Classification / Names
Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa
Teleostei (teleosts) >
Cichliformes (Cichlids, convict blennies) >
Cichlidae (Cichlids) > Pseudocrenilabrinae
Etymology: Trematocranus: Greek, trematos = hole + Greek, kranion = skull (Ref. 45335); pachychilus: The specific name, pachychilus, means thick-lip and is derived from the Greek words παχυς, meaning fat, adipose, plump, and χειλος, meaning lip, edge, with reference to the diagnostic character, the thick lips (Ref. 120598).
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Freshwater; benthopelagic. Tropical
Africa: Jafua Bay, Lake Malawi in Mozambique (Ref. 120598).
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 15.5 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 120598)
Short description
Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
Dorsal spines (total): 15 - 16; Dorsal soft rays (total): 11 - 12; Anal soft rays: 8 - 10; Vertebrae: 31 - 32. Diagnosis: Trematocranus pachychilus is clearly distinct from all other known species of the genus by its thick lips (Ref. 120598). It can further be distinguished from T. labifer by its molariform pharyngeal dentition while the latter has slender teeth on the lower pharyngeal jaw (Ref. 120598). In T. placodon lips are usually very small; while T. pachychilus has a rather concave head, as in T. microstoma, T. placodon has a more distinct convex head; in both T. pachychilus and T. placodon, the smaller specimens have a straighter head profile; coincidentally, in two large specimens of T. placodon the head is slightly concave; the teeth of T. pachychilus are less broad, more densely spaced and slightly less numerous, 36-47 vs. 41-57, than in T. placodon; Trematocranus pachychilus has more upper lateral line scales, 22-24 vs. 19-22, and more dorsal fin rays, 11-12 vs. 9-11, than T. placodon; the pharyngeal bones of T. pachychilus are less developed than in T. placodon; they are shallower, 9.4-10.4% of head length vs. 13.8-16.8%, narrower, 29.7-33.2% of head length vs. 36.1-48.7%, and shorter, 21.8-30.8% of head length vs. 29.8-35.9%, than those of T. placodon (Ref. 120598). The dentigerous area is also narrower than in T. placodon, 21.9-24.4% of head length vs. 24.2-27.5%; both species have large, molariform pharyngeal teeth, although in T. pachychilus the lateral teeth are smaller and more numerous than in T. placodon; the number of teeth on the posterior pharyngeal row in T. pachychilus is higher than in T. placodon, 23-27 vs. 11-23 (Ref. 120598). In T. microstoma the lips are intermediate; the snout of T. pachychilus is shorter than that of T. microstoma, 34.8-40.9% of head length vs. 38.0-42.4%; Trematocranus pachychilus has bicuspid oral teeth on the outer rows while T. microstoma has slender unicuspid teeth; it has fewer inner teeth rows, 3-5 vs. 6-8 on the lower jaw than T. microstoma; the lachrymal depth is clearly shorter than in T. microstoma, 22.9-29.7% of head length vs. 29.3-32.0%, while the eye diameter is larger, 25.2-29.5% of head length vs. 21.2-25.5%; the pharyngeal bones are more developed in T. pachychilus than in T. microstoma; the dentigerous area of T. pachychilus is wider than in T. microstoma, 21.9-24.4% of head length vs. 18.8-23.6%; the dentition of the lower pharyngeal bone is similar in both species, with the median teeth enlarged and the lateral teeth small and numerous (Ref. 120598).
Thick and fleshy lips are associated with rocky habitats in cichlids, since fish feeding between rocks use their lips as a seal to be able to suck out their prey from crevices and as protection against sharp rocks; but since all specimens were found in bottom trawls over soft substrates, the association of the new species with rocky habitats is unsure (Ref. 120598). Shell fragments of snails were observed in the stomachs of some specimens (Ref. 120598).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Dierickx, K., M. Hanssens, B. Rusuwa and J. Snoeks, 2018. Trematocranus pachychilus, a new endemic cichlid from Lake Malawi (Teleostei, Cichlidae). ZooKeys 743:153-166. (Ref. 120598)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-2)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: of no interest
Tools
Special reports
Download XML
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=0.01862 (0.00830 - 0.04177), b=3.01 (2.82 - 3.20), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.3 ±0.6 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 (10 of 100).
