| Family: |
Cichlidae (Cichlids), subfamily: Pseudocrenilabrinae |
| Max. size: |
15.5 cm SL (male/unsexed) |
| Environment: |
benthopelagic; freshwater; depth range 18 - 150 m |
| Distribution: |
Africa: endemic to Lake Malawi, widely distributed (Ref. 55463). |
| Diagnosis: |
Dorsal spines (total): 15-17; Dorsal soft rays (total): 9-11; Anal spines: 3-3; Anal soft rays: 9-10. Diagnosis: no protuberance on the chest; low number of gill-rakers; pores on the head, and infra-orbital bones larger than in A. mentale; lower jaw 38.5-46.1 (mean 41.5) percent of head length (Ref. 55908).
Description: body shape variable, ranging from slightly elongate to deep bodied; large opening of sensory canals on head and heavily inflated infra-orbital series, leaving only a small portion of the cheek with scales; lower jaw slightly prognathous; all teeth unicuspid and of the same size; many rows of inner teeth; gap between inner and outer teeth not very clear; all teeth recurved, but more so in lower jaw; some series of teeth on lower jaw visible when mouth is closed, due to inflated and outwards, ventrally curved dentigerous area of dentary; dentigerous area of premaxilla can be slightly inflated and curved outwards; 2-3 series of scales on cheek; lower pharyngeal bone short and broad; shape of pharyngeal teeth very variable, ranging from fine to molariform; gill-rakers long and slender, the largest ones may be polyfid; 20-30 scales in upper part of lateral line, 10-20 in lower part (Ref. 55908).
Coloration: Live: Adult territorial males: background color green-blue to purple with black bars; dorsal parts of head and body with brownish hue; green-blue component most pronounced on lateral parts of head; ventral parts black; dorsal and caudal fins grey brown; dorsal fin lappets white; dark maculae and striae pattern on dorsal and caudal fins; black pelvic fins with white leading edge; pectoral fins grey; anal fin black with large white or yellow ocelli (Ref. 55908). Females: silvery with a bronze hue and brownish dorsal parts; fins yellowish-grey; dorsal fin lappets brown-yellow; vague dark maculae and striae pattern on dorsal and caudal fins (Ref. 55908). Color pattern of immature and non-territorial males intermediate between female and adult male pattern, gradually becoming more bronzy and then darker and green-blue with increasing territoriality (Ref. 55908). Preserved: Females, juveniles and non-territorial males: brownish or greyish yellow with 6 to 7 vertical bars below the dorsal fin; dorsal and caudal fins greyish yellow with dark maculae on the dorsal fin, but less so on the caudal fin; pelvic and anal fins yellowish; pectorals whitish transparent; in adults from the southern part, the ventral parts are silvery, while they are yellowish in specimens from the central and northern region (Ref. 55908). Territorial males: brown to dark brown with dark vertical bars and more yellowish brown on the body parts in between; some specimens with almost black branchiostegal membranes and ventral body parts, in others grey-brown; fins dark brown, except for pectorals which are whitish; dorsal fin lappets white; lighter coloured adult males have a silvery shimmer on the ventral part of their body (Ref. 55908). |
| Biology: |
Deep-living species; fairly equally distributed below a depth of 60 m (Ref. 55908). |
| IUCN Red List Status: |
Least Concern (LC); Date assessed: 22 June 2018 Ref. (130435)
|
| Threat to humans: |
harmless |
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