Cyphotilapia gibberosa

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Cyphotilapia gibberosa
Cyphotilapia gibberosa) - GRB.JPG
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Cichliformes
Family: Cichlidae
Genus: Cyphotilapia
Species:
C. gibberosa
Binomial name
Cyphotilapia gibberosa
T. Takahashi & Nakaya, 2003 [1]

Cyphotilapia gibberosa is a species of fish in the cichlid family, one of two species in the genus Cyphotilapia . Native to Lake Tanganyika in East Africa, it was described in 2003 nearly 100 years after its congener, C. frontosa . [2] This species is a maternal mouth brooder. [3]

Cichlid Family of fishes

Cichlids are fish from the family Cichlidae in the order Cichliformes. Cichlids were traditionally classed in a suborder, Labroidei, along with the wrasses (Labridae), in the order Perciformes but molecular studies have contradicted this grouping. The closest living relatives of cichlids are probably the convict blennies and both families are classified in the 5th edition of Fishes of the World as the two families in the Cichliformes, part of the subseries Ovalentaria. This family is both large and diverse. At least 1,650 species have been scientifically described, making it one of the largest vertebrate families. New species are discovered annually, and many species remain undescribed. The actual number of species is therefore unknown, with estimates varying between 2,000 and 3,000.

In biology, a species ( ) is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. Other ways of defining species include their karyotype, DNA sequence, morphology, behaviour or ecological niche. In addition, paleontologists use the concept of the chronospecies since fossil reproduction cannot be examined. While these definitions may seem adequate, when looked at more closely they represent problematic species concepts. For example, the boundaries between closely related species become unclear with hybridisation, in a species complex of hundreds of similar microspecies, and in a ring species. Also, among organisms that reproduce only asexually, the concept of a reproductive species breaks down, and each clone is potentially a microspecies.

A genus is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, as well as viruses, in biology. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial species name for each species within the genus.

Distribution

Cyphotilapia gibberosa is endemic to Lake Tanganyika in East Africa like C. frontosa . [4] It is found in the southern half of this lake, whereas C. frontosa inhabits the northern half. The type specimen of C. gibberosa was caught at a depth of 34 m (112 ft) and large schools occur at 30–40 m (98–131 ft) or deeper. [4]

Endemism ecological state of being unique to a defined geographic location or habitat

Endemism is the ecological state of a species being unique to a defined geographic location, such as an island, nation, country or other defined zone, or habitat type; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. The extreme opposite of endemism is cosmopolitan distribution. An alternative term for a species that is endemic is precinctive, which applies to species that are restricted to a defined geographical area.

Lake Tanganyika lake in Africa

Lake Tanganyika is an African Great Lake. It is the second oldest freshwater lake in the world, the second largest by volume, and the second deepest, in all cases after Lake Baikal in Siberia. It is the world's longest freshwater lake. The lake is divided among four countries – Tanzania, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Burundi, and Zambia, with Tanzania (46%) and DRC (40%) possessing the majority of the lake. The water flows into the Congo River system and ultimately into the Atlantic Ocean.

Cyphotilapia frontosa, the frontosa, is a species of fish from the cichlid family, endemic to Lake Tanganyika in East Africa.

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<i>Reganochromis calliurus</i> species of fish

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<i>Xenochromis hecqui</i> species of fish

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References

  1. ↑ ITIS.gov
  2. ↑ Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2017). Species of Cyphotilapia in FishBase . April 2017 version.
  3. ↑ Cichlid-forum.com
  4. 1 2 Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2017). "Cyphotilapia gibberosa" in FishBase . April 2017 version.


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