''Aulonocranus dewindti'' is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

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 ...

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 ...

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. ...

and some rivers which flow into it.

Description

''Aulonocranus dewindti'' has a body shape that is moderately elongated and compressed, with the length of the body being roughly three times its height. The

ventral fin Pelvic fins or ventral fins are paired fins located on the ventral surface of fish. The paired pelvic fins are homologous to the hindlimbs of tetrapods. Structure and function Structure In actinopterygians, the pelvic fin consists of two en ...

s have a long filamentous, the first spine which reaches the

anal fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as se ...

in adult males. The

caudal fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as se ...

us crescent-shaped. There are 33-36 scales along the longest line of the body. There is a system of sensory pores on the head region and there are two

lateral line The lateral line, also called the lateral line organ (LLO), is a system of sensory organs found in fish, used to detect movement, vibration, and pressure gradients in the surrounding water. The sensory ability is achieved via modified epithelial ...

s. The lower pharyngeal bone is triangular in shape and has very fine subconical teeth, the mouth is terminal slightly protruding lower jaw. The teeth in the jaws are very small and conical and are arranged in 2-3 rows on each jaw. The body is silvery in colour and the males are marked with longitudinal yellow stripes. The

total 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 ...

is .

Distribution

''Aulonocranus dewindti'' is endemic to the

basin where it is widespread in the lake as well as also being found in the Ruzizi and Lukuga rivers which drain into the lake. It occurs in Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania and Zambia.

Habitat and biology

''Aulonocranus dewindti'' is a

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 ...

, the female broods the eggs and fry up to in her mouth. It feeds on

plankton Plankton are the diverse collection of organisms found in Hydrosphere, water (or atmosphere, air) that are unable to propel themselves against a Ocean current, current (or wind). The individual organisms constituting plankton are called plankt ...

over sandy substrates and can occur in large schools.

Taxonomy and naming

This species is currently the only known member of its

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 ...

. The generic name is a

compound noun A compound is a word composed of more than one free morpheme. The English language, like many others, uses compounds frequently. English compounds may be classified in several ways, such as the word classes or the semantic relationship of their ...

of the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

''αυλός'' (''aulos'') meaning "pipe" and ''Κρανος'' (''kranos'') meaning "helmet" alluding to the enlarged sensory canals in this species' head. The

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

honours the

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct language ...

geologist Jean Charles Louis De Windt (1876-1898), who accidentally drowned in Lake Tanganyika at the age of 22.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2670206 Ectodini Fish of Lake Tanganyika Cichlid fish of Africa Monotypic ray-finned fish genera Cichlid genera Taxa named by Charles Tate Regan