''Altolamprologus'' is a small
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
pseudocrenilabrine cichlid
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 ...
s
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
to
Lake Tanganyika
Lake Tanganyika () is an African Great Lake. It is the second-oldest freshwater lake in the world, the second-largest by volume, and the second-deepest, in all cases after Lake Baikal in Siberia. It is the world's longest freshwater lake. ...
in eastern
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
. They inhabit areas of the lake with large amounts of rock, most frequently in water two to ten metres in depth. Two formally described species comprise this genus, with perhaps one dwarf ''A. compressiceps''-like species being considered an undescribed species by some.
Species
There are currently two recognized species in this genus:
* ''
Altolamprologus calvus
''Altolamprologus calvus'' is a cichlid endemic to the southern shoreline of Lake Tanganyika in eastern Africa. The species has an extremely laterally compressed body and a high dorsal fin. Males may grow to 13 cm (5 inches), while fema ...
''
(Poll
Poll, polled, or polling may refer to:
Figurative head counts
* Poll, a formal election
** Election verification exit poll, a survey taken to verify election counts
** Polling, voting to make decisions or determine opinions
** Polling places o ...
, 1978)
* ''
Altolamprologus compressiceps
''Altolamprologus compressiceps'' is a species of fish in the family Cichlidae. It is endemic to the shallow rocky areas of Lake Tanganyika. It is not considered threatened by the IUCN.
Description
It is physically similar to its close relativ ...
''
( Boulenger, 1898)
Description
They are moderately-sized
Lamrologines, growing to a total length of in adult males. Their bodies are laterally compressed and remarkably high-backed; hence the
scientific name
In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...
which means "high ''
Lamprologus
''Lamprologus'' is a genus of fishes from the cichlid family. They are native to Lake Tanganyika (where several species are shell dwellers) and the Congo River Basin in Africa. The type species for this genus is ''Lamprologus congoensis'', a spec ...
''" (from
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
''altus'', "high"). They are
predator
Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill th ...
s which feed on large
invertebrate
Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...
s and small fish, particularly
crustacean
Crustaceans (Crustacea, ) form a large, diverse arthropod taxon which includes such animals as decapods, seed shrimp, branchiopods, fish lice, krill, remipedes, isopods, barnacles, copepods, amphipods and mantis shrimp. The crustacean group ...
s and juveniles of other cichlids.
In the aquarium
''Altolamprologus'' are hardy at the standard Lake Tanganyikan water parameters. They are not particularly well-suited for beginners due to their predatory habits however. They can be picky eaters and demand a variety of appropriate living prey to thrive, but they are also prone to gorging themselves if they like the offered food and may become too fat. They also require large tanks – at least one meter/yard in length – to show their natural behavior, and cannot be kept together with small fish or
shrimp
Shrimp are crustaceans (a form of shellfish) with elongated bodies and a primarily swimming mode of locomotion – most commonly Caridea and Dendrobranchiata of the decapod order, although some crustaceans outside of this order are refer ...
s.
They can be a challenge to breed for the novice. These fish are cave spawners and will spawn under
terracotta
Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based ceramic glaze, unglazed or glazed ceramic where the pottery firing, fired body is porous.
In applied art, craft, construction, a ...
pot saucers or in large
snail
A snail is, in loose terms, a shelled gastropod. The name is most often applied to land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs. However, the common name ''snail'' is also used for most of the members of the molluscan class Gastro ...
shells. They are a rather slow growing Lamprologine taking approximately two years to reach sexual maturity.
References
* (2007): Phylogenetic relationships of the Lake Tanganyika cichlid tribe Lamprologini: The story from mitochondrial DNA. ''
Mol. Phylogenet. Evol.'' 45(2): 629–642.
* (1998): ''Tanganyikan cichlids in their natural habitat''. Cichlid Press.
{{Taxonbar, from=Q134438
Lamprologini
*
Fishkeeping
Cichlid genera
Taxa named by Max Poll