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Lake Malawi cichlids — species, locations & maps

Lake Malawi cichlids — species, locations & maps
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Tropheops gracilior 'Chirwa Island'.jpg Tropheops macrophthalmus 'Chirwa Island'.jpg Tropheops sp. 'mauve' Chirwa Island.jpg Tropheops sp. 'weed' Chirwa Island.jpg
Previous pageNext pageTropheops sp. 'mauve' Chirwa Island
Genus: Tropheops
Biotope: Typically associated with clear water and sediment-free rocky habitats. It is also recorded in intermediate biotopes that remain free of muddy sediment.
Geographic distribution: Recorded on the west coast from Ruarwe to Ngara, and along the Tanzanian shoreline between Lupingu and Pombo Rocks.
Sexual dimorphism: Males are largely light blue and do not show a black band in the anal fin. Females are mainly yellow to yellow-white and have orange anal fins.
Diet: Grazes aufwuchs; feeding includes tearing filamentous algal strands while shaking the body. Most species feed at roughly a 60° angle to the substrate, while surf-zone forms feed at about 45°.
Special notes: Occurs sympatrically with Tropheops gracilior across much of its range but differs in size and coloration. Similar forms formerly included under this name were later separated as Tropheops sp. ‘mauve yellow’, whose males display a black band in the anal fin and whose females are described as yellow. At Magunga (Tanzania), females corresponding to entirely blue males were described as silvery and lacking orange coloration in the anal fin.

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Photo: © Mark Thomas
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Lake Malawi cichlids — species, locations & maps.
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