Classification / Names
Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa
Teleostei (teleosts) >
Cichliformes (Cichlids, convict blennies) >
Cichlidae (Cichlids) > Pseudocrenilabrinae
Etymology: Otopharynx: Greek, ous = hear + Greek, pharyngx = pharynx (Ref. 45335); pachycheilus: Named after the thick lip, the character that first made this species immediately recognizable as a unique three-spotted taxon (Ref. 40031).
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Freshwater; demersal; depth range 125 - 135 m (Ref. 58018). Tropical
Africa: Lake Malawi (Ref. 40031).
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 16.5 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 40031); 15.1 cm SL (female)
Short description
Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
Dorsal spines (total): 15 - 17; Dorsal soft rays (total): 9 - 11; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 8 - 10. Body relatively deep; head large (Ref. 40031). Jaws isognathous (Ref. 40031). Lips greatly enlarged (Ref. 40031, 54524), soft, and deeply folded back onto snout and lower jaw (Ref. 40031). Premaxillary pedicel not prominent (Ref. 40031). Teeth in outer rows of upper and lower jaws bicuspid, relatively closely set (Ref. 40031). Pectoral fin relatively long, extending past base of third anal fin spine to base of seventh anal fin ray (Ref. 40031). Caudal fin scaled more than three quarters of fin length near dorsal and ventral edges (Ref. 40031).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Arnegard, M.E. and J. Snoeks, 2001. New three-spotted cichlid species with hypertrophied lips (Teleostei: Cichlidae) from the deep waters of Lake Malawi/Nyasa, Africa. Copeia 2001(3):703-717. (Ref. 40031)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
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Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5001 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01862 (0.00830 - 0.04177), b=3.01 (2.82 - 3.20), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.5 ±0.4 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Resilience (Ref.
120179): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (10 of 100).