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Lake Malawi cichlids — species, locations & maps

Lake Malawi cichlids — species, locations & maps
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Diplotaxodon longimaxilla 'Nkhata Bay'.jpg Diplotaxodon longimaxilla 'South East Arm' (George Turner) 01.jpg
Previous pageDiplotaxodon longimaxilla 'South East Arm'
Genus: Diplotaxodon
Type locality: Domira Bay, northwest of Mbenji Island, Lake Malawi
Biotope: Deep offshore waters; benthic and near-bottom midwater zones over muddy substrate
Geographic distribution: Lake Malawi; offshore deep-water habitats throughout the lake
Typical adult size: Commonly 18–22 cm total length; maximum recorded at least 24 cm
Sexual dimorphism: Breeding males darken noticeably and possess two pale yellow egg spots on the anal fin. Females and non-breeding individuals are uniformly silvery and countershaded, with minimal external sexual differences outside the breeding season
Diet: Piscivorous; primarily feeds on the lake sardine (Engraulicypris sardella) and other small pelagic fishes. Morphology adapted for predation under low-light deep-water conditions
Breeding: Maternal mouthbrooder, as in all members of the genus. Species-specific spawning behavior remains undocumented, but reproduction is inferred to occur in deep-water habitats
Special notes: Diplotaxodon longimaxilla is among the larger members of the genus and belongs to the predatory deep-water lineage of Lake Malawi. Genomic analyses show it to be most closely related to D. greenwoodi and Pallidochromis tokolosh, despite its strong superficial resemblance to D. argenteus. This highlights pronounced morphological parallelism within Diplotaxodon, where externally similar species may be only distantly related

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Photo: © George Turner
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Lake Malawi cichlids — species, locations & maps.
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