Trematocara
| Trematocara | ||||||||||||
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Trematocara nigrifrons and Trematocara unimaculatum . |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Trematocara | ||||||||||||
| Boulenger , 1899 |
Trematocara is a genus of cichlids that is endemic to the East African Lake Tanganyika .
features
Trematocara species are 6.5 to 15 cm long and have a silvery or sky blue colored, laterally flattened body. In the males, the unpaired fins and the sides of the body are partially patterned with spots, eye spots or stripes. Females are inconspicuous. In contrast to most cichlids, Trematocara species have a stunted side line . The lower one has completely disappeared, the upper one reduced to a length of a few scales. The scales fall off slightly, but grow back again, similar to the herrings of Lake Tanganyika ( Limnothrissa miodon and Stolothrissa tanganicae ). The teeth of the Trematocara species also resemble those of the herrings and are unusually small, conical and narrow for cichlids. They stand close together in a row near the edge of the jaw. The terminal mouth can be opened very wide. In the dorsal fin, the soft rays are longer than the hard rays. The pectoral and ventral fins are long, the caudal fin is forked.
- Fin formula : Dorsal VII – XII / 10–13, Anale III / 8–11.
- Scale formula : mLR 27–31
- Gill rake 9–25 on the lower half of the first gill arch.
Way of life
Trematocara species feed on planktonic microorganisms and live very deep (sometimes up to 200 m) along the coast. At night they are likely to migrate towards the surface of the water. They are mouthbrooders .
species
There are nine types :
- Trematocara caparti Poll, 1948
- Trematocara kufferathi Poll, 1948
- Trematocara macrostoma Poll, 1952
- Trematocara marginatum Boulenger, 1899
- Trematocara nigrifrons Boulenger, 1906
- Trematocara stigmaticum Poll, 1943
- Trematocara unimaculatum Boulenger, 1901
- Trematocara variabile Poll, 1952
- Trematocara zebra De Vos, Nshombo & Thys van den Audenaerde, 1996
literature
- Pierre Brichard: The Big Book of Tanganyika Cichlids. With all the other fish on Lake Tanganyika. Bede Verlag, 1995, ISBN 978-3927997943 . Page 273, 420-422.
- Tetsumi Takahashi: Systematics of the tribe Trematocarini (Perciformes: Cichlidae) from Lake Tanganyika, Africa. Ichthyological Research, August 2002, Volume 49, Issue 3, doi: 10.1007 / s102280200036
Web links
- Trematocara on Fishbase.org (English)