''Chalinochromis'' is a small

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 ...

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 ...

from the

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...

Pseudocrenilabrinae The Pseudocrenilabrinae are a subfamily in the cichlid family of fishes to which, according to a study from 2004, includes all the Middle Eastern and African cichlids with the exception of the unusual '' Heterochromis multidens'' and the Malaga ...

. These

ray-finned fish Actinopterygii (; ), members of which are known as ray-finned fishes, is a class of bony fish. They comprise over 50% of living vertebrate species. The ray-finned fishes are so called because their fins are webs of skin supported by bony or hor ...

es are endemic 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 the

East African Rift The East African Rift (EAR) or East African Rift System (EARS) is an active continental rift zone in East Africa. The EAR began developing around the onset of the Miocene, 22–25 million years ago. In the past it was considered to be part of a ...

. 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 ...

refers to the

bridle A bridle is a piece of equipment used to direct a horse. As defined in the ''Oxford English Dictionary'', the "bridle" includes both the that holds a bit that goes in the mouth of a horse, and the reins that are attached to the bit. Headgear w ...

-like markings across the heads of members of this genus. They have specialized jaws enabling them to feed on

sponge Sponges, the members of the phylum Porifera (; meaning 'pore bearer'), are a basal animal clade as a sister of the diploblasts. They are multicellular organisms that have bodies full of pores and channels allowing water to circulate through t ...

s. (2007): Phylogenetic relationships of the Lake Tanganyika cichlid tribe Lamprologini: The story from mitochondrial DNA. '' Mol. Phylogenet. Evol.'' 45(2): 629–642. (HTML abstract) This genus has a puzzling relationship with the extremely similar species placed in ''

Julidochromis ''Julidochromis'' is a genus of cichlids in the subfamily Pseudocrenilabrinae. They are commonly called julies and are endemic to Lake Tanganyika in eastern Africa. This genus includes six formally described species, some with a number local vari ...

''. In their

mtDNA Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA or mDNA) is the DNA located in mitochondria, cellular organelles within eukaryotic cells that convert chemical energy from food into a form that cells can use, such as adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial DNA ...

NADH dehydrogenase NADH dehydrogenase is an enzyme that converts nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) from its reduced form (NADH) to its oxidized form (NAD+). Members of the NADH dehydrogenase family and analogues are commonly systematically named using the for ...

subunit 2

sequence In mathematics, a sequence is an enumerated collection of objects in which repetitions are allowed and order matters. Like a set, it contains members (also called ''elements'', or ''terms''). The number of elements (possibly infinite) is calle ...

, ''Chalinochromis'' are closer to '' J. dickfeldi'', '' J. ornatus'' and '' J. transcriptus'' – in particular the latter two – than to any other living fish, while '' J. marlieri'' and '' J. regani'' are closer to ''

Telmatochromis __NOTOC__ ''Telmatochromis'' is a small cichlid genus of the subfamily Pseudocrenilabrinae. These ray-finned fishes are endemic to the Lake Tanganyika basin (mostly in the lake itself, but also its outflow river Lukuga) in Africa. Systematic ...

''. ''Julidochromis'' thus might need to be split in two, with ''Chalinochromis'' included in one lineage. Alternatively, there has twice been successful intergeneric

hybrid Hybrid may refer to: Science * Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding ** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species ** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two dif ...

ization between particular lineages of ''Julidochromis'' males and ''Chalinochromis'' females (males generally do not pass on mtDNA to their offspring). Yet another possibility is that ''Julidochromis'' is

monophyletic In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic gro ...

and includes ''Chalinochromis''; in this scenario males of the common ancestor of ''J. marlieri'' and ''J. regani'' would have hybridized with females of the common ancestor of ''Telmatochromis''. ''Chalinochromis'' are popular

aquarium An aquarium (plural: ''aquariums'' or ''aquaria'') is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aq ...

fishes, and require similar care to ''Julidochromis''. Like most lamprologine species, ''Chalinochromis'' are secretive during spawning, often choosing a small cave or crevice to spawn inside. In the aquarium the species often spawns under flat pieces of slate.

Species

The three formally described species in this genus are as follows: * ''

Chalinochromis brichardi ''Chalinochromis brichardi'' is a species of fish in the family Cichlidae. It is found in Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, and Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the ...

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 ...

, 1974 * ''

Chalinochromis cyanophleps ''Chalinochromis'' is a small cichlid genus from the subfamily Pseudocrenilabrinae. These ray-finned fishes are endemic to Lake Tanganyika in the East African Rift. The scientific name refers to the bridle-like markings across the heads of ...

'' S. O. Kullander, Mi. Karlsson, Ma. Karlsson & Norén, 2014Kullander, S.O., Karlsson, M., Karlsson, M. & Norén, M. (2014)
''Chalinochromis cyanophleps'', a new species of cichlid fish (Teleostei: Cichlidae) from Lake Tanganyika.
''Zootaxa, 3790 (3): 425–438.'' * ''

Chalinochromis popelini ''Chalinochromis'' is a small cichlid genus from the subfamily Pseudocrenilabrinae. These ray-finned fishes are endemic to Lake Tanganyika in the East African Rift. The scientific name refers to the bridle-like markings across the heads of ...

'' Brichard, 1989 The two undescribed species in this genus are as follows: * '' Chalinochromis sp. "bifrenatus"'' * '' Chalinochromis sp. "ndobhoi"''

References

Lamprologini * Cichlid genera Taxa named by Max Poll {{Lamprologini-stub