''Oreochromis karongae'' is a critically endangered 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 ...

that 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 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 ...

Lake Malombe Lake Malombe is a lake in southern part of Malawi, on the Shire River, in the Southern Region, Malawi, Southern Region. It is located at around , about south of much larger Lake Malawi. It has an area of about . In recent years the number of fishe ...

, and upper and middle

Shire River The Shire is the largest river in Malawi. It is the only outlet of Lake Malawi and flows into the Zambezi River in Mozambique. Its length is . The upper Shire River issues from Lake Malawi and runs approximately before it enters shallow Lake Malo ...

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 ...

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

, and

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

. This species is important to local

commercial fisheries Commercial fishing is the activity of catching fish and other seafood for commercial profit, mostly from wild fisheries. It provides a large quantity of food to many countries around the world, but those who practice it as an industry must often ...

, but has declined drastically due to

overfishing Overfishing is the removal of a species of fish (i.e. fishing) from a body of water at a rate greater than that the species can replenish its population naturally (i.e. the overexploitation of the fishery's existing fish stock), resulting in th ...

. It can reach a

total 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 ...

of . Breeding males are black with white edges to the fins and are extremely similar to breeding male '' O. lidole'', while females are more yellowish-brown than females of ''O. lidole'' and '' O. squamipinnis''. Konings, Ad (1990). Ad Konings' Book of Cichlids and all the other Fishes of Lake Malawi, pp. 90 & 343. .Oliver, M.K. (29 August 2016)
Oreochromis (Nyasalapia) karongae.
MalawiCichlids. Retrieved 13 April 2017. It is part of the subgenus ''Nyasalapia'', which are known as chambo. A

taxonomic Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification. A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. ...

review recommended that '' O. saka'' should be considered a

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

of ''O. karongae'' (the two only differ by pharyngeal bones and teeth), but at present both are considered valid by

FishBase FishBase is a global species database of fish species (specifically finfish). It is the largest and most extensively accessed online database on adult finfish on the web.

. The breeding males of chambo have long genital tassels that somewhat resemble fish eggs. During breeding, the female attempts to pick them up with her mouth and this helps the male in fertilizing the female's eggs, already in her mouth. ''O. karongae'' mainly feeds on

phytoplankton Phytoplankton () are the autotrophic (self-feeding) components of the plankton community and a key part of ocean and freshwater ecosystems. The name comes from the Greek words (), meaning 'plant', and (), meaning 'wanderer' or 'drifter'. Ph ...

, including

diatom A diatom (Neo-Latin ''diatoma''), "a cutting through, a severance", from el, διάτομος, diátomos, "cut in half, divided equally" from el, διατέμνω, diatémno, "to cut in twain". is any member of a large group comprising sev ...

s. The lepidophagous cichlid ''

Corematodus shiranus ''Corematodus shiranus'' is a species of haplochromine cichlid fish native to Lake Malawi, Lake Malombe and the upper reaches of the Shire River in East Africa. It is an aggressive mimic of the chambo cichlids (''Nyasalapia'', a subgenus of ''O ...

'' is an

aggressive mimic Aggressive mimicry is a form of mimicry in which predators, parasites, or parasitoids share similar signals, using a harmless model, allowing them to avoid being correctly identified by their prey or host. Zoologists have repeatedly compare ...

of chambo in both color pattern and swimming mode. It is, therefore, able to approach unsuspecting

schools A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compulsor ...

of chambo and rapidly take a mouthful of scales or fin.Oliver, M.K. (16 November 2000)
Corematodus shiranus.
MalawiCichlids. Retrieved 13 April 2017.

References

Karongae Fish of Lake Malawi Endangered animals Endangered biota of Africa Fish described in 1941 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Tilapiini-stub