''Ptychochromis'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

of cichlids

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 else ...

to rivers and lakes in

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 ...

. One species ('' P. grandidieri'') can also be seen in

brackish Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estu ...

water.Stiassny, M.L.J. & Sparks, J.S. (2006): Phylogeny and Taxonomic Revision of the Endemic Malagasy Genus ''Ptychochromis'' (Teleostei: Cichlidae), with the Description of Five New Species and a Diagnosis for ''Katria'', New Genus. ''American Museum Novitates, 3535: 1-56.'' Most species in this genus are

threatened Threatened species are any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of ''critical depensa ...

, and '' P. onilahy'' is probably extinct. Most reach a length of 15 to 20cm, but '' P. insolitus'' reaches 25, while ''P. grandidieri'' and '' P. oligacanthus'' reach 35 and 20cm respectively. The largest species was P onilahy which may have reached as much as 45cm if reports of fishermen are to be believed.

Species

There are currently 10 recognized species in this genus: * '' Ptychochromis curvidens'' Stiassny & Sparks, 2006 * '' Ptychochromis ernestmagnusi'' Sparks & Stiassny, 2010 * ''

Ptychochromis grandidieri ''Ptychochromis grandidieri'' is a species of fish in the family Cichlidae endemic to river basins along a large part of the eastern coast of Madagascar, although it has been recorded as far as inland.Stiassny, M., and Sparks, J. S. (2006). ''P ...

'' Sauvage, 1882 * '' Ptychochromis inornatus'' Sparks, 2002 * ''

Ptychochromis insolitus ''Ptychochromis insolitus'', also known as the Mangarahara cichlid or joba mena, is a species of cichlid endemic to certain river systems in northern Madagascar.Stiassny, M., and Sparks, J. S. (2006). ''Phylogeny and Taxonomic Revision of the En ...

'' Stiassny & Sparks, 2006 * '' Ptychochromis loisellei'' Stiassny & Sparks, 2006 * '' Ptychochromis makira'' Stiassny & Sparks, 2006 * '' Ptychochromis mainty'' C. M. Martinez, Arroyave-Gutiérrez & Sparks, 2015Martinez, C.M., Arroyave, J. & Sparks, J.S. (2015): A new species of ''Ptychochromis'' from southeastern Madagascar (Teleostei: Cichlidae). ''Zootaxa, 4044 (1): 79–92.'' * '' Ptychochromis oligacanthus'' ( Bleeker, 1868) * ''

Ptychochromis onilahy ''Ptychochromis onilahy'' is a species of cichlid endemic to the Onilahy River in southwestern Madagascar. Despite several recent visits to the region, this species has not been recorded since 1962 when the only known five specimens were collec ...

'' Stiassny & Sparks, 2006 Additionally, cichlid from the eastern

Anosy Region Anosy is one of the 22 regions of Madagascar. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the eastern side of what was once the Toliara Province. The name ''Anosy'' means "island(s)" in Malagasy. Due to a strategic sea route running alo ...

in far southeastern Madagascar may actually represent an

undescribed species In taxonomy, an undescribed taxon is a taxon (for example, a species) that has been discovered, but not yet formally described and named. The various Nomenclature Codes specify the requirements for a new taxon to be validly described and named. U ...

, popularly known as ''Ptychochromis'' sp. "Manampanihy".

References

Ptychochrominae Cichlid genera Taxa named by Franz Steindachner Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Cichlidae-stub