''Hemitaeniochromis brachyrhynchus'' is a species of
fish
Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...
in the family
Cichlidae
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 thi ...
. Its
specific epithet
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 ...
''brachyrhynchus'' (meaning: short snout) refers to the most distinctive characteristic of this species, the reduced length of the head in front of the eye (Oliver 2012: 42). Prior to the formal description of this species in 2012, the specimen which became the
paratype
In zoology and botany, a paratype is a specimen of an organism that helps define what the scientific name of a species and other taxon actually represents, but it is not the holotype (and in botany is also neither an isotype nor a syntype). Of ...
was provisionally called ''Hemitaeniochromis'' sp. 'insignis big eye' (Snoeks & Hanssens 2004: 284 & fig. 52); however, the species has no accepted
common name
In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often contrast ...
.
This species is suspected of being
paedophagous, because it shares attributes of its
dentition
Dentition pertains to the development of teeth and their arrangement in the mouth. In particular, it is the characteristic arrangement, kind, and number of teeth in a given species at a given age. That is, the number, type, and morpho-physiolo ...
, a heavy
dentary
In anatomy, the mandible, lower jaw or jawbone is the largest, strongest and lowest bone in the human facial skeleton. It forms the lower jaw and holds the lower tooth, teeth in place. The mandible sits beneath the maxilla. It is the only movabl ...
or lower jaw, and thickened oral
mucous membrane
A mucous membrane or mucosa is a membrane that lines various cavities in the body of an organism and covers the surface of internal organs. It consists of one or more layers of epithelial cells overlying a layer of loose connective tissue. It is ...
in which the teeth are buried, all characteristics found especially in other known paedophagous cichlids (Oliver 2012: 45). However, this diet has not been confirmed since neither behavioral observation nor analysis of its stomach contents has been possible.
It has been found only at two widely separated localities in
Malawi
Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast ...
, Thumbi Island West at
Cape Maclear
Cape Maclear or Chembe is a town in the Mangochi District of Malawi's Southern Region. The town, on the Nankumba Peninsula, is on the southern shore of Lake Malawi and is the busiest resort on Lake Malawi. Cape Maclear is close to the island ...
and
Nkhata Bay
Nkhata Bay or just Nkhata is the capital of the Nkhata Bay District in Malawi. It is on the shore of Lake Malawi (formerly Lake Nyasa), east of Mzuzu, and is one of the main ports on Lake Malawi. The population of Nkhata Bay was 14,274 accordin ...
. It occurs in the deeper, rocky habitats of
Lake Malawi
Lake Malawi, also known as Lake Nyasa in Tanzania and Lago Niassa in Mozambique, is an African Great Lake and the southernmost lake in the East African Rift system, located between Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania.
It is the fifth largest fre ...
, and is unknown in the aquarium trade.
References
* Oliver, M.K. (2012). ''Hemitaeniochromis brachyrhynchus'', a new species of cichlid fish from Lake Malaŵi, with comments on some other supposed members of the genus (Teleostei: Cichlidae). ''Zootaxa'', 3410: 35–50
PDF* Snoeks, J. & Hanssens, M. (2004). Identification guidelines to other non-mbuna. ''In'': Snoeks, J. (Ed.), ''The cichlid diversity of Lake Malawi/Nyasa/Niassa: identification, distribution and taxonomy.'' Cichlid Press, El Paso, Texas, pp. 266–310.
Fish described in 2012
Taxa named by Michael K. Oliver
brachyrhynchus
{{Cichlidae-stub