Dimidiochromis

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Dimidiochromis
Dimidiochromis compressiceps.jpg
Malawi eyebiter (D. compressiceps)
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Cichliformes
Family: Cichlidae
Tribe: Haplochromini
Genus: Dimidiochromis
Eccles & Trewavas, 1989
Type species
Haplochromis strigatus
Regan, 1922

Dimidiochromis is a genus of haplochromine cichlids endemic to Lake Malawi in East Africa. All of its species are elongated in shape and predatory on smaller fishes.

Species

There are currently four recognized species in this genus: [1]

Related Research Articles

Cichlid Family of fishes

Cichlids are fish from the family Cichlidae in the order Cichliformes. Cichlids were traditionally classed in a suborder, the [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.

Lake Malawi African Great Lake

Lake Malawi, also known as Lake Nyasa in Tanzania and Lago Niassa in Mozambique, is an African Great Lake and the southernmost lake in the East African Rift system, located between Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania.

<i>Maylandia</i> Genus of fishes

Maylandia or Metriaclima is a genus of haplochromine cichlids endemic to Lake Malawi in East Africa. They belong to the mbuna (rock-dwelling) haplochromines.

<i>Corematodus</i> Genus of fishes

Corematodus is a small genus of haplochromine cichlids native to the Lake Malawi basin in Africa. They feed on scales and fins of other cichlids.

<i>Ctenochromis</i> Genus of fishes

Ctenochromis is a genus of haplochromine cichlids endemic to the Lake Tanganyika and Congo River basins in Africa.

<i>Placidochromis</i> Genus of fishes

Placidochromis is a genus of cichlids endemic to Lake Malawi in Eastern Africa. They are part of the haplochromine lineage of Lake Malawi's cichlid taxa. Most Placidochromis species live in the open or sandy regions of the lake.

<i>Astatotilapia</i> Genus of fishes

Astatotilapia is a genus of small freshwater fish in the family Cichlidae found in Eastern and Northern Africa, with a single species, A. flaviijosephi, in Western Asia. Many species have been moved between this genus and Haplochromis, and while some consensus has been reached in recent years, their mutual delimitation is still far from settled. Based on mtDNA, Astatotilapia as currently defined is polyphyletic.

<i>Astatoreochromis</i> Genus of fishes

Astatoreochromis is a small genus of haplochromine cichlids endemic to riverine habitats in East Africa. Tilapia bemini, usually placed in the tilapiines, may be rather close to this genus. However, extensive hybridization capabilities of African cichlids seriously confound analyses of phylogeny based on mtDNA, while morphological analyses tend to yield little information due to widespread parallel evolution.

Haplochromine

The haplochromine cichlids are a tribe of cichlids in subfamily Pseudocrenilabrinae called Haplochromini. This group includes the type genus (Haplochromis) plus a number of closely related genera such as Aulonocara, Astatotilapia, and Chilotilapia. They are endemic to eastern, southern and northern Africa, except for Astatotilapia flaviijosephi in the Middle East. A common name in a scientific context is East African cichlids – while they are not restricted to that region, they are the dominant Cichlidae there. This tribe was extensively studied by Ethelwynn Trewavas, who made major reviews in 1935 and 1989, at the beginning and at the end of her career in ichthyology. Even today, numerous new species are being described each year.

<i>Ctenopharynx</i> Genus of fishes

Ctenopharynx is a small genus of haplochromine cichlids from East Africa. Two of its species are endemic to Lake Malawi, while the third occurs in Lake Malawi and the upper reaches of the Shire River.

<i>Cyrtocara</i> Genus of fishes

Cyrtocara moorii, commonly known as the hump-head, is a species of haplochromine cichlid endemic to Lake Malawi in east Africa where they prefer areas with sandy substrates. It can grow to a length of 20 centimetres (7.9 in) TL. The species is popular among aquarium keepers where it is known as the hump-head cichlid, blue dolphin cichlid, Malawi dolphin or simply as moorii. It is currently the only known member of its genus. The specific name honours the English cytologist and biologist John Edmund Sharrock Moore (1870-1947).

<i>Diplotaxodon</i> Genus of fishes

Diplotaxodon is a small genus of seven formally described, as well as a number of undescribed, deep-water species of cichlid fish endemic to Lake Malawi in east Africa. These fishes represent a remarkable adaptive radiation of offshore and deep-water adapted fish descended from ancestral shallow water forms. They include the dominant zooplankton-feeding fish of the offshore and deep-water regions of the lake, as well as a number of larger species that appear to feed on small pelagic fishes. Adult sizes range from 10 to 30 cm in total length, depending on species.

<i>Docimodus</i> Genus of fishes

Docimodus is a small genus of cichlids native to east Africa where they are found in Lake Malawi and one species (D. johnstoni) also occurs in Lake Malombe and the upper Shire River.

<i>Haplochromis</i> Genus of fishes

Haplochromis is a ray-finned fish genus in the family Cichlidae. It has been used as the default "wastebin taxon" for Pseudocrenilabrinae cichlids of the East African Rift, and as such became the "largest" fish "genus". Many of these cichlids are popular aquarium fishes; like similar Haplochromini they are known as "haplos", "happies" or "haps" among aquarium enthusiasts.

<i>Hemitaeniochromis</i> Genus of fishes

Hemitaeniochromis is a small genus of cichlid fishes endemic to Lake Malawi in east Africa. The genus is distinguished from other genera of Lake Malawi Haplochromini by details of its melanic color pattern and by its dentition. The color pattern includes (1) a midlateral horizontal stripe starting at least an eye length behind the operculum, this stripe broken into separate spots at least on its front half, more nearly continuous on its rear half, extending to the end of the caudal peduncle; (2) a second (supralateral) stripe above the midlateral one that is only on the front part of the flanks, and which is also at least partly broken into spots; (3) above this at the base of the dorsal fin are 4 or 5 dorsal midline spots. The dentition of the jaws is also distinctive in fish at least 10 centimetres in length ; the outer teeth are roughly conical with a single cusp and are spaced apart from each other by about the width of the tooth.

Malawi eyebiter Species of fish

Malawi eyebiter is a species of fish in the family Cichlidae. This predatory cichlid is endemic to Lake Malawi in East Africa.

Ncheni type haplochromis Species of fish

Dimidiochromis dimidiatus, is a species of fish in the family Cichlidae. It was formerly placed in the genus Haplochromis and is known as the Ncheni type haplochromis in the aquarium fish trade.

Dimidiochromis kiwinge is a species of haplochromine cichlid which is found in Lake Malawi and Lake Malombe in Malawi, Mozambique, and Tanzania. Its natural habitat is freshwater lakes.

<i>Dimidiochromis strigatus</i> Species of fish

Dimidiochromis strigatus is a species of haplochromine cichlid endemic to Malawi. It was formerly placed in the genus Haplochromis and known as Haplochromis 'sunset' in the aquarium fish trade.

<i>Trematocranus</i> Genus of fishes

Trematocranus is a small genus of haplochromine cichlids endemic to Lake Malawi.

References

  1. Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2013). Species of Dimidiochromis in FishBase . February 2013 version.