Classification / Names
Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa
Teleostei (teleosts) >
Cichliformes (Cichlids, convict blennies) >
Cichlidae (Cichlids) > Pseudocrenilabrinae
Etymology: Orthochromis: Greek, ortho = straight + Greek, chromis = a fish, perhaps a perch (Ref. 45335); gecki: The species is named in honour of Mr. Jakob Geck who is a passionate, German fish naturalist, thanking him for his dedicated volunteer work and untiring support for the ichthyology section of the ZSM; his great experience in keeping rheophilic cichlids contributed to the knowledge of behaviour and ecology of many cichlid taxa, including Orthochromis katumbii and O. indermauri (Ref. 122085).
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Freshwater; benthopelagic. Tropical
Africa: Lubudi River, tributary of Lualaba River in Democratic Republic of the Congo (Ref. 122085).
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 7.8 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 122085)
Short description
Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
Dorsal spines (total): 16 - 17; Dorsal soft rays (total): 10 - 12; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 8 - 9; Vertebrae: 29 - 31. Diagnosis: Orthochromis gecki can be readily distinguished from all species currently placed in Orthochromis, except O. torrenticola, which has eggspot-like maculae, by presence of eggspots on anal fin (Ref. 122085). It is further distinguished from O. kasuluensis by having fewer anal-fin rays, 8-9 vs. 10; from O. malagaraziensis by having more scales between upper lateral line and dorsal-fin origin, 5-8 vs. 3-4; from O. mazimeroensis by having more horizontal line scales, 29-31 vs. 26-28; from O. rubrolabialis, O. rugufuensis and O. uvinzae by having fewer anal-fin spines, 16-17 vs. 18-20, and in position of pterygiophore supporting last dorsal-fin spine, vertebral count 15-16 vs. 17-19; it is furthermore distinguished from O. uvinzae by having fewer abdominal vertebrae, 13-14 vs. 15-16, and by position of pterygiophore supporting last anal-fin spine, vertebral count 14-15 vs. 16-17 (Ref. 122085). Orthochromis gecki is distinguished from O. stormsi by having more horizontal line scales, 29-31 vs. 26-28, and fewer total gill rakers, 9-12 vs. 13-15; from O. polyacanthus by having fewer dorsal-fin spines, 16-17 vs. 18-20, more dorsal-fin rays, 10-12 vs. 8-9, and it is distinguished by position of pterygiophore supporting last dorsal-fin spine, vertebral count 15-16 vs. 17-18; from O. torrenticola by having fewer anal-fin spines, 3 vs. 4 (Ref. 122085). Meristic values of O. gecki overlap with those of O. luongoensis, O. kalungwishiensis, and O. machadoi but is distinguished by narrower interorbital width, 9.62-12.86% of head length vs. 13.18-21.27% (Ref. 122085). It is distinguished from Schwetzochromis neodon by having more circumpeduncular scales, 16 vs. 12; from Haplochromis snoeksi by having more anal-fin rays, 8-9 vs. 5-6; from Haplochromis bakongo by more horizontal line scales, 29-31 vs. 26-28, more dorsal-fin spines, 16-17 vs. 15, and by position of pterygiophore supporting last dorsal-fin spine, vertebral count 15-16 vs. 13-14; from Haplochromis moeruensis by having more horizontal line scales, 29-31 vs. 27-28, and more scales in upper lateral line, 21-25 vs. 19-20; meristic values of Orthochromis gecki overlap with those of Haplochromis vanheusdeni but is distinguished by having a smaller interorbital width, 9.62-12.86% of head length vs. 14.20-20.30% (Ref. 122085). It is distinguished from O. kimpala by having fewer series of scales on cheek, 0-2 vs. 3-4; meristic values of O. gecki overlap with those of O. mporokoso, O. katumbii, and O. indermauri but is distinguished by having smaller interorbital width, 9.6-12.9% of head length vs. 13.0-21.7% (Ref. 122085).
Found in a river which has a rocky bottom with patches of gravel and sand, and is about 15 meters wide and about 50 cm deep (Ref. 122085). This species seems to be a maternal mouthbrooder (Ref. 122085).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae
Schedel, F.D.B., E.J.W.M.N. Vreven, B. Katemo Manda, E. Abwe, A. Chocha Manda and U.K. Schliewen, 2018. Description of five new rheophilic Orthochromis species (Teleostei: Cichlidae) from the Upper Congo drainage in Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Zootaxa 4461(3):301-349. (Ref. 122085)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries:
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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).
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).
