Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart 2004, ISBN 3-8001-7497-9 , p. 763 f.

Individual evidence

  1. Petrochromis on Fishbase.org (English)
  2. ^ Mattsson, C. (2018): A morphological and molecular analysis of the species diversity of the cichlid genus Petrochromis from Lake Tanganyika (Teleostei: Cichlidae). bioRxiv, March, 2018, doi: 10.1101 / 280263

Web links

Commons : Petrochromis  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files