''Coptodon nigrans'' is a 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. It is

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 was only

scientifically described A species description is a formal description of a newly discovered species, usually in the form of a scientific paper. Its purpose is to give a clear description of a new species of organism and explain how it differs from species that have be ...

in 2010 and has therefore not been rated by the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

, but it likely faces the same risks as the critically endangered '' C. deckerti'', which 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 Sedimentation is the deposition of sediments. It takes place when particles in suspension settle out of the fluid in which they are entrained and come to rest against a barrier. This is due to their motion through the fluid in response to the ...

from human activities, a 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 ...

'' that has been introduced to the lake, and potentially also by large 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 Lake Nyos ( ) is a crater lake in the Region of Cameroon, located about northwest of Yaoundé, the capital. Nyos is a deep lake high on the flank of an inactive volcano in the Oku volcanic plain along the Cameroon line of volcanic activity ...

),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 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. It reaches 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 ...

, and closely resembles the smaller '' C. deckerti''.

References

Fish described in 2010 Freshwater fish of Cameroon Endemic fauna of Cameroon nigrans Lake fish of Africa Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN {{Cichlidae-stub