Stigmatochromis woodi
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Drawing of Stigmatochromis woodi from the first description |
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| ( Regan , 1922) |
Stigmatochromis woodi ( synonym .: Haplochromis woodi ) is a species of cichlid that is endemic to the East African Lake Malawi and the Upper Shire . The species was named in honor of the British naturalist Rodney Carrington Wood, who lived in Nyassaland, now Malawi.
features
The fish species can reach a length of 25 cm to 30 cm and has a more elongated body than most of the other cichlids in Lake Malawi. The mouth is large, the lower jaw protrudes. Males are greenish-gold in color with a darker, blackish ventral side in dominant males. The lips, the underside of the head and the chest are green-blue. The dorsal and caudal fins are spotted and lined with dark blue and orange. The anal fin is brownish or reddish brown and shows some indistinct whitish yellow egg spots. The pelvic fins are dark brown to black and lined with white in front. Females and juveniles are brownish to silvery and show dark transverse bands or three dark spots on the sides of the body, one in the middle, one below the rear, soft-rayed section of the dorsal fin and the third on the caudal peduncle. A number of smaller dark spots lie just below the dorsal fin.
- Fins formula : dorsal XV – XVI / 9–10, anal III / 9–10.
- Scale formula : mLR 32–33.
Way of life
Stigmatochromis woodi lives in pairs or in larger groups, especially over open sandy areas, even in greater water depths of up to 70 meters. It mainly feeds on other fish. Like all haplochromine cichlids, Stigmatochromis woodi is an ovophilic mouthbrooder in which the female takes care of the brood. To spawn, the males build a sand funnel at depths of 20 to 40 meters. Mouthbrooding females stay in flatter areas.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Hans J. Mayland: Cichlids. Landbuch Verlag, 1995, ISBN 3-7842-0507-0 , page 343
- ↑ a b Andreas Spreinat: Lake Malawi cichlids from Tanzania. Unitext Verlag, 1994, ISBN 3-926142-42-1 . Page 146–147.
- ↑ a b Günther Sterba : Freshwater fish of the world. 2nd Edition. Urania, Leipzig / Jena / Berlin 1990, ISBN 3-332-00109-4 , p. 760.
Web links
- Stigmatochromis woodi on Fishbase.org (English)