''Rhamphochromis'' is a genus of East African

haplochromine __NOTOC__ The haplochromine cichlids are a tribe of cichlids in subfamily Pseudocrenilabrinae called Haplochromini. This group includes the type genus (''Haplochromis'') plus a number of closely related genera such as '' Aulonocara'', '' Astat ...

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 ...

s endemic to the Lake Malawi basin, also including Lake Malombe, Lake Chilingali, Chia Lagoon and upper Shire River.Genner; Nichols; Carvalho; Robinson; Shaw; Smith; and Turner (2007). Evolution of a cichlid fish in a Lake Malawi satellite lake. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 274(1623). doi: 10.1098/rspb.2007.0619. They mainly occur in offshore open waters (down to depths of Lowe-McConnell, R.H. (2003). Recent research in the African Great Lakes: Fisheries, biodiversity and cichlid evolution. Freshwater Forum 20(1): 4—64.), but a few species also near the coast. Konings, Ad (1990). ''Ad Konings' Book of Cichlids and all the other Fishes of Lake Malawi.'' Pp. 458—464. . They are piscivores that typically feed on lake sardines and small

utaka image:Copadichromis_azureus.jpg, ''Copadichromis azureus'', one of the utaka of Lake Malawi in Africa Utaka is the term used for open water-dwelling cichlids found in Lake Malawi, the most diverse source of cichlids in the world of aquaria. Among ...

cichlids. They are elongated in shape and mainly silver or golden-silver in color, sometimes with yellow fins (especially pelvic and

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 ...

s) and dark horizontal lines along the body. Depending on the species involved, they reach lengths of up to . Although not closely related, they have sometimes been compared to piscivorous ''

Bathybates ''Bathybates'' is a genus of piscivorous cichlids endemic to Lake Tanganyika in East Africa. The genus includes both pelagic species that mainly feed on Tanganyika sardines and benthic species that mainly feed on other cichlids.Kirchberger; Se ...

'' cichlids of

Lake Tanganyika Lake Tanganyika () is an African Great Lake. It is the second-oldest freshwater lake in the world, the second-largest by volume, and the second-deepest, in all cases after Lake Baikal in Siberia. It is the world's longest freshwater lake. ...

.Lindqvist, O.V.; H. Mölsä; K. Solonen; J. Sarvala, editors (1999). From Limnology to Fisheries: Lake Tanganyika and Other Large Lakes. Pp. 213—214. Springer.

Species

There are currently six recognized species in this genus, although the naming of these cichlids has been complicated. For example, FishBase states that ''Rhamphochromis lucius'' is almost certainly 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 ''R. woodi'' whereas the Catalog of Fishes states that it is a synonym of ''R. esox''. * ''

Rhamphochromis esox ''Rhamphochromis esox'' is a species of cichlid endemic to Lake Malawi where it prefers open waters at depths of from . This fish is piscivore. This species can reach a length of SL. It can also be found in the aquarium trade. References ...

'' (

Boulenger Boulenger is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Benjamin Boulenger (born 1990), French footballer * Edward George Boulenger (1888–1946), British zoologist, director of aquarium at London Zoo * George Albert Boulenger (1858–1 ...

, 1908) * ''

Rhamphochromis ferox ''Rhamphochromis ferox'' is a species of piscivorous cichlid endemic to deep waters of Lake Malawi and the upper reaches of the Shire River. This species can reach a length of TL. It can also be found in the aquarium An aquarium (plur ...

'' Regan, 1922 * ''

Rhamphochromis longiceps ''Rhamphochromis longiceps'', also known as the tigerfish, is a species of cichlid endemic to Lake Malawi and the upper Shire River. It can also be found in the aquarium trade. It occurs in all the habitats in the lake including inshore reefs, ...

'' ( Günther, 1864) (Tigerfish) * ''

Rhamphochromis lucius ''Rhamphochromis lucius'' is a species of piscivorous cichlid endemic to Lake Malawi where it prefers deep, open waters. This species can reach a length of TL. It can also be found in the aquarium trade. FishBase treats this species as a vali ...

'' C. G. E. Ahl, 1926 * ''

Rhamphochromis macrophthalmus ''Rhamphochromis macrophthalmus'' is a species of piscivorous cichlid endemic to Lake Malawi where it prefers open waters at depths of from . This species can reach a length of SL. It can also be found in the aquarium trade. FishBase treats t ...

'' Regan, 1922 * ''

Rhamphochromis woodi ''Rhamphochromis woodi'' is a species of piscivorous cichlid endemic to Lake Malawi where it prefers open waters at depths of from . This species can reach a length of TL. It can also be found in the aquarium trade. The specific name honours ...

'' Regan, 1922 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 ...

and the Catalog of Fishes recognise the following five species as valid within this genus: * ''

Rhamphochromis brevis ''Rhamphochromis brevis'' is a species of cichlid endemic to Lake Malawi where it is a predator of other fish and is also an important food fish. This species is not listed in FishBase which regards it as a synonym of ''Rhamphochromis woodi '' ...

'' Trewavas, 1935 * ''Rhamphochromis esox'' (Boulenger, 1908) * ''Rhamphochromis ferox'' Regan, 1922 * ''Rhamphochromis longiceps'' (Günther, 1864) * ''Rhamphochromis woodi'' Regan, 1922

References

Haplochromini Fishkeeping Cichlid genera Taxa named by Charles Tate Regan {{cichlidae-stub