Haplochromis degeni
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Haplochromis degeni |
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| Boulenger , 1906 |
Haplochromis degeni ( Syn .: Platytaeniodus degeni ) is a species of cichlid that is endemic to the East African Lake Victoria . The species was named after the fish collector E. Degen.
features
The fish species can reach a total length of 15 to 18 cm. Males have a light to pigeon blue basic color. Lips and sides of the head have a metallic blue shine. The dorsal fin is blackish, the fin membrane in the soft radiating section is reddish. The caudal fin that just ends has a reddish fin membrane and black fin rays . The anal fin is dark red and has yellow egg spots. The significantly smaller females are inconspicuous silver-gray and show two longitudinal stripes on the back and on the middle of the body sides. The fins shimmer slightly reddish. The anal fin has no egg spots.
Haplochromis degeni differs from other Haplochromis species primarily in its teeth. Broad bands of very small, conical teeth are found in both jaws. The tooth band in the upper jaw is horseshoe-shaped. The upper jaw is longer than the lower jaw. The dorsal fin has 15 to 16 spines, the anal fin three. The edges of the scales are lightly sawn.
Way of life
Haplochromis degeni lives close to the coast over sandy, gravelly or rocky ground, less mud, and feed mainly on snails and mussels, as well as insect larvae, hydrachnidiae (Hydra Carina), copepods (Copepoda) and ostracods (Ostracoda). Like all Haplochromis species, Haplochromis degeni is a mouthbrooder . The 20 to 30 young fish per brood are released from the mouth for the first time after 18 to 20 days.
Danger
In contrast to most of the other cichlid species of Lake Victoria, the stocks of Haplochromis degeni seem to be increasing. The IUCN therefore classifies Haplochromis degeni as Least Concern. However, the species is also potentially endangered by the introduction of the piscivorous Nile perch ( Lates niloticus ) by humans and by hybridizations with other Haplochromis species in the increasingly cloudy water of Lake Victoria.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Erwin Schraml: Haplochromis (Platytaeniodus) degenei. In: Claus Schaefer, Torsten Schröer (Hrsg.): The large lexicon of aquaristics. Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart 2004, ISBN 3-8001-7497-9 , p. 446.
- ^ MJP van Oijen: The generic classification of the haplochromine cichlids of Lake Victoria, East Africa. Zool. Verh. Leiden 302, 15.ii.1996: 57-110, ISSN 0024-1652 , ISBN 90-73239-44-3 .
- ↑ Haplochromis degeni on Fishbase.org (English)
- ↑ Haplochromis degeni in the Red List of Threatened Species of the IUCN 2016. Posted by: Witte, F., de Zeeuw, MP & Brooks, E., 2016. Retrieved on October 6, 2016.
Web links
- Haplochromis degeni on Fishbase.org (English)