Classification / Names
Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa
Teleostei (teleosts) >
Cichliformes (Cichlids, convict blennies) >
Cichlidae (Cichlids) > Pseudocrenilabrinae
Etymology: Protomelas: Greek, protos = the first + Greek, melas, melanos = black (Ref. 45335); krampus: The specific name, 'krampus', is a noun in apposition and was chosen in reference to the European folklore character Krampus; this demon puts naughty children in a bag and takes them away, which is reminiscent of a paedophagous behaviour; the goat-like appearance of Krampus also implicitly refers to the head-butting behaviour of this species; the same implicit reference to this behaviour is also found in the genus name Caprichromis of other paedophagous species of Lake Malawi (Ref. 122325).
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Freshwater; benthopelagic. Tropical
Africa: Lake Malawi (Ref. 122325).
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 18.1 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 122325)
Short description
Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
Dorsal spines (total): 17; Dorsal soft rays (total): 11 - 12; Anal soft rays: 9 - 10; Vertebrae: 31 - 32. Diagnosis: Protomelas krampus differs from most species of Protomelas, i.e. P. annectens, P. fenestratus, P. kirkii, P. labridens, P. macrodon, P. marginatus, P. pleurotaenia, P. similis, P. spilonotus, P. taeniolatus, P. triaenodon and P. virgatus, by having only one inner tooth row, whereas the other species have two rows (Ref. 122325). It can be distinguished from P. spilopterus by a shorter premaxillary pedicel, 17.0-19.2% of head length vs. 21.8-28.4%; a larger gape inclination, 70-80° vs. 40-60°; a shallower body, 33.3-34.3% of standard length vs. 36.0-42.8%; a smaller predorsal distance, 27.4-29.1% of standard length vs. 33.4-37.4%; a smaller prepectoral distance, 29.4-29.8% of standard length vs. 31.8-40.0%; a shorter and more slender head, its length 27.8-29.2% of standard length vs. 30.4-34.6%, and width 39.3-40.3% of head length vs. 41.4-50.7%; and a smaller interorbital width, 22.9-23.4% of head length vs. 25.0-33.6%; in addition, it has more gill rakers on the outer epibranchial than P. spilopterus, 5 vs. 3-4, and more vertebrae, 31-32 vs. 29; the inner teeth are tricuspid in P. krampus while mixed unicuspid/tricuspid or unicuspid in P. spilopterus; the outer teeth of the lower jaw of P. krampus are oriented straight up, whereas those of P. spilopterus are angled forward (Ref. 122325). It differs from P. insignis by a shorter premaxillary pedicel, 17.0-19.2% of head length vs. 27.9-30.0%; a deeper cheek, 31.6-40.2% of head length vs. 23.2-28.5%; the larger gape inclination, 70-80° vs. 30°; a smaller predorsal distance, 27.4-29.1% of standard length vs. 34.2-35.9%; a smaller prepectoral distance, 29.4-29.8% of standard length vs. 32.7-35.4%; a shorter and more slender head, its length 27.8-29.2% of standard length vs. 31.6-34.3%, and width 39.3-40.3% of head length vs. 41.3-44.8%; a shallower lacrimal, 19.6-20.4% of head length vs. 21.4-22.4%; a smaller interorbital width, 22.9-23.4% of head length vs. 26.9-32.8%; and a longer lower jaw, 37.7-38.8% of head length vs. 31.2-37.3%; the upper jaw has fewer outer teeth in P. krampus than in P. insignis, 37-40 vs. 43-50; outer lower jaw teeth are straight in P. krampus but curved inwards in P. insignis (Ref. 122325). It differs from both species of the genus Hemitaeniochromis by its continuous midlateral stripe, which places it in Protomelas, whereas H. urotaenia and H. brachyrhynchus have an anteriorly spotted stripe (Ref. 122325). It differs from the paedophagous species of the genus Caprichromis by its melanin pattern: it has a midlateral band from behind the opercle to the base of the caudal fin, whereas species of Caprichromis have a diagonal stripe from the nape to the base of the caudal fin (Ref. 122325). It differs from Diplotaxodon greenwoodi by the lack of a melanin pattern in the latter species; it has isognathous jaws, whereas D. greenwoodi has a protruding lower jaw (Ref. 122325). Protomelas krampus differs from Naevochromis chrysogaster by its melanin pattern, which consists of three large spots on the lateral sides in the latter instead of a continuous midlateral line; it has a more strongly inclined gape than N. chrysogaster; and it has only one inner tooth row on the lower jaw, whereas N. chrysogaster has two (Ref. 122325).
This species is observed feeding on eggs and fry while stealing them from mouth-brooding females of other cichlid species; the paedophage rams these females from above on the snout and the brooding females may release some eggs or larvae upon this impact; the brood can then be snatched by Protomelas krampus (Ref. 122325). The inclined position of the mouth enables the fish to immediately grab the brood since it is already in a good position relative to the prey after ramming from above (Ref. 122325).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae
Dierickx, K. and J. Snoeks, 2020. Protomelas krampus, a new paedophagous cichlid from Lake Malawi (Teleostei, Cichlidae). Eur. J. Taxon. 672:1-18. (Ref. 122325)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = No PD50 data [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01000 (0.00244 - 0.04107), b=3.04 (2.81 - 3.27), in cm total length, based on all LWR estimates for this body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.3 ±0.4 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Resilience (Ref.
120179): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (12 of 100).
