''Docimodus'' is a small

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 n ...

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 th ...

s native to

east Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the histori ...

where they are found in

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 fres ...

and one species ''(D. johnstoni)'' also occurs in Lake Malombe and the upper

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 Mal ...

. The species of this genus have unusual feeding habits: they feed on scales, fins, or skin of other fishes.

Species

There are currently two recognized species in this genus: * ''

Docimodus evelynae ''Docimodus evelynae'' is a species of haplochromine cichlid. It is endemic to Lake Malawi; it is widespread in the lake and found in Malawi, Mozambique, and Tanzania. This species has unusual feeding habits: it feeds upon the flank scales of cic ...

'' Eccles & D. S. C. Lewis, 1976 * ''

Docimodus johnstoni ''Docimodus johnstoni'' is a species of haplochromine cichlid. It is known from Lake Malawi, Lake Malombe, and the upper Shire River in Malawi, Mozambique, and Tanzania. This species has unusual feeding habits: it is reported to feed on fins of ...

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 ...

, 1897

References

Haplochromini Taxa named by George Albert Boulenger Cichlid genera {{Cichlidae-stub