From a pair to a dozen: the piscivorous species of Haplochromis (Cichlidae) from the Lake Edward system.
Discipline
Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
Biological sciences
Subject
Vertebrates
Audience
Scientific
Date
2022Metadata
Show full item recordDescription
Piscivory is a common trophic niche among cichlids of the East African Great Lakes, including Lakes Edward and George. From these two lakes, we examined the taxonomic diversity of cichlid species with a piscivorous morphology. Prior to this study, two piscivorous species were formally described, Haplochromis squamipinnis and H. mentatus. We redescribe both species and describe an additional ten new species of Haplochromis with a piscivorous morphology: H. latifrons sp. nov., H. rex sp. nov., H. simba sp. nov., H. glaucus sp. nov., H. aquila sp. nov., H. kimondo sp. nov., H. falcatus sp. nov., H. curvidens sp. nov., H. pardus sp. nov., and H. quasimodo sp. nov. All twelve species differ in dominant male colour pattern (unknown for H. latifrons sp. nov. and H. curvidens sp. nov.) and morphological traits. The species can be divided into two morphological groups: the macrodontic piscivores and the microdontic piscivores. This division potentially reflects an ecological differentiation in habitat use, hunting technique, prey species, and prey size. We conclude that some 12 20% of the species from the cichlid assemblage of Lake Edward have a piscivorous morphology.
Citation
Vranken, N.; Van Steenberge, M.; Heylen, A.; Decru, E.; Snoeks, J. (2022). From a pair to a dozen: the piscivorous species of Haplochromis (Cichlidae) from the Lake Edward system.. , European Journal of Taxonomy, Vol. 815, 1-94, DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2022.815.1749.Identifiers
Type
Article
Peer-Review
Yes
Language
eng