Teleogramma

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Teleogramma
Systematics
Ovalentaria
Order : Cichliformes
Family : Cichlids (Cichlidae)
Subfamily : Pseudocrenilabrinae
Tribe : Chromidotilapiini
Genre : Teleogramma
Scientific name
Teleogramma
Boulenger , 1899

Teleogramma is a genus of the cichlid family (Cichlidae) that occursin the central and western Congo Basin in rapids and other regions with fast-flowing water.

features

Teleogramma species have an extremely slim body, round at the front and flattened at the back, and reach lengths of eight to twelve centimeters. Females stay a little smaller. Your swim bladder is reduced and the scales are very small. In contrast to almost all other cichlids, they only have a complete sideline to which the generic name refers ( Gr .: “teleios” = complete + “gramma” = line). All five Teleogramma species are blackish in color, and mature females have a dark red belly. The edge of the dorsal fin and the dorsal edge of the caudal fin are lined with white. Specimens that have no territory and stressed fish become light and show dark, vertical stripes on the sides of the body.

Way of life

Teleogramma species are likely to be found only in rapids or in the immediate vicinity of waterfalls and inhabit caves and crevices between the stones in sparse densities. They are likely to be relatively rare and feed on insect larvae, small crustaceans, and small fish. They reproduce as pair-forming cave breeders , with the male defending the territory while the female takes care of the brood. The clutches are small (around 30 eggs).

species

At the moment (April 2015) five species are placed in the genus Teleogramma . They are very similar and can only be distinguished from one another by counting the rays of the fin .

literature

  • Anton Lamboj : The cichlids of western Africa. Nature and Animals, 2006, ISBN 3-86659-000-8 .
  • Tyson R Roberts, Donald J Stewart: An ecological and systematic survey of fishes in the rapids of the lower Zaire or Congo River. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, v. 147, no.6 online
  • Melanie Stiassny and SE Alter, 2015. Phylogenetics of Teleogramma, a riverine clade of African cichlid fishes, with a description of the deepwater molluskivore - Teleogramma obamaorum - from the lower reaches of the middle Congo River. American Museum Novitates 3831: 1-18. DOI: 10.1206 / 3831.1

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