Classification / Names
Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa
Teleostei (teleosts) >
Cichliformes (Cichlids, convict blennies) >
Cichlidae (Cichlids) > Pseudocrenilabrinae
Etymology: Neolamprologus: Greek, neos = new + Greek,lampros = torch + Greek, lagos = hare (Ref. 45335); walteri: Named after Water Dieckhoff, who first recognized this species as an undescribed species, and it has been referred to as 'walteri' in the aquarium trade for two decades (Ref. 74422).
Eponymy: Horst Walter Dieckhoff is a German cichlid aquarist who discovered, photographed, and filmed many new cichlids in the Great Lakes of Africa. (Ref. 128868), visit book page.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Freshwater; benthopelagic; depth range 2 - 30 m (Ref. 74422), usually 7 - 15 m (Ref. 74422). Tropical
Africa: endemic to Lake Tanganyika, found on the eastern coast of the lake, from near the Burundi border with Tanzania in the north, to Cape Kabogo in the south (Ref. 74422).
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 5.7 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 74422)
Dorsal spines (total): 18 - 20; Dorsal soft rays (total): 8 - 10; Anal spines: 5 - 7; Anal soft rays: 5 - 7; Vertebrae: 30 - 31. Diagnosis: interorbital width 14.8–22.1% HL; preorbital depth 11.8–16.9% HL; caudal peduncle depth 11.3–13.2% SL; predorsal fin length 29.2–34.0% SL; preorbital depth 11.8–16.9%; HL; 6-9 gill rakers; 33–35 scales in longitudinal series; no scales on occiput; no scales on paired fins; no ctenoid scales on dorsal and anal fins; 2 scales between upper and lower lateral lines; 16 scales around caudal peduncle; cephalic pits present; 13 pectoral fin rays; 8-10 dorsal soft rays; 4-8 (mode 8) canines in upper and 4-7 (mode 6) in lower on anterior part of dental arcade; pronounced markings on dorsal and caudal fins; distinct pattern on unpaired fins; no markings on operculum; no bars on body; no conspicuous spots on scales; juveniles drab grey-brown with bluish dorsal and anal fins and vertical bars on body (Ref. 74422).
Highly stenotopic, restricted to rocky habitat and prefers sheltered areas; habitat features gentle slopes with small stones or rubble, cemented by calcite, with fine sediment in spaces between rubble, and stones with stromatolite growth; often associated with bivalve shell accumulations covering large areas (always Pleiodon spekii), shells are cemented together and provide many small spaces for refuge and breeding; most common at 7 to 15 m depth and locally very abundant; excavates crevices that function as refuges; substrate spawner forming large congregations; ingests sediment or plankton; poor disperser; home range 20-200 cm in diameter (Ref. 74422).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Verburg, P. and R. Bills, 2007. Two new cichild species Neolamprologus (Teleostei: Cichlidae) from Lake Tanganyika, East Africa. Zootaxa 1612:25-44. (Ref. 74422)
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 = 0.5000 [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): 3.4 ±0.5 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).
