News on cichlids

By Juan Miguel Artigas Azas (08-Feb-2018)

A new species description of a Crenicichla in the C. saxatilis group of species has just been published in the journal Zootaxa, authored by Henrique Rosa Varella, Marina V. Loeb, Flávio C.T. Lima and Seven O. Kullander. The new species C. ploegi has been named after Alex Ploeg, a Dutch Crenicichla specialist tragically murdered with his wife and son in the Malaysia Airlines 17 (MH17) airplane attack in Ukraine on 17 July 2014. The new species has been diagnosed to differ from all species in the C. saxatilis group by the presence of dark spots and vermiculations on snout, interorbital area and dorsally on head in many adults, versus dark markings absent or present only in juveniles but absent in adults in other species, it also has a wider lateral band. The new species is known from both the upper Rio Paraguai (Paraná drainage) and upper Rio Juruena (Amazon basin) in Mato Grosso state, Brazil.

Varella, Henrique Rosa & M.V. Loeb, F.C.T. Lima, S.O. Kullander. 2018. "Crenicichla ploegi, a new species of pike-cichlid of the C. saxatilis group from the Rio Juruena and upper Rio Paraguai basins in Brazil, with an updated diagnosis and biogeographical comments on the group (Teleostei: Cichlidae)". Zootaxa. 4377(3):361–386. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4377.3.3 (crc08403) (abstract)

By Juan Miguel Artigas Azas (09-Jan-2018)

A new species of Lake Malawi mbuna cichlid: Metriaclima koningsi, previously known provisionally as Metriaclima sp. 'membe deep', has been described by Jay Stauffer in the Journal Zootaxa. The new species, named after Ad Konings, is described from Likoma and Maingano islands in Lake Malaŵi. The species is distinguished from other congeners, except Metriaclima usisyae by the absence of conspicuous bars along its flank and the presence of a dark sub-marginal band in the dorsal fin. Males of M. usisyae have gold colored flanks, while males of M. koningsi have blue flanks.

Stauffer, Jay Richard Jr.. 2018. "Description of Metriaclima koningsi, a new species (Teleostei: Cichlidae) from Lake Malawi, Malawi, Africa". Zootaxa. 4370(1):095–100. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4370.1.8 (crc08365) (abstract)

By Juan Miguel Artigas Azas (06-Jan-2018)

A new species of Gymnogeophagus: G. taroba in the Gymnogeophagus rhabdotus group of species has been described by Jorge Cassiota, Adriana Almirón, Lubomir Piálek and Oldřich Říčan. The new species is established as different from the other species in the Gymnogeophagus rhabdotus group (G. terrapurpura, G. rhabdotus, G. meridionalis, G. setequedas and G. che) by the pigmentation of the dorsal fin, which lacks dorsal fin markings in the spiny section, plus some other combination of color marking differences. A new G. setequedas group is also proposed to G. setequedas, G. che and the new species. The new species is endemic to the lower río Iguazú basin above the Iguazú falls in Argentina and it is separated from the two other species in its group by the largest of the Cataratas del Iguazú waterfalls, with a height of 72 m.

Casciotta, Jorge & A. Almirón, L. Piálek, O. Rícan. 2017. "Gymnogeophagus taroba (Teleostei: cichlidae), a new species from the Río Iguazú basin, Misiones, Argentina". Historia Natural - Tercera Serie. 7(2):5-22 (crc08360) (abstract)

By Juan Miguel Artigas Azas (28-Aug-2017)

Hemibates koningsi, a new species of deep water cichlid from Lake Tanganyika has been described by Frederic Schedel & Ulrich Schliewen in the journal Zootaxa. The new species is only known from Zambian waters, where it inhabits deep oxygenated areas syntopically with H. stenosoma. It was first identified by Ad Konings who declare it a possible phenotypic variation of H. stenosoma in 1998. It was later in 2007 that Mark Smith has postulated it as a potentially undescribed species, which he named Hemibates sp ‘stenosoma zambia’. It has now been scientifically proposed as a new species and named after Ad Konings “in appreciation of the inspiration to many cichlidophiles that arose from his continued popular and scientific contributions”. The new species is easily differentiated from H. stenosoma among other traits by possessing a larger adult size, having a more elongated and oblique snout, and a color pattern with vertical barring in the middle of the body, whereas in H. stenosoma, there are large random spots.

Schedel, Frederic D. B & U.K. Schliewen. 2017. "Hemibates koningsi spec. nov: a new deep-water cichlid (Teleostei: Cichlidae) from Lake Tanganyika". Zootaxa. 4312(1):92-112. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4312.1.4 (crc08220) (abstract)

By Juan Miguel Artigas Azas (25-Jul-2017)

A geographical variant of Labeotropheus fuelleborni from Mumbo and Thumb West islands in Lake Malawi has been proposed as a new species by Michael Pauers in the journal Copeia with the name Labeotropheus artatorostris. The new species is diagnosed from L. fuelleborni from the type locality (some 269.5 km from Mumbo Island) by some morphological differences, namely a shorter snout pad (7.43–14.2% of head length versus 14.9–17.2%), and some other small differences. The name artatorostris refers from Latin to the short snout pad that is characteristic of this species.

Pauers, Michael J. 2017. "A New Species of Labeotropheus (Perciformes: Cichlidae) from Southern Lake Malawi, Africa". Copeia. 105(2):399-414. DOI: 10.1643/CI-16-463 (crc08166) (abstract)

By Juan Miguel Artigas Azas (18-May-2017)

Eight authors seniored by Uwe Römer have authored the recently published description of Apistogramma megastoma in the journal Vertebrate Zoology. The new species was previously known as Apistogramma sp. 'kelleri' or Apistogramma sp. 'diamante' and was discovered by Johan Egberts in a small tributary of the Peruvian Amazonian near Leticia, Peru, country to which the new species is endemic as far as it is currently known. The specific name megasema is Greek for “big mouth”, a trait which enables it to perform mouth-brooding behavior and swallow relatively large prey. The new Apistogramma is the second mouth-brooding Apistogramma (after A. barlowi) that keep the larvae inside their mouths almost constantly during their development to the free-swimming stage, with the exception that in the new species it is almost exclusively the female who performs this behavior.

Römer, Uwe & C.I Römer, G. Estivals, A.V. Díaz, F. Duponchelle, C.R. García Dávila, I. Hahn, J-F Renno. 2017. "Description of a new maternal larvophilic mouth-brooding cichlid species, Apistogramma megastoma sp. n. (Teleostei: Perciformes: Geophaginae), from Loreto, Peru". Vertebrate Zoology. 67(2):1-20 (crc08122) (abstract)

By Juan Miguel Artigas Azas (09-May-2017)

A new species of Thorichthys has been described in the journal Revista peruana de biología: 24(n. 1), pp. 3-10. The new species, endemic to the Coatzacoalcos river drainage in Mexico, has been known for many years as Cichlasoma (Thorichthys) "helleri" (Artigas Azas 1991, who first recognized the species as new), Thorichthys sp. 'Coatzacoalcos' (Stawikowski et al, 1998) and later as Thorichthys sp. ‘mixteco’ in several publications. This species is diagnosed by the authors from the rest of the Thorichthys species by a set of meristic characters (that actually don’t difference it from them) and by the presence of a “black blotch on the dorsal fin of the females between the sixth and seventh spine” (which actually T. helleri also has in some populations). The specific name chosen for the species, panchovillai, is to honor the Mexican revolution prominent figure José Doroteo Arango Arámbula (Pancho Villa). Why such a beautiful fish was named after a notorious murdered and thief that in a power struggle was partially responsible of the killing of 20% of Mexican population at the beginning of the 20th century, and never put a foot on the land of this beautiful species, is mysterious at least.

del Moral Flores, Luis Fernando & E. López-Segovia, T. Hernández-Arellano. 2017. "Descripción de Thorichthys panchovillai sp. n., una nueva especie de cíclido (Actinopterygii: Cichlidae) de la cuenca del Río Coatzacoalcos, México". Revista peruana de biología. 24(1):3-10 (crc08118) (abstract)

By Juan Miguel Artigas Azas (07-Mar-2017)

A new species of Pseudocrenilabrus from the Congo River basin, probably endemic to Lake Mweru in the border between Zambia and the Congo Democratic Republic has been described by Cyprian Katongo, Ole Seehausen, Jos Snoeks in the magazine Zootaxa. The new species: Pseudocrenilabrus pyrrhocaudalis, whose specific name means “red tail” had been proposed by the senior author as a new potential species Pseudocrenilabrus sp. nov. ‘orange’ back in 2015. P. pyrrhocaudalis is diagnosed from the other Pseudocrenilabrus species on the basis of its color pattern and its sub-truncate caudal fin. It inhabits syntopically (at the same place) with P. philander. The common name Fire-tailed Pseudocrenilabrus is proposed for the species.

Katongo, Cyprian & O. Seehausen, J. Snoeks. 2017. "A new species of Pseudocrenilabrus (Perciformes: Cichlidae) from Lake Mweru in the Upper Congo River System". Zootaxa. 4237(1),. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4237.1.10 (crc08069) (abstract)

By Juan Miguel Artigas Azas (25-Nov-2016)

A new species of Iranocichla from Iran has been proposed by Hamid Reza Esmaeili, Golnaz Sayyadzadeh and Ole Seehausen in the journal ZooKeys. The range of the until now monotypic Iranocichla is composed by four small rivers flowing to the strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf in Southern Iran, and area stretching for about 150 km. The new proposed species Iranocichla persa inhabits the two easternmost rivers (Shur and Minab) and differs from Iranocichla hormuzensis mainly in male breeding color. I. persa has the lower part of the head and breast orange (versus black in I. hormuzensis), the background color of the flank is grey with an orange hue (versus black), each scale is furnished with an iridescent larger patch (versus smaller), with poorly developed or invisible (versus distinctive) “Tilapia-mark” in the dorsal fin, and very clear white spots making almost wavy bars or stripes on the caudal fin (versus without or with very few white spots).

Reza Esmaeili, Hamid & G. Sayyadzadeh, O. Seehausen. 2016. "Iranocichla persa, a new cichlid species from southern Iran (Teleostei, Cichlidae)". Zookeys. (636):141-161. DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.636.10571 (crc07960) (abstract)

By Juan Miguel Artigas Azas (24-Nov-2016)

A new species of Astatotilapia, A. tchadensis has been recently described from Lake Boukou, one of the Ounianga Serir lakes in one the very few permanent aquatic ecosystems still existing in the most arid parts of the Sahara desert in Chad, northern Africa. The new species is morphologically and geographically close to A. desfontainii, the type species of the genus, from which it differs in having a lower number of spines in the dorsal fin (XIII–XIV versus to XIV–XVI) and a lower number of lateral line scales (29–30 versus to 31–34), plus a different aspect of the anal fin spots. A tchadensis is distributed in Lake Bouko, Lake Chad and its basin in Chad, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Niger and Nigeria. The specific name tchadensis refers to the country of origin and the fossil Lake Chad basin where the species originates. The description has been authored by Sébastien Trape in the journal Comptes Rendus Biologies.

Trape, Sébastien. 2016. "A new cichlid fish in the Sahara: The Ounianga Serir lakes (Chad), a biodiversity hotspot in the desert". Comptes Rendus Biologies. 339(11-12):529–536. DOI: 10.1016/j.crvi.2016.08.003 (crc07708) (abstract)

By Juan Miguel Artigas Azas (29-Sep-2016)

A new species of Apistogramma (number 92 generally accepted as valid) from Bolivia and Brazil has been described by Wolfgang Staeck and Ingo Schindler in the journal Vertebrate Zoology with type locality in rio San Martin (Amazon drainage) in Bolivia. The new species was known as Apistogramma cf staecki "Guaporé" (or A193) and it is in fact very closely related to Apistogramma staecki, from which it is diagnosed by the higher number of vertical stripes on the caudal fin of adult males (11-3 versus 8-9), a lateral band reaching the caudal fin or caudal spot (versus not continuous with caudal spot), short vertical abdominal stripes on the bases of the frontal scales, distinctly produced dorsal-fin lappets (versus only lappets 4 – 6 produced) and a dark marking on its chin (versus no dark mark). Both species are also geographically and probably reproductively isolated. The specific name sororcula derives from Latin meaning “little sister” and refers to the close relationship of the new species with A. staecki.

Staeck, Wolfgang & I. Schindler. 2016. "Apistogramma sororcula, a new dwarf cichlid (Teleostei: Cichlidae) from the drainage of the rio Guaporé in Bolivia and Brazil". Vertebrate Zoology. 66(22):141-150 (crc07564) (abstract)

By Juan Miguel Artigas Azas (15-Sep-2016)

The description of seven new Lake Malawi mbuna cichlid species with a small distribution and that of a new genus have just appeared published in the journal Zootaxa authored by Shan Li, Ad Konings and Jay Stauffer. The new genus Chindongo, the 14th mbuna genus which in the local vernacular of Malawi means “small, rock-dwelling fish”, is described for what was known as Pseudotropheus sp. ‘elongatus aggressive’ and Pseudotropheus sp. ‘elongatus slab’, now Chindongo bellicosus (meaning fond of war in Latin) and other ten species previously in Pseudotropheus, it is mainly characterized by bi-cuspid frontal teeth in as few as three rows, a small mouth with the upper jaw slightly longer than the lower and a vertical barred pattern without horizontal elements at any stage of development. The other six new species are Cynotilapia chilundu (meaning reef in Chichewa) described for what was provisionally known as Cynotilapia sp. 'elongatus taiwan'; Metriaclima flavicauda (meaning yellow tail in Latin) for what was known as Metriaclima sp. ‘elongatus yellow tail’; Metriaclima usisyae (from Usisya, Malawi) for what was known as Metriaclima sp. ‘elongatus usisya’; Tropheops biriwira (green in Chichewa) for what was known as Tropheops sp. ‘elongatus greenback’; Tropheops kamtambo (blue in Chichewa) for what was known as Tropheops sp. ‘elongatus reef’ and Tropheops kumwera (south in Chichewa) for what was known as Tropheops sp. ‘elongatus boadzulu.

Li, Shan & A.F. Konings, J.R. Stauffer. 2016. "A revision of the Pseudotropheus elongatus species group (Teleostei: Cichlidae) with description of a new genus and seven new species". Zootaxa. 4168(2):1-29. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4168.2.9 (crc07492) (abstract)

By Juan Miguel Artigas Azas (12-Aug-2016)

A new paper has been published proposing the erection of two isolated geographical variants of Labeotropheus from Katale Island and a close-by reef (although the GPS coordinates for both localities are identical) as new species. The criteria offered for this action is supported by the fact that such populations are reproductively isolated, exhibit somewhat different body proportions versus Labeotropheus fuelleborni and L. trewavasae and a different color pattern. Labeotropheus simoneae is named after the author's daughter and is restricted to a reef near Katale Island. It is stated to mainly differ from other Labeotropheus in having orange coloration on the operculum of males and an overlapping but on average slightly shallower body (26.9-30.8% of the standard length versus 26.3-33.4 % for the L. trewavasae examined specimens). Labeotropheus chlorosiglos specific name is derived from the Greek meaning "green-earrings". It is probably restricted to Katale Island and differs mainly from L. trewavasae in having an partly overlapping but on average deeper body (31.9-34.7% of standard length versus 26.3-33.3% in L. trewavasae) and a generally wider space between the eyes (40.6-43.5% of head length vs. 36.0-42.8% in L. fuelleborni and 29.6-40.5% in L. trewavasae). This paper does not recognize the variability of Labeotropheus isolated populations and may open the door for the description of many more populations as new species (as indicated in the text discussion). The morphometric comparisons have just been made against the type material of the nominal species, which is compared to material obtained from a commercial source, leaving out (in agreement with the criteria used) the high variation found in the many known isolated populations of Labeotropheus.

Pauers, Michael J. 2016. "Two new and remarkably similarly colored species of Labeotropheus (Perciformes: Cichlidae) from Lake Malawi, Africa". Copeia. 104(3):628-638. DOI: dx.doi.org/10.1643/CI-15-360 (crc07407) (abstract)

By Juan Miguel Artigas Azas (26-Jul-2016)

A new genus has been described in the journal Zootaxa by Anton Lamboj, Franzisca Trummer & Bian D. Metscher for three riverine cichlids inhabitants of a relatively small area in Guinea, Sierra Leone, and western parts of Liberia, West Africa. The three included species (W. humilis, W. rubrolabiatus and W. signatus) were previously classified in the genus Pelvicachromis, which differ visually from the new Wallaceochromis in having seven or eight vertical dark bars on the flanks, visible in several behavioral situations, versus no such bars in Pelvicachromis. Previous DNA studies (Using eight nuclear and mitochondrial genes) had shown species in Pelvicachromis to be older than Wallaceochromis species (12.8-29.5 mya versus 3.9–14.8 mya), as well as having a separated common (monophyletic) origin. The new genus is named in honor of Alfred Russel Wallace, who developed a theory of evolution by natural selection at the same time than Charles Darwin.

Lamboj, Anton & F. Trummer, B.D. Metscher. 2016. "Wallaceochromis gen. nov, a new chromidotilapiine cichlid genus (Pisces: Perciformes) from West Africa". Zootaxa. 4144(1):124-130. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4144.1.8 (crc07391) (abstract)

By Juan Miguel Artigas Azas (19-Jul-2016)

A new species of Teleocichla from the swift waters of the Xingu River in the Amazon river drainage has been recently described by Henrique R. Varella, Jansen Zuanon, Sven Kullander & Hernán López Fernández in the magazine Journal of Fish Biology. The new species, which specific name preta means black in Portuguese, differentiates from the other eight described species in the genus by the overall blackish coloration of the body (darker brown in preservation) that gives it its specific name. Teleocichla petra has also the higher body and is the largest species in the genus, reaching up to 15 cm in total length. The new species comes from an area that has been severely threatened by increased human development. In this area the Belo Monte dam, the world's third largest hydroelectric project now under construction will flow several of the Rio Xingu rapids, where dozens of endemic fish species will likely be devastated.

Varella, Henrique Rosa & J. Zuanon, S.O. Kullander, H. López-Fernández. 2016. "Teleocichla preta, a new species of cichlid from the Rio Xingu Basin in Brazil (Teleostei: Cichlidae)". Journal of Fish Biology. 1-19. DOI: 10.1111/jfb.13053 (crc07338) (abstract)

By Juan Miguel Artigas Azas (19-May-2016)

A new species of Aequidens has been described from the upper Orinoco and Negro Rivers, as well as the Casiquiare River in Venezuela by Jaime Hernández-Acevedo, J.A. Machado-Allison and C.A. Lasso in the magazine Biota Colombiana. The new species, which was provisionally known as Aequidens sp. 'Uaupes/São Gabriel' and Aequidens cf. pallidus „Sao Gabriel“ appears to be closely related to Aequidens pallidus and distinguishes from this and all Aequidens species by a combination of a continuous mid-lateral band and a mid-lateral blotch that is found above the upper lateral line in the posterior part of the spinous dorsal fin. The specific name superomaculatum refers in Latin to the position of this blotch.

Hernández-Acevedo, Jaime H & J.A. Machado-Allison, C.A. Lasso. 2015. "Aequidens superomaculatum (Teleostei: Cichlidae) una nueva especie del alto Orinoco y Río Negro, Venezuela". Biota Colombiana. 16(2):96-106 (crc07314) (abstract)

By Juan Miguel Artigas Azas (20-Apr-2016)

A new species of Gymnogeophagus has been described from the lower rio Uruguay basin in Uruguay by Marcelo Loureiro, Matías Zarucki, Luiz R. Malabarba and Iván González-Bergonzoni in the Neotropical Ichthyology digital magazine. The new species had been known with the name Gymnogeophagus sp 'north' in aquarism circles and treated as G. meridionals in several publications in the past. Gymnogeophagus terrapurpura is described on the basis of what appear as minor color differences (common among populations of many cichlids) with G. meridionalis, principally the coloration of the dorsal fin, which consists of diagonal bright blue stripes over a red background and a combination of round, elliptical, and elongated bright blue spots in the soft section, versus whitish light blue round spots over a red background in the whole fin in G. meridionalis. The specific name given terrapurpura references the G.E. Hudson novel “La Tierra Purpúrea”, in which the main character makes a trip through the same region where the new species occurs.

Loureiro, Marcelo & M. Zarucki, L.R. Malabarba, I. González-Bergonzoni. 2016. "A new species of Gymnogeophagus Miranda Ribeiro from Uruguay (Teleostei: Cichliformes)". Neotropical Ichthyology. 14(1):e150082. DOI: 10.1590/1982-0224-20150082 (crc07302) (abstract)

By Juan Miguel Artigas Azas (07-Jan-2016)

A new species of Geophagus of the G. brasiliensis species group has been recently described by the Brazilian ichthyologists José L. O. Mattos, Wilson J. E. M. Costa and Alexandre C. A. Santos in the journal Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters. The new species, G. diamantensis, is differentiated from the rest of the species of the G. brasiliensis group by the shape of the urohyal bone (a small bone located in the lower part of the head of fishes) which in the new species has a less indented frontal protrusion (called the constrictor); G. diamantensis also has a small dark brown mark just posterior to the pectoral fin and a more slender head. It differs from the holotype of G. itapicuruensis (the only known specimen) by having one less spine in the pectoral fin (14 versus 13) and one more vertebrae (27 versus 28) and from G. obscurus by having a mouth which slightly points down (sub-terminal). The types of the new species appear somewhat more elongated and with a peculiarly longer and more pointed snout than in the mentioned species, which suggest rheophilic (current-loving) habits. G. diamantensis is found in the upper reaches of the Paraguaçu River and is endemic of the Chapada Diamantina high plateau in the Bahia state in north eastern Brazil, which gives the new species its specific name.

Mattos, José L & Wilson J.E.M. Costa, Alexandre C.A. Santos. 2015. "Geophagus diamantinensis, a new species of the G. brasiliensis species group from Chapada Diamantina, north-eastern Brazil (Cichlidae: Geophagini)". Ichthyological Explorations of Freshwaters. 26(3):209-220 (crc06970) (abstract)

By Juan Miguel Artigas Azas (23-Dec-2015)

Five new species of Gymnogeophagus from Brazil and Uruguay that inhabit the Rio Uruguay and the Rio Negro in the La Plata basin of South America have been described in the Brazilian journal Neotropical Ichthyology by the Brazilian ichthyologists Luis Malabarba, Maria Claudia Malabarba and Roberto Reiss. All the new species are close relatives of Gymnogeophagus gymnogenys and have allopatric (geographically separated) distributions. The new species are:

Gymnogeophagus pseudolabiatus from the Rio Quaraí and its tributaries in the middle Rio Uruguay drainage. The name is given in reference to the well-developed lips similar to those in G. labiatus. It is distinguished among other traits by its presence, with the lower lip with a deep middle notch.

Gymnogeophagus mekinos from the Rio Negro and the coastal rivers of Uruguay and southern Brazil. The name is given in reference to the comparatively elongated body of this species. It is distinguished from all other Gymnogeophagus species by the possession of a conspicuous and oblique dark band from the eye to the anterior border of the head in adult males.

Gymnogeophagus constellatus from the Rio Ijuí and its tributaries in the middle Rio Uruguay basin. The name is given in reference to arrangement of white bright spots in the upper middle area of the flanks. It is distinguished from other Gymnogeophagus species by the possession of a very large mid-lateral spot, where each scale forming the spot usually bears one large white dot.

Gymnogeophagus missioneiro from the Rio Piratini and its tributaries in middle Rio Uruguay basin. The name is given in reference to the area were the Jesuit Missions of the Eighteenth century in southern Brazil and Argentina were distributed, similar to the distribution of this species. It differs from the rest of the species of the genus by a combination of characters, including the absence of an oblique dark band from the eye to the origin of the dorsal fin, the absence of an oblique dark band from the eye to the anterior border of the head in mature males, the unpaired fins colored red and the soft dorsal fin rarely scaled.

Gymnogeophagus lipokareno from the upper portion of the Rio Uruguay drainage. The name is given in reference to the extremely large adipose hump of adult males. It is mainly distinguished from all other Gymnogeophagus by the bright yellow color pattern of the unpaired fins covered with white dots aligned between rays.

With these descriptions, the genus Gymnogeophagus adds to 16 generally accepted described species.

Malabarba, Luis R & M.C. Malabarba, R.E. Reis. 2015. "Descriptions of five new species of the Neotropical cichlid genus Gymnogeophagus Miranda Ribeiro, 1918 (Teleostei: Cichliformes) from the rio Uruguay drainage". Neotropical Ichthyology. 13(4):637-662. DOI: 10.1590/1982-0224-20140188 (crc07024) (abstract)

By Juan Miguel Artigas Azas (04-Dec-2015)

A new species of Ptychochromis from Madagascar, P. mainty, has been described in recent days by Christopher Martinez, Jairo Arroyave and John Sparks in the journal Zootaxa. The new species is established different from its closer relative, P. grandidieri, in subtle details of its coloration, namely “an expansive, continuous (or nearly so), longitudinal black blotch on mid-lateral flank extending from posterior margin of opercle to caudal peduncle” whereas in P. grandidieri there are bars. P. mainty is also established as more elongated than P. grandidieri. The type locality is given as the region of Fort Dauphin, southeastern Madagascar, with no precision. Being Ptychochromis a mainly lacustrine fish, it could be one of the lakes in the area, P. grandidieri (also with no precise type locality) extends to the coastal areas to the north of Fort Dauphin. The specific name mainty is the word for Black in Malagasy, referring to this diagnostic trait and the fact that P. mainty shows a uniform dark pattern in preservation. The new species is indicated to be different from P. sp. ‘Tarantsy’, which was proposed as potentially undescribed by de Patrick de Rham and Jean-Claude Nourissat (de Rham & Nourissat 2004: 47–49) from Lake Taransty.

Martinez, Christopher M & Jairo Arroyave, John S. Sparks. 2015. "A new species of Ptychochromis from southeastern Madagascar (Teleostei: Cichlidae)". Zootaxa. 4044(1):79-92. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4044.1.4 (crc06964) (abstract)