Classification / Names
Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa
Teleostei (teleosts) >
Cichliformes (Cichlids, convict blennies) >
Cichlidae (Cichlids) > Pseudocrenilabrinae
Etymology: biriwira: The name biriwira is from Chichewa meaning 'green', referring to the greenish colour of males in territorial colouration; the specific epithet is used as a noun in apposition (Ref. 119465).
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Freshwater; benthopelagic. Tropical
Africa: Lake Malawi in Malawi (Ref. 119465).
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 6.9 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 119465)
Short description
Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
Dorsal spines (total): 18 - 19; Dorsal soft rays (total): 8 - 10; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 7 - 8. Diagnosis: The steeply sloped vomer, the small retrognathic jaw, and the presence of bicuspid teeth in the outer rows of both lower and upper jaws and enlarged conical teeth at the back of the jaws place this species in Tropheops (Ref. 119465). Tropheops biriwira, body depth 26.8-32.1% of standard length, cannot reliably be distinguished from other Tropheops on body depth, 23.6-34.5% (Ref. 119465). The breeding male of T. biriwira has green/light blue ground colouration with a green dorsal fin, while those of T. kumwera and T. kamtambo both have blue ground colouration and a blue dorsal fin; females of T. biriwira cannor reliably be distinguished from those of T. kumwera, but lack a black submarginal band in the dorsal fin that characterizes female T. kamtambo (Ref. 119465). There are fewer tooth rows, 2-5, on both upper and lower jaws in T. biriwira than in other species of Tropheops, 6-8, except in T. kumwera and T. kamtambo; Tropheops biriwira can be distinguished from T. kumwera and T. kamtambo by an on avreage larger eye, horizontal eye diameter 30.8-40.4% of head length and vertical eye diameter 29.6-35.4% of head length vs. 25.8-32.6% and 24.0-31.4% in T. kumwera and T. kamtambo, and also on average shorter snout, snout length 26.5-37.8% of head length vs. 28.0-42.8% in T. kumwera (Ref. 119465).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Li, S., A.F. Konings and J.R. Stauffer Jr., 2016. A revision of the Pseudotropheus elongatus species group (Teleostei: Cichlidae) with description of a new genus and seven new species. Zootaxa 4168(2):353-381. (Ref. 119465)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-2)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
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Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5005 [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).
Resilience (Ref.
120179): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (10 of 100).
