''Hemichromis letourneuxi'' is a species of

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 ...

which is native to West Africa and is popular in the

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 ...

hobby and it has been introduced to the Caribbean and the south-east United States where it is invasive.

Description

''Hemichromis letourneuxi'' is a small species of fish that has quite a long, thin body and a rounded tail and which has 13–15 spines in the dorsal fin and 3 in 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 ...

. It has a highly variable background colour to the body which may be green-yellow to red-brown or even almost black, this colouration is dependent on various factors such as the sex of the fish, the season, the nature of the fish's habitat and stress. Breeding males may develop red colouration over the gills and underside. Both sexes have a limited amount of small, brilliant blue iridescent spots on the head, body, and fins and these may be more obvious in breeding adults. It has a dark black spot situated above the lateral line on the flanks and smaller blotches on gill covers and base of the tail. They can reach a

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 ...

of although it is normally a lot smaller and is more usual.

Distribution

''Hemichromis letourneuxi'' is found across the northern half of Africa from the River Nile and has been recorded in the Gambia River and

Senegal River ,french: Fleuve Sénégal) , name_etymology = , image = Senegal River Saint Louis.jpg , image_size = , image_caption = Fishermen on the bank of the Senegal River estuary at the outskirts of Saint-Louis, Senegal ...

as well as

oases In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.” The location of oases has been of critical imp ...

in Algeria. It has been recorded as an introduced species in the Philippines, Hawaii, Europe and Puerto Rico, as well as in Florida. It is only known to have been established in Florida and Puerto Rico, while in other areas they do not seem to have become established or have been misidentified. In Florida they were introduced prior to 1965 and was introduced via the aquarium trade, either by releases or by escapes. They were originally confined to the Miami Canal but have begun to spread northwards and westwards, their wide habitat tolerance aiding their dispersal.

Habitat and biology

''Hemichromis letourneuxi'' is a species found in the savannah zone and it is known to thrive in a variety of still freshwater habitats and it is able to tolerate a wide range of water types from very

soft water Hard water is water that has high mineral content (in contrast with "soft water"). Hard water is formed when water percolates through deposits of limestone, chalk or gypsum, which are largely made up of calcium and magnesium carbonates, bicarbo ...

s through to highly saline waterbodies. It has been recorded from brackish lagoons, large lakes and riverine flood plains. It prefers to live near vegetation beds and the margins of larger areas of aquatic habitats. Within its introduced range this habitat tolerance has allowed it to spread and it can be found in estuaries and other coastal waters adjacent to the freshwater habitats it occurs in. The fish of the genus '' Hemichromis'' are monogamous, biparental, substrate spawners that demonstrate advanced parental care of their offspring. Congeners of ''H. letourneuxi'', '' H. bimaculatus'' and '' H. lifalili'' have had their breeding behaviour studied in aquaria and it is thought to typical of the genus. The male and female form monogamous pairs which are thought to last for the whole of the fishes' lives. When breeding the colours of both sexes become more intense and they choose a spawning site, normally a flat rock. The male will then chase the females, quite vigorously, to induce her to spawn. Spawning is similar to many other cichlids, the female lays a line of eggs and the male fertilises them. The female may lay up to 600 eggs and the male defends the spawning site as the female looks after the eggs. After around 72 hours the eggs hatch and the fry are shifted into a shallow depression in the substrate close to the spawning site. The fry are able to swim freely after 24 hours but the parents will care for them for some time after that. It has been suggested that reproductive activity in Africa coincides with the onset of the flood season. Studies on the diet of ''H. letourneuxi'' have shown that it is an

omnivore An omnivore () is an animal that has the ability to eat and survive on both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and animal matter, omnivores digest carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber, and metabolize the nutr ...

but that it mainly eats larger invertebrates and small fish, including smaller specimens of its own species and other cichlids. Algae and other plant material has also been found in the stomachs of this species. In Florida this species is preyed upon by the Florida green watersnake as well as by the fishes common snook, Florida gar, Largemouth bass, longnose gar and

bowfin The bowfin (''Amia calva'') is a bony fish, native to North America. Common names include mudfish, mud pike, dogfish, grindle, grinnel, swamp trout, and choupique. It is regarded as a relict, being the sole surviving species of the Halecomorphi ...

. In the Senegal River the gills of this species were found to be parasitized by the monogenean ''

Cichlidogyrus ''Cichlidogyrus'' is a genus of monopisthocotylean monogeneans in the family Ancyrocephalidae. The type-species of the genus is '' Cichlidogyrus arthracanthus'' Paperna, 1960, by original designation. All the species of the genus are parasites ...

dracolemma''.

Etymology

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 this fish honours the collector of the

type Type may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc. * Data type, collection of values used for computations. * File type * TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file. * Ty ...

, the

botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

Aristide-Horace Letourneux (1820-1890).

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q966418 letourneuxi Fish described in 1880