''Alcolapia'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

of small fishes in the family Cichlidae. Their native range is restricted to margins of

Lake Natron Lake Natron is a salt or alkaline lake located in north Ngorongoro District of Arusha Region in Tanzania. It is in the Gregory Rift, which is the eastern branch of the East African Rift. The lake is within the Lake Natron Basin, a Ramsar Si ...

and

Lake Magadi Lake Magadi is the southernmost lake in the Kenyan Rift Valley, lying in a catchment of faulted volcanic rocks, north of Tanzania's Lake Natron. During the dry season, it is 80% covered by soda and is well known for its wading birds, including f ...

, as well as similar conditions in nearby hot springs, in

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

and

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

. They live in waters that are warm (mostly , although occasionally down to ),

hypersaline A hypersaline lake is a landlocked body of water that contains significant concentrations of sodium chloride, brines, and other salts, with saline levels surpassing that of ocean water (3.5%, i.e. ). Specific microbial species can thrive in h ...

(salinity above 40‰) and

alkali In chemistry, an alkali (; from ar, القلوي, al-qaly, lit=ashes of the saltwort) is a basic, ionic salt of an alkali metal or an alkaline earth metal. An alkali can also be defined as a base that dissolves in water. A solution of a ...

ne ( pH above 10). Species from this genus have also been introduced to

Lake Nakuru Lake Nakuru is one of the Rift Valley lakes at an elevation of above sea level. It lies to the south of Nakuru, in the rift valley of Kenya and is protected by Lake Nakuru National Park. The lake's abundance of algae used to attract a vast qu ...

and Lake Elmenteita. They are the only fish in their range. The different ''Alcolapia'' species differ primarily in the position of their mouth (straight, upturned or downturned) and the colors of the adult males. They are fairly small fish, with the largest species reaching up to in

standard length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of their anatomies. These data are used in many areas of ichthyology, including taxonomy and fisheries biology. Overall length * Standard length (SL) is the length of a fish m ...

. They mostly feed on

algae Algae (; singular alga ) is an informal term for a large and diverse group of photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms. It is a polyphyletic grouping that includes species from multiple distinct clades. Included organisms range from unicellular mic ...

and

cyanobacteria Cyanobacteria (), also known as Cyanophyta, are a phylum of gram-negative bacteria that obtain energy via photosynthesis. The name ''cyanobacteria'' refers to their color (), which similarly forms the basis of cyanobacteria's common name, blu ...

, but also take other plant material, fish eggs, fry and remains, and insects in smaller quantities (except ''A. alcalica'', which feed on other plant material at about the same level as algae and cyanobacteria). They are maternal

mouthbrooder Mouthbrooding, also known as oral incubation and buccal incubation, is the care given by some groups of animals to their offspring by holding them in the mouth of the parent for extended periods of time. Although mouthbrooding is performed by a va ...

Taxonomy

''Alcolapia'' was first included in ''

Tilapia Tilapia ( ) is the common name for nearly a hundred species of cichlid fish from the coelotilapine, coptodonine, heterotilapine, oreochromine, pelmatolapiine, and tilapiine tribes (formerly all were "Tilapiini"), with the economically most ...

'', then moved to ''

Oreochromis ''Oreochromis'' is a large genus of Oreochromini, oreochromine cichlids, fishes Endemism, endemic to Africa and the Middle East. A few species from this genus have been Introduced species, introduced far outside their native range and are import ...

'' and finally to their own genus. Nevertheless, the genus is very closely related to ''Oreochromis'', and '' O. amphimelas'' and '' O. esculentus'' appear to be closer to ''Alcolapia'' than they are to other ''Oreochromis'' species. Similar to ''Alcolapia'', ''O. amphimelas'' inhabits Tanzanian lakes that can be highly alcaline and saline. A potential solution is to merge ''Alcolapia'' into ''Oreochromis'', as done by

Catalog of Fishes Catalog of Fishes is a comprehensive on-line database and reference work on the scientific names of fish species and genera. It is global in its scope and is hosted by the California Academy of Sciences. It has been compiled and is continuously up ...

Species

There are currently four recognized species in this genus: * ''

Alcolapia alcalica ''Alcolapia alcalica'', the common Natron tilapia or soda cichlid, is an endangered species of fish in the family Cichlidae. It is endemic to the hypersaline, warm Lake Natron in Ngorongoro District of Arusha Region, its drainage and the Shombol ...

'' ( Hilgendorf, 1905) (Magadi tilapia) * ''

Alcolapia grahami ''Alcolapia grahami'', the Lake Magadi tilapia or Graham's cichlid, is a vulnerable species of fish in the family Cichlidae. It is specialised to live in hot, alkaline waters in springs and lagoons around hypersaline lakes. Description ''Alcola ...

'' ( Boulenger, 1912) * ''

Alcolapia latilabris ''Alcolapia latilabris'', the wide-lipped Natron tilapia, is a species of small fish in the family Cichlidae. It is endemic to the hypersaline, warm Lake Natron in Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, ...

'' ( Seegers & Tichy, 1999) * ''

Alcolapia ndalalani ''Alcolapia ndalalani'', the narrow-mouthed Natron tilapia, is a species of small fish in the family Cichlidae. It is endemic to the hypersaline, warm Lake Natron in Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw ...

'' ( Seegers & Tichy, 1999)

References

Oreochromini Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Tilapiini-stub

Taxonomy

Species

See also

References