Lake Malawi cichlids — species, locations & maps

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Diplotaxodon sp. 'brevimanus' Nkhata Bay<br><font color=gray>Diplotaxodon sp. 'similis white-back north' Nkhata Bay</font>
Genus: Diplotaxodon
Biotope: Deep offshore waters.
Geographic distribution: Northern Lake Malawi, recorded from Nkhata Bay and Chilumba.
Typical adult size: At least 209 mm SL.
Sexual dimorphism: Breeding males develop a predominantly dark body with a pale to white dorsal surface and a white dorsal fin. Females and immature individuals are silvery and countershaded, without bars, stripes, flank spots, or oblique markings.
Special notes: The manuscript name brevimanus (“short-hand”) refers to the unusually short pectoral fins, which end before the tips of the pelvic fins. It has been treated as conspecific with the form previously referred to as Diplotaxodon sp. ‘similis white-back north’. No genomic data are available for this taxon.

Photo: © Martin Genner