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Lake Malawi cichlids — species, locations & maps

Lake Malawi cichlids — species, locations & maps
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Diplotaxodon limnothrissa 'Nkhata Bay'.jpg Diplotaxodon longimaxilla 'Nkhata Bay'.jpg Diplotaxodon sp. 'bigeye blackdorsal' Nkhata Bay.jpg Diplotaxodon sp. 'brevimanus' Nkhata Bay.jpg Diplotaxodon sp. 'limnothrissa blackpelvic' Nkhata Bay.jpg
Previous pageNext pageDiplotaxodon sp. 'bigeye blackdorsal' Nkhata Bay<br><font color=gray>Diplotaxodon sp. 'macrops black dorsal' Nkhata Bay</font>
Genus: Diplotaxodon
Biotope: A deep-water offshore form associated with the lake’s deep offshore assemblage.
Geographic distribution: Northern Lake Malawi, with breeding males reported from Ngara, Chilumba and Nkhata Bay, and additional genome-sequenced material from Chiofu Bay.
Typical adult size: Up to 139.1 mm SL.
Sexual dimorphism: Breeding males are dark dorsally, including the upper part of the caudal fin and most of the dorsal fin, which retains white lappets; pelvic and anal fins are translucent or hyaline. Females and immatures are not reliably separable from other bigeye/macrops taxa by external morphology alone.
Special notes: Breeding dress is very similar to that of Diplotaxodon sp. ‘limnothrissa blackdorsal’, but body proportions differ. Genome-wide analyses recover it as a distinct clade that is separate from both D. macrops and Diplotaxodon sp. ‘limnothrissa blackdorsal’, and resolve it as sister to a diverse clade comprising D. altus, D. apogon, D. greenwoodi, D. longimaxilla, Diplotaxodon sp. ‘holochromis’, Diplotaxodon sp. ‘ngulube’ and Pallidochromis tokolosh.

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