''Coptodon deckerti'' is a critically endangered species of fish in the

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 ...

family,

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 Ejagham Lake Ejagham is a small lake near Eyumodjock in the Southwest Region, Cameroon, Southwest Region of Cameroon. Unlike many other lakes in the region, it is not a volcanic lake, but is likely a solution basin formed by groundwater during the last gl ...

in western

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

. It is threatened by

pollution Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause adverse change. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the ...

and sedimentation from human activities, and potentially also by emissions of

carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide (chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is transpar ...

(CO₂) from the lake's bottom (compare Lake Nyos), although Ejagham is too shallow to contain very high amounts of this gas.Freeth, S.J.; C.O. Ofoegbu; and K.M. Onuoha (1992). Natural Hazards in West and Central Africa, pp. 50—51. A species of catfish from the genus ''

Parauchenoglanis ''Parauchenoglanis'' is a genus of claroteid catfishes native to Africa. The range of the genus ''Parauchenoglanis'' stretches from the coastal lowlands of Benin and Nigeria to the Okavango and upper Zambezi River systems in Botswana and Zambia ...

'' has recently been introduced to the lake, and this probably presents a serious threat to the endemic cichlids.Dunz, A. R., & Schliewen, U. K. (2010). ''Description of a Tilapia (Coptodon) species flock of Lake Ejagham (Cameroon), including a redescription of Tilapia deckerti Thys van den Audenaerde, 1967.'' Spixiana, 33(2): 251-280 It was formerly recognized as the only cichlid endemic to Lake Ejagham, but six others were described in 2010 and 2011 (which has resulted in some historical confusion over its size and ecology).Neumann, D., Stiassny, M. L. J, & Schliewen, U. K. (2011). ''Two new sympatric Sarotherodon species (Pisces: Cichlidae) endemic to Lake Ejagham, Cameroon, west-central Africa, with comments on the Sarotherodon galilaeus species complex.'' Zootaxa 2765: 1–20 It reaches up to about 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 ...

and closely resembles the larger '' C. nigrans''. 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 ...

of the cichlid honours

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

zoologist Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...

Kurt Deckert (1907-1987), who was curator of fishes at the Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin, for his assistance to Thys van den Audenaerde when he visited the museum, and for spending many hours providing required and useful data for that authors research into the Cichlidae.

References

deckerti Fish of Cameroon Endemic fauna of Cameroon Lake fish of Africa Fish described in 1967 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN {{Cichlidae-stub