The kotso (''Paretroplus petiti'') 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 ...

fish from northwestern

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

. Currently rated as

data deficient A data deficient (DD) species is one which has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as offering insufficient information for a proper assessment of conservation status to be made. This does not necessaril ...

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 ...

, this species is virtually unknown. The only known specimen is a juvenile that was collected more than 80 years ago.Sparks, J. S. (2008). ''Phylogeny of the Cichlid Subfamily Etroplinae and Taxonomic Revision of the Malagasy Cichlid Genus Paretroplus (Teleostei: Cichlidae).'' Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History Number 314 :1-151 It is not entirely clear where it was collected, but likely from the Maintimaso River or Lake Ambanja, which both are part of the

Betsiboka River Betsiboka River is a long river in central-north Madagascar. It flows northwestward and empties to Bombetoka Bay, forming a large river delta, delta. It originates to the east of Antananarivo. The river is surrounded in mangroves. The river is di ...

drainage. Erroneously, the name ''P. petiti'' has often been applied to members of a different species, '' P. dambabe''. 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 ...

honours the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

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 ...

and

anatomist Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having its ...

Georges Petit Georges Petit (11 March 1856 – 12 May 1920) was a French art dealer, a key figure in the Paris art world and an important promoter and cultivator of Impressionist artists. Early career Petit was the son of François Petit, who founded the f ...

(1892-1973) of the

Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle The French National Museum of Natural History, known in French as the ' (abbreviation MNHN), is the national natural history museum of France and a ' of higher education part of Sorbonne Universities. The main museum, with four galleries, is loc ...

, who collected type.

References

Kotso Freshwater fish of Madagascar Fish described in 1929 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Cichlidae-stub