Aquarists at the ZSL London have launched a worldwide search for a female of a critically endangered Madagascar cichlid species, Ptychochromis insolitus, the Mangarahara cichlid, which was once found in the Mangarahara River in Madagascar. It has been apparently extirpated from its natural habitat by the construction of dams that have dried up its course. The London Zoo counts with just two males of this species, and are hopeful they can soon get a female to keep a population going and save this fish from extinction. If you know of a female of this species that can be used in this effort contact the London Zoo.

" The Mangarahara cichlid is shockingly and devastatingly facing extinction; its wild habitat no longer exists and as far as we can tell, only three males remain of this entire species," said ZSL London Zoo’s Brian Zimmerman in a statement. "It might be too late for their wild counterparts, but if we can find a female, it’s not too late for the species. Here at ZSL London Zoo we have two healthy males, as well as the facilities and expertise to make a real difference. "

“ We are urgently appealing to anyone who owns or knows someone who may own these critically endangered fish, which are silver in color with an orange-tipped tail, so that we can start a breeding program here at the Zoo to bring them back from the brink of extinction ".

Metriaclima zebra is arguably the most iconic cichlid from Lake Malaŵi even though it was described from a single type of unknown origin. It was suggested earlier (Konings 2007) that the holotype probably originated from Likoma Island and in this paper (Stauffer et al. 2013) this has been substantiated by comparing the holotype with several populations at Likoma Island, from one of which the type could not be distinguished.

Apart from the description of three species, Metriaclima lundoense, M. tarakiki, and M. pambazuko, which were known before and are now formally described, one species turned out to be a cryptic one that I had not anticipated: Metriaclima midomo. The interesting part is that the so-called “Blue Blaze” zebra from Tanzania and Chizumulu Island, did not turn out to be morphologically different from other M. zebra, even though this variant is often smaller than “standard” M. zebra. The blue blaze zebra from Lundo Island (Tanzania) though, showed significant and distinct differences with all other Tanzanian zebra-like species that it was described as a different species: M. midomo. It is endemic to Lundo Island where it shares the rocky habitat with at least four other members of Metriaclima.

While Stauffer et al. (2013) determined distinction between M. midomo and M. zebra, they could not find any significant difference between four species that I had initially classified as different: M. sp. ‘black dorsal chiloelo, M. sp. ‘black dorsal nkolongwe’, M. sp. ‘black dorsal nkhungu’, and M. sp. ‘black dorsal thundu’. All these variants are now grouped under the species Metriaclima nigrodorsalis.

In the course of their investigations Stauffer et al. (2013) also realized that the name of the species Pseudotropheus pursus was incorrect. In the original publication, under the heading etymology the meaning of the specific epithet was given as: “The name pursus, from the Latin meaning clean, was chosen to reflect the cleaning behavior of this species.” This was clear evidence of an inadvertent error and according to rule 32.5.1. of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, it had to be corrected. The Latin for “clean” is “purus” and Stauffer et al. (2013) corrected the name to Metriaclima purum (Stauffer 1991), but on this site the species is regarded synonymous to M. lanisticola and the original genus name is thus retained and the species is now referred to as Pseudotropheus purus.

Stauffer, Jay Richard Jr. & K. Black & A.F. Konings. 2013. "Descriptions of five new species of Metriaclima (Teleostei: Cichlidae) from Lake Malaŵi, Africa". Zootaxa. v. 3647(n. 1), pp. 101-136 (crc05041) (streszczenie)

This morning the iTunes Store activated Ad Konings’ latest ibook, Tropheus in their natural habitat. The electronic version is identical to the printed version which will be available in about a month’s time. The ibook version has 8 embedded video clips showing Tropheus species in their natural setting. The book has something for everybody; besides descriptions of the eight species he accepts as valid, complete with a myriad of geographical variants, also the natural behavior of these fascinating cichlids is discussed in detail. And although Tropheus appears to behave rather different in captivity than in the wild, a chapter is devoted to the husbandry of these cichlids. Also the scientifically inclined reader will find a host of information and ideas that will help in understanding the evolution of these wonderful species.

As we come to expect of productions from Cichlid Press, the quality of the photos is outstanding (each photo in the book can be opened up to full screen resolution), and many of the geographical variants are here shown for the first time in their natural habitat. Tropheus in their natural habitat is a valuable addition to any library.

Konings, Ad. 2013. "Tropheus in their natural habitat". Cichlid Press. 1-170 (crc05055)

A new species of Teleocichla, T. wajapi from the río Jarí in the left bank of the lower Amazon basin in Brazil has been described by Henrique R. Varella and Cristiano R. Moreira from the federal University of São Paulo [Brasil]. The description has been published on April 23 in the digital journal Zootaxa. The new species has been mentioned in the aquarium literature since 1997 and was known as Teleocichla sp. 'Jari'. The new Teleocichla seems to be closely related to T. centrarchus, with which it shares an unique trait in the genus and a rare one in the closely related Crenicichla; the possession of four instead of three anal fin spines. It differs from T. centrarchus in a combination of features, including a smaller eye and less scales in the e1 line (a line of scales just above the the posterior part of the lateral line). T. wajapi has been named after the indigenous people of the Tupi-guarani cultural-linguistic group, Wajãpi, the Wajãpi group has a population of less than 2000 people distributed in several tribes in the state of Amapá, Brazil, and in French Guiana. The new Teleocichla is the largest of the described species.

Varella, Henrique R & C.R. Moreira. 2013. "Teleocichla wajapi, a new species of cichlid from the rio Jari, Brazil, with comments on T. centrarchus Kullander, 1988 (Teleostei: Cichlidae)". Zootaxa. v. 3641(n. 2), pp. 3641 (crc05039) (streszczenie)

A new species of Crenicichla from Paraguay, C. gillmorlisi, has been described in the recent days in the journal Zootaxa by Sven Kullander and Carlos A. Santos de Lucena. The new species is apparently restricted to the río Acaray, a right bank tributary of the río Paraná in Paraguay. Six species of Crenicichla are known to inhabit Paraguay. The new species is very closely related to C. mandelburgeri Kullander, 2009 (and closely located), from which it only differs in having blotches on the sides of adult fish, instead of a lateral band. The same trait diagnoses the new C. gillmorlisi from the rest of the Crenicichla species, which now reach 89 generally accepted species, being the most numerous cichlid genus, with yet over 40 potentially undescribed species awaiting diagnosis.

Kullander, Sven & C.A.S. Lucena. 2013. "Crenicichla gillmorlisi, a new species of cichlid fish (Teleostei: Cichlidae) from the Paraná river drainage in Paraguay". Zootaxa. v. 3641(n. 2), pp. 149 – 164 (crc05012) (streszczenie)

A new species of Amazonian Apistogramma from a seemingly restricted area in Loreto, 80 kilometers south of Iquitos [Perú] has been described on the basis of the Apistogramma Project within the Laboratoire Mixte International. The new species A. paulmuelleri, honors the late Professor Emeritus Dr. Paul Müller. It was described by a group of six researchers leaded by Uwe Römer. The new species has been known in the literature since the 2002 as A. sp. "Masken/Masked" (Koslowski, 2002) and later by other names, but it had already been present in the literature since at least 1996 — miss-identified as Apistogramma cruzi. The fish has also been known as Apistogramma A52. The new species apparently belongs to the Apistogramma regani species group. One of the most conspicuous characteristics of this new species (that gave rise to the provisional name) are the vivid red and light blue markings on the cheeks and gill covers of males, plus a distinct band-like black spot occupying the complete height of the caudal peduncle in both sexes.

Römer, Uwe & J. Beninde, F. Duponchelle, C.R. García-Dávila, A. Vela-Díaz & J.-F. Renno. 2013. "Description of Apistogramma paulmuelleri sp. n., a new geophagine cichlid species (Teleostei: Perciformes) from the Amazon river basin in Loreto, Peru". Vertebrate Zoology. v. 63(n. 1), pp. 15-34 (crc05008) (streszczenie)

The species level taxonomy of the haplochromine genus Astatoreochromis has been revised. Two species are recognized as valid: A. alluaudi Pellegrin, 1904 (type species) from the Lake Edward and Lake Victoria region, and A. straeleni (Poll, 1944) from the Lake Tanganyika basin. A. vanderhorsti (Greenwood, 1954)has been formally synonymized with A. straeleni. The reasons for doing so are fully discussed. The work provides a comprehensive redescription, ecological and biological data, and photographs showing live coloration for each species. Alltogether, this is a very recommendable work. It is, however, doubtful if A. straeleni can be regarded as a further piece of evidence for a pre-Tanganyika connection between the Malagarazi and Congo drainages via Lukuga River, as concluded by the authors. Such a view is not supported by the distributional pattern of A. straeleni as compared with the species mentioned in this context, nor by the age estimates for this and other haplochromine lineages derived from various molecular analyses.

Banyankimbona, Gaspard & Emmanuel Vreven, Jos Snoeks. 2013. "A revision of the genus Astatoreochromis (Teleostei, Cichlidae), East-Africa". European Journal of Taxonomy. v. 39, pp. 1-21 (crc04977) (streszczenie)

Barbara Taborsky ze swoimi współpracownikami opublikowała ostatnio bardzo ważną pracę dokumentującą badania, jakie zostały przeprowadzone na Neolamprologus pulcher. Jej zespół dokonał wielu obserwacji zachowań tej popularnej tanganickiej pielęgnicy z uwagi na fakt, iż pary tarlaków otrzymują pomoc w ochronie potomstwa od innych, niespokrewnionych osobników. Tym razem zbadano, czy środowisko ryb w pierwszych dniach ich życia może przeprogramować ich mózgi, jak w przypadku ludzi. I, co fascynujące, może! Naukowcy użyli 10-dniowego narybku (tuż po rozpoczęciu swobodnego pływania) z 6 różnych miotów, i rozdzielili każdy na dwie równe części. Jedna połowa była zostawiana z rodzicami (w kilku przypadkach wraz z osobnikami pomagającymi), podczas gdy druga była trzymana bez udziału dorosłych ryb. Po dwóch miesiącach dorosłe ryby były usuwane i wszystkie grupy były podchowywane do dorosłości w identycznych warunkach. Po półtora roku - osiągają one dojrzałość płciową po 12 miesiącach - zbadano mózgi 36 ryb (16 wychowanych przez rodziców i 20 bez ich udziału). Taborsky i in. porównali poziom wydzielania czterech genów odpowiedzialnych za reakcję na stres związaną z zachowaniami społecznymi. Badacze odkryli, że nawet po 1,5 roku zauważalna była wyraźna różnica w wydzielaniu tych hormonów (nie związanych z płcią i statusem hierarchicznym osobnika). Oznacza to, że otoczenie (w tym wypadku obecność lub brak rodziców) w fazie wczesnego rozwoju na stałe programuje mózg ryby! Przez lata toczyła się dyskusja, czy odbieranie inkubującym samicom (głównie z rodzaju Tropheus) sprawia, że potomstwo w momencie kiedy osiąga dojrzałość jest niezdolne do wychowywania swojego narybku, i tym samym muszą być "naznaczone", by nauczyć się procesu inkubacji. Teraz już wiemy, że faktycznie pierwsze dni życia ryby są niezwykle istotne dla właściwego zaprogramowania jej mózgu, a środowisko ma znaczący wpływ na ten proces.

Taborsky, Barbara & Linda Tschirren, Clémence Meunier and Nadia Aubin-Horth. 2013. "Stable reprogramming of brain transcription profiles by the early social environment in a cooperatively breeding fish". Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B. v. 280(n. 1753), pp. 1-7 (crc04853) (streszczenie)

Two new species of zooplanktivorous haplochromine cichlids from Lake Victoria, Tanzania, have been described in the recent issue of Zookeys, by researchers from the Naturalis Biodiversity Center and the Institute of Biology Leiden, the Netherlands. The two species, Haplochromis argens and H. goldschmidti (previously known as Haplochromis or Yssichromis "argens" and Haplochromis "dusky argens" respectively) closely resemble each other, but the paper demonstrate that the morphology of sympatric populations of the two species differ more than between populations from different locations, suggesting the existence of two species. H. argens is regarded as extremely rare and probably in danger of extinction, while the conservation status of H. goldschmidti, named in honour of Tijs Goldschmidt author of the book Darwin's Dreampond, is currently unknown.

de Zeeuw, Marnix P & I. Westbroek, M.J.P. van Oijen & F. Witte. 2013. "Two new species of zooplanktivorous haplochromine cichlids from Lake Victoria, Tanzania". Zookeys. v. 256, pp. 1-34 (crc04822) (streszczenie)

The new issue of Cichlid News (v. 22, n. 1 – January 2013) brings a pleasant surprise for cichlid lovers, particularly those who specialize on African riverine species. One article by Oliver Lucanus presents the first pictures ever published of a live Lamprologus lethops, the only blind and most enigmatic of the cichlids, which inhabits in the deeper areas of the Congo River between Kinshasa and Brazzaville [Democratic Republic of Congo]. In this area the river is forced into a narrow channel and can reach up to 200 meters depth. The great volume of water pushes through at a great speed and turbulence, so much that you can’t see your hand already at 20 cm of depth. All previous efforts to bring this fish alive had failed, as most fish would die from the bends and shock produced by bringing them up after capture. At great cost and effort Oliver Lucanus has finally succeeded in the most unlikely, to take to Canada live specimen and make them thrive. Already his observations on the husbandry of this species are fascinating.

Lucanus, Oliver. 2012. "First Notes on the Husbandry of the Blind Cichlid Lamprologus lethops from the Congo River". Cichlid News Magazine. v. 22(n. 1), pp. 6-11 (crc04749)

A new genus for the species hitherto known as Tilapia bilineata Pellegrin, 1900, has been described: Congolapia Dunz, Vreven & Schliewen, 2012. The new genus is defined by morphological and color characters, but it is also supported by DNA analyses. Apart from the type species, Congolapia bilineata, two further species were included: Congolapia crassa (Pellegrin, 1903) has been removed from the synonymy of C. bilineata, and a new species, Congolapia louna, has been described. The latter is only known from a tributary of the Lefini River (Republic of the Congo), whereas the two other species are widespread in the central Congo basin. This interesting work is part of a comprehensive revisional study of the genus Tilapia, which will most likely result in the adddition of further genera.

Dunz, Andreas R. & E. Vreven & U.K. Schliewen. 2012. "Congolapia, a new cichlid genus from the central Congo basin (Perciformes: Cichlidae)". Ichthyological Explorations of Freshwaters. v. 23(n. 2), pp. 155-179 (crc04622) (streszczenie)

A new species of Andinoacara from the Rio Esmeraldas drainage in Ecuador has been described: Andinoacara blombergi Wijkmark, Kullander & Barriga Salazar, 2012. The new species is very similar to Andinoacara rivulatus (Günther, 1860), which was redescribed in the present paper based on specimens from the Guayas, Tumbes and Zarumilla drainages in Ecuador and Peru. A common lectotype for this species and Acara aequinoctialis Regan, 1905 has been designated. The status of the latter as an objective junior synonym is thus confirmed.

The new species was previously believed to be conspecific with, or sometimes, indeed, to represent the 'true' A. rivulatus. However, the present study demonstrates that this name correctly applies to the species well known in the aquarium hobby as 'Goldsaum' cichlid..

Wijkmark, Nicklas & S. Kullander & R.E. Barriga Salazar. 2012. "Andinoacara blombergi, a new species from the río Esmeraldas basin in Ecuador and a review of A. rivulatus (Teleostei: Cichlidae)". Ichthyological Explorations of Freshwaters. v. 23(n. 2), pp. 117-137 (crc04621) (streszczenie)

A new Eretmodus species has been described and the author, Warren Burgess, named it after Mark Smith, one of the fellows and curators of this site (congratulations Mark!). The description was published simultaneously in English and in Polish in the magazine “Tanganika Magazyn”. I can’t read Polish but I hope they mentioned that only the English version is to be regarded as the proper description, else we have a problem referring to it. Although it is mentioned that the types of the new species were collected at Makombe in Burundi, there is no date or name of the collector(s) given. The photo of a live specimen that accompanies the description shows a specimen of what Patrick Tawil calls Eretmodus sp. ‘ubwari’ although Burgess claims that his new species represents what I have been referring to as Eretmodus sp. ‘north’. Both these species are recognized as valid on this site. I suspect that the types were not collected by the author or by Mark Smith, but obtained via the aquarium hobby. Patrick Tawil (pers. comm.) tells me that he has seen both species in shipments from Burundi and therefore concludes that both species are found sympatrically. I’m a little less certain about this assumption since I have dived at Makombe and only noticed one species of Eretmodus, i.e. E. sp. ‘north’. Both Patrick and I agree that the type series of E. marksmithi very likely consists of two species and it will be up to others to find out what actually represents this species..

Burgess, Warren. 2012. "A new species of goby cichlid of the genus Eretmodus, E. marksmithi, (Pisces: Cichlidae) from the Northern part of Lake Tanganyika". Tanganika Magazyn. v. 12, pp. 23-31 (crc04601)

López-Hernández & al. (2012) have described two new species of the previously monotypic South American cichlid genus Mazarunia, Mazarunia charadrica and Mazarunia pala. Regarding morphology and color pattern, both are strikingly distinct from the type species, M. mazarunii, which strongly contrasts with the situation in the closely related genus Guinacara and most other genera. Nevertheless, the monophyly of the genus seems well supported by the used datasets.

All three species of Mazarunia are restricted to the Upper Mazaruni drainage in Guyana and do further elaborate the status of that area as a center of endemism.

One of the new species, Mazarunia charadrica, is already known in the hobby. In the 1990s, it has been confused with M. mazarunii. After the proper identification of the latter, it was referred to as 'Red Patwa'. Stawikowski (DATZ 11 and 12/2003; see also Stawikowski & Werner 2004: "Die Buntbarsche Amerikas. Band 3") gives a full account of the breeding behavior (in aquarium) of both M. mazarunii and M. charadrica..

López-Fernández, Hernán & Donald C. Taphorn & Elford A. Liverpool. 2012. "Phylogenetic diagnosis and expanded description of the genus Mazarunia Kullander, 1990 (Teleostei: Cichlidae) from the upper Mazaruni River, Guyana, with description of two new species". Neotropical Ichthyology. v. 10(n. 3), pp. 465-486 (crc04572) (streszczenie)

Kullander et al. (2012) describe a new species of Lepidiolamprologus from Lake Tanganyika. The new species, L. kamambae, closely resembles L. kendalli and L. elongatus, but can be told apart from these by “a broad dark stripe on cheek”. Their color description of the preserved types mentions “…a light to dark brown blotch or wide stripe variably extending posteroventrad from orbit minimally to halfway point, maximally to contact with inner margin of preopercle”. This stripe, however, is not very distinct on the specimen photographed underwater, but that specimen looks like a “washed-out” L. kendalli and it could be a northern population of that species although it was never seen between Kala and Kamamba Island, the type locality and one of the two places the new species was seen (the other at the northern end of nearby Kerenge Island). They compared the new species with L. kendalli from Muzi but the dark blotch on the cheek of that population looks different in that of the Kala population where it is broken up in irregular lines (see accompanying photo). Extrapolating, one could imagine an incremental loss of coloration on the cheek (and other parts) with the “diagnostic” bar below the eye left in the northernmost population.

Instead of comparing the new species with similar species from the same locality, and therefore proving its valid status, Kullander and coworkers compared L. kamambae with L. elongatus from near Kabwe (about 40 km north in a straight line) and with L. mimicus from “Frontosa Reef” (about 30 km north). Both these species should be sympatric with L. kamambae and a comparison with those, or even just the fact that their existence in sympatry with the species is proved, should have been presented. It is not difficult to find morphological differences between different populations of the same species, but that doesn’t validate an assumption of a new species; sympatry with like species does.

Kullander, Sven & M. Karlsson & M. Karlsson. 2012. "Lepidiolamprologus kamambae, a new species of cichlid fish (Teleostei: Cichlidae) from Lake Tanganyika". Zootaxa. (n. 3492), pp. 30–48 (crc04564) (streszczenie)

A new species of Malawi cichlid was described recently by Michael Oliver (2012). It concerns a member of the genus Hemitaeniochromis and he named it H. brachyrhynchus. The specific epithet means “short snout” and this appears the main characteristic that sets it apart from all known Malawi cichlids. The preorbital depths of the two specimens he had for the description measured 33.5 and 34.5% of eye length respectively, and this is very narrow when compared to other Malawi cichlids because most of these cichlids have a preorbital depth that is in the range of 50 to 100% of eye length. Oliver also expanded the generic diagnosis of the genus, originally from Eccles & Trewavas 1989 for a single species—H. urotaenia, a large predator, to include his new species. Apart from characters of the oral jaws he adjusted the apparently most important character, the melanin pattern. He added the detail that the midlateral strip (which is fragmented into discontinuous spots at least on its anterior portion) should “originate an eye length or more behind the operculum.”

Oliver further claims that the species is extremely rare because only two specimens were ever collected, one by himself and another by Snoeks & Hanssens (2004), which became the paratype. When I saw the photo of Snoeks & Hannsens’ fish in 2004, which they named Hemitaeniochromis sp. ‘insignis big eye’, I recognized immediately that this was very likely the fish I had provisionally named H. sp. ‘spilopterus blue’, but I forgot to mention this observation in my latest book (Konings 2007). Over the years I have seen ‘Spilopterus Blue’ at many places around the lake and it is not a rare species. The rarity of Oliver’s H. brachyrhynchus is possibly due to the fact that he dealt with fish that were collected by nets. H. sp. ‘spilopterus blue’ is a cave dweller and is usually found at levels below 25 meters. These are not qualities that would make it likely that ‘spilopterus blue’ ends up in a net.

I would be very hesitant to describe a new Malawi cichlid if I wouldn’t know its life history or at least know what it looks like alive. Oliver dismissed ‘spilopterus blue’ even to be a member of Hemitaeniochromis because, he reasoned, the photo of a female in my book showed it with a continuous midlateral stripe and would be more likely a member of Protomelas. Most individuals of ‘spilopterus blue’, however, have a pattern in which the midlateral stripe is broken up into spots, but it seems that brood caring females have a complete midlateral stripe (have photos of only three different females). Of course, the melanin pattern can be enhanced or completely lacking when a fish is dead, and when you have only dead specimens to contend with you wouldn’t know. Oliver further argues that the preorbital depth is about 55% of eye length in my photo of a fully grown male, but this must be a typo as I measure about 46% in the same photo.

For the time being we keep both species, H. sp. ‘spilopterus blue’ and H. brachyrhynchus, in the catalog until I have examined the 17 specimens I have collected over the years and which are now lodged in the Penn State museum. I’ll keep you posted.

Oliver, Michael K.. 2012. "Hemitaeniochromis brachyrhynchus, a new species of cichlid fish from Lake Malaŵi, with comments on some other supposed members of the genus (Teleostei: Cichlidae)". Zootaxa. (n. 3410), pp. 35-50 (crc04509) (streszczenie)

Ota and coworkers (2012) recently published a paper in which they claim that Neolamprologus brevis (= ‘Lamprologus’ brevis) has alternative reproductive tactics (ARTs). Usually we have come to expect excellent field work from this group of Japanese researchers but with this paper they have made an important mistake in my opinion. There is no question about the fact that ‘Lamprologus’ brevis and ‘Lamprologus’ calliurus are two different species and which are sometimes found within a short distance of each other. Males are very simply distinguished by the round tail in ‘L.’ brevis and the truncated (lyre) tail in ‘L.’ calliurus. Not only morphologically do they differ (‘L.’ calliurus gets considerably larger than ‘L.’ brevis) but more importantly do they differ in breeding technique.

In Ota et al.’s paper we find this sentence: “A Lamprologini cichlid, Neolamprologus brevis (a synonym of Neolamprologus calliurus [34]) (sic)…”. First off, they should have written “(N. calliurus is a synonym)” because L. brevis was described seven years earlier and has priority. Then the journal has this awful usage of reference numbers instead of authors and year. Anyway, the ref [34] points to an unpublished thesis by Aibara (2005) to justify the synonymization of these two species, which is of course preceded by Poll who suggested this in 1986, almost 20 years earlier. I have not seen this thesis and it is entirely possible that the fish we all know as ‘L.’ brevis is in fact an undescribed species and the name ‘L.’ brevis should be given to the lyre-tail species (but the authors should have mentioned such an important detail), but the fact remains that there are two different species involved. From the rest of the paper I deduct that the single-shell breeding cichlid, our ‘L.’ brevis, are just subadult individuals (although I have video of females with young in that single shell) and that the larger individuals, our ‘L.’ calliurus, are the adults and they form harems over shell patches made by ‘L.’ callipterus males. None of this is news as this has been reported of these two species before (Konings, 1998), but if you group two species under one name you automatically get alternative reproductive tactics. The only interesting part is now, “Where do I get that Aibara thesis?.

Ota, Kazutaka & M. Aibara, M. Morita, S. Awata, M. Hori, & M. Kohda. 2012. "Alternative reproductive tactics in the shell-brooding Lake Tanganyika cichlid Neolamprologus brevis". International Journal of Evolutionary Biology. v. 2012(n. 915265), pp. 1-8 (crc04503) (streszczenie)

The description of a new species of Congochromis from the Congo Democratic Republic by Anton Lamboj has been published in Cybium. The new species is just known from the type locality near Yaekama, in the Congo River system, types are located at the Royal Museum from Central Africa [Teruven, Belgium].

Lamboj, Anton. 2012. "A new species of the genus Congochromis (Cichlidae) from the Central Congo basin". Cybium. v. 36(n. 2), pp. 349-352 (crc04500) (streszczenie)

Within just a few years, the genus Australoheros has become one of the most speciose Neotropical cichlid genera. Felipe Ottoni has added three further species: Australoheros mattosi from the upper Rio Sao Fransisco drainage, Australoheros montanus from the Rio Paquequer drainage (Rio Paraíba do Sul basin) and Australoheros tavaresi from the upper Rio Tieté (Alto Paraná drainage). Furthermore, Ottoni regards Chromys oblonga Castelnau, 1855 as unidentifiable and designated a lectotype for Heros autochthon Günther, 1862, allegedly not belonging to the genus Australoheros..

Ottoni, Felipe. 2012. "Three new species of Australoheros from southeastern Brazil, with taxonomic notes on Chromys oblonga, Heros autochton and H. jenynsii (Teleostei: Labroidei: Cichlidae)". Vertebrate Zoology. v. 62(n. 1), pp. 83-96 (crc04220) (streszczenie)

Konings and Stauffer describe Melanochromis mpoto, formerly known as Melanochromis 'blue', from the northwestern part of Lake Malawi. They further review a number of species poorly described by Johnson in the 1970s and 80s from aquarium specimens and found that they needed to synonymize M. parallelus Burgess & Axelrod 1976 with M. loriae Johnson 1975, and redescribe M. chipokae Johnson 1975. These two species were confused in the literature because of Johnson's mixing up of the photos accompanying his description. Konings and Stauffer further define the enigmatic M. robustus Johnson 1985, which was described from an overfed aquarium specimen of unknown provenance. Comparison of the latter species with a species previously known as Melanochromis brevis revealed that these are two different entities and that M. brevis actually is conspecific with the informal species Pseudotropheus 'williamsi nkhudzi' from Ribbink et al. (1983). Konings and Stauffer therefore reclassify Trewavas's M. brevis and place it in the genus Pseudotropheus and further designate a lectotype and a paralectotype for P. brevis. The large Melanochromis known from Chinyankwazi and Mumbo Islands is now identified as M. robustus.

Konings, Ad & Jay R. Stauffer Jr. 2012. "Review of the Lake Malaŵi genus Melanochromis (Teleostei: Cichlidae) with a description of a new species". Zootaxa. v. 3258, pp. 1-27 (crc04218) (streszczenie)

In an article in the recent issue of the German Amazonas magazine published by Natur und Tier-Verlag, Münster, Oliver Lucanus presents spectacular photos of live individuals of several southern species of the genus Crenicichla, which have never been photographed before, including C. yaha, C. hu, and C. iguassuensis, as well as the undescribed C. sp. "uruguay black line" and the stunning C. sp. "botox/iguassu big lips 2".

Lucanus, Oliver. 2012. "Neue Hechtbuntbarsche aus Argentinien". Amazonas. v. 40, pp. 52-57 (crc04211)

A new paper by Sven Kullander published in the recent issue of Zootaxa formally describe Krobia xinguensis from localities in the headwaters and in the lower part of the rio Xingu. It is distinguished primarily by a deeper caudal peduncle, and details of its color pattern, including contrasting interorbital stripes and a small dark spot anteriorly on each side of the lower jaw, and a rich orange coloration in live specimens. Krobia xinguensis has previously been known as Krobia sp. "xingu" in the aquarium hobby. In the paper Kullander also state that K. potaroensis and K. paloemeuensis, currently assigned to Krobia, is better included in the catch-all genus Aequidens, until further morphological analyses may provide support for an alternative generic classification of these two species.

Kullander, Sven. 2012. "Krobia xinguensis, a new species of cichlid fish from the Xingu River drainage in Brazil (Teleostei: Cichlidae)". Zootaxa. 43-54 (crc04161) (streszczenie)

A recently published study by Sven O. Kullander and Tyson R. Roberts (2011) shows that some Lake Tanganyika endemic fishes, including at least seven cichlids (one potentially undescribed) inhabit also the rapids of the Lukuga River (a river draining the lake) as far as 100 km away from it. This shows that the belief that Lake Tanganyikan cichlids can just survive in the particular lacustrine conditions where they evolved may be have to be reconsidered. Cichlid species found were Astatotilapia burtoni, Ctenochromis horei, Simochromis babaulti, Simochromis diagramma, Telmatochromis dhonti, Tylochromis polylepis, and a potentially undescribed Tanganicodus species, in an stable fish community independent of the lake.

Kullander, Sven & T.R. Roberts. 2011. "Out of Lake Tanganyika: endemic lake fishes inhabit rapids of the Lukuga River". Ichthyological Explorations of Freshwaters. v. 22(n. 4), pp. 355-376 (crc04140) (streszczenie)

A new paper by Topi K. Lehtonen, Jeffrey K. McCrary and Axel Meyer has been published in the online magazine Plos One on January 9, 2012. The paper deals with the response of parental Amphilophus zaliosus in Lake Apoyo Nicaragua, to the approaches of the introduced predator Gobiomorus dormitor, the sleeper goby. The study shows that A. zaliosus, not familiar with the predator, allows it to come closer to its fry before starting a defense behavior, which may cause a higher predation rate on the fry. Gobiomorus dormitor, present natively in other lakes where related Amphilophus species inhabit, is attacked at a farther distance in every occasion. The study shows one of the dangers that introduced species pose to native fauna.

Lehtonen, Topi K & J.K. McCrary, A. Meyer. 2012. "Introduced Predator Elicits Deficient Brood Defence Behaviour in a Crater Lake Fish". Plos One. v. 7(n. 1), pp. e30064 (crc04136) (streszczenie)

An interesting paper on the genus Crenicichla has been published in the latest issue of Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. A molecular analysis combining both mitochondrial and nuclear genes demonstrates that Crenicichla consist of two major clades, the first including the C. wallacii, C. lugubris, and C. saxatilis species-groups, as well as Teleocichla, and the second of the C. reticulata and C. lacustris species-groups, and C. macrophthalma. The study furthermore confirm the monophyly of the C. lacustris species-group with a very high support. A biogeographic reconstruction of this species-group using dispersal-vicariance analysis underlines the importance of ancient geographic barriers between the middle and upper Paraná River (the Guaíra Falls) and between the middle and upper Uruguay River (the Moconá Falls). The phylogeny presented in the paper also recovers two endemic species flocks within the C. lacustris group, the well known Crenicichla missioneira species flock from the Uruguay River, and the newly discovered Crenicichla mandelburgeri species flock from the Paraná/Iguazú Rivers. Among the many other interesting aspects of the paper is the finding, that within the nominal species C. lacustris three deeply isolated allopatric lineages are recovered. Two of these lineages agree with the nominal taxa C. biocellata and C. dorsocellata today considered synonyms of C. lacustris The generic distances between them indicate several million years of isolation and support the existence of several species.

Piálek, Lubomír & O. Říčan & J. Casciotta & A. Almirón & J. Zrzavy. 2012. "Multilocus phylogeny of Crenicichla (Teleostei: Cichlidae) with biogeography of the C. lacustris group: Species flocks as a model for sympatric speciation in rivers". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. v. 62(n. 1), pp. 46-61 (crc04105) (streszczenie)

A new paper published in Journal of Evolutionary Biology demonstrates that the course of speciation in the genus Steatocranus repeatedly has been affected by hybridization events. The genus radiated under riverine conditions in the lower Congo rapids and produced a small species flock. An analysis explicitly testing for patterns of ancient gene flow provides evidence for a highly reticulate phylogenetic history of the genus.

Schwarzer, J. & Misof, B. & Schliewen, U.K.. 2012. "Speciation within genomic networks: a case study based on Steatocranus cichlids of the lower Congo rapids". Journal of Evolutionary Biology. v. 25(n. 1), pp. 138-148 (crc04104) (streszczenie)

The first published picture of Pterochromis congicus ever has appeared as the cover of Cichlid News January 2012 issue. The picture was taken by Oliver Lucanus in his aquarium and corresponds to an specimen from Lac Mai Ndombe [Democratic Republic of Congo] in the Congo River drainage. According to Oliver, the fish seems to be extremely rare in nature, often being outnumbered by Tylochromis, Hemichromis, Sarothoredon and Tilapia by 100 to 1. We were also supplied by Oliver with not one but two pictures of this amazing fish, which are now part of our cichlid catalog, as the first pictures of this fish online.

Martin Genner and George Turner compared the nuclear DNA with that of mitochondria in a series of Malawi cichlids and found that on the basis of nuclear DNA the deep-dwelling species (Placidochromis, Lethrinops, Alticorpus) were closely related to morphologically similar forms of the shallow water (all other non-mbuna), but if they compared the mitochondrial DNA they were surprised to find all the deep water species nested within the mbuna. Years ago, Moran & Kornfield (1993) had similar results using mitochondrial DNA probes when they claimed that e.g. Alticorpus was closer related to mbuna than to shallow water Lethrinops. This then resulted in disbelieve and the abandonment of mtDNA phylogenies (since they were not congruent with old-fashioned morphology) in favor of nuclear DNA phylogenies. Now, when Genner & Turner compared the two methods they come to a very interesting conclusion in that (pre)mbuna and the precursor(s) of the deep-water cichlids hybridized a long time ago before the deep-water species developed into what they are today. They also give an interesting discussion in which they argue that the hybridization may have given the hybrids a set of altered genes that actually allowed them to explore and adapt to different habitats (the deep, dark waters of the lake). Clearly the deep-water species of Lake Malawi need more study.

Genner, Martin & G.F. Turner. 2011. "Ancient hybridization and phenotypic novelty within Lake Malawi’s cichlid fish radiation". Molecular Biology and Evolution. On line published (crc04055) (streszczenie)

The most likely identification for Cynotilapia afra is given by Ad Konings after digging into the historic aspects of the collection of the type material and comparing its features. Microchromis is thus kept as a junior synonym of Cynotilapia. Comments on the validity of Cynotilapia aurifrons are also offered in this article published today in The Cichlid Room Companion.

Konings, Ad. 2011. "Some critical remarks on Cynotilapia and Microchromis". The Cichlid Room Companion. Retrieved on December 20, 2011, from: http://www.cichlidae.com/article.php?id=369 (crc04098) (streszczenie)

A new paper authored by Sven Kullander, dealing with the disscussion about the correct generic assignation for Mikrogeophagus ramirezi, the Venezuelan ram, is published today in Zootaxa. This taxonomically difficult cichlid has been for decades the center of a discussion about what is the correct generic name applicable (Mikrogeophagus, Papiliochromis, Microgeophagus, Pseudogeophagus, Pseudoapistogramma). Reasons of why Mikrogeophagus Meulengracht-Madsen 1968 should be applied to this fish are given.

Kullander, Sven. 2011. "Nomenclatural availability of putative scientific generic names applied to the South American cichlid fish Apistogramma ramirezi Myers & Harry, 1948 (Teleostei: Cichlidae)". Zootaxa. (n. 3131), pp. 35–51 (crc04094) (streszczenie)

A new paper by Patrick Tawil about Cynotilapia has been just published in Cybium. It turns out that the fish we have been widely knowing as Cynotilapia afra has been wrongly identified, its real identification being Cynotilapia zebroides, previously considered a junior synonym of C. afra. The paper also offers the scientific description for C. sp 'mbamba', which we will now know as C. aurifrons, a proper specific name for it. One debatable aspect of the paper includes the proposed resurrection of the genus Microchromis, which has been considered a junior synonym of Cynotilapia.

Tawil, Patrick. 2011. "Description of a new cichlid species from Lake Malawi, with reexamination of Cynotilapia afra (Günther, 1893) and Microchromis zebroides Johnson, 1975". Cybium. v. 35(n. 3), pp. 201-211 (crc04046) (streszczenie)

A new paper by Tetsumi Takahashi, Haruki Ochi, Masanori Kohda and Michio Hori has been published in the electronic magazine Biological Letters, showing that in the Lake Tanganyika school forming cichlid Microdontochromis rotundiventralis, whose schools are comprised by both mouth-brooding and non mouth-brooding individuals, it is more likely that the biological father holds larger fry passed by the female, which shows that the pair bond is maintained by this species at least until that point in the school, without apparent physical proximity of the pair.

Takahashi, Tetsumi & H. Ochi, M. Kohda & M. Hori. 2011. "Invisible pair bonds detected by molecular analyses". Biology Letters. Retrieved on December 13, 2011, from http://rsbl.royalsocietypublishing.org (crc04085) (streszczenie)

A new species of Cichlasoma, Cichlasoma zarskei by Felipe Ottoni (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro) has been published today in the electronic version of Vertebrate Zoology. The new species, closely related to Kullander's Cichlasoma orientale, was previously known as Cichlasoma cf. orientale 'Maranhão' and differs from C. orientale among other aspects; by having a longer snout, wider head and shorter lower jaw. It is restricted to the Maranhão River basin in northern Brazil.

Ottoni, Felipe. 2011. "Cichlasoma zarskei, a new cichlid fish from northern Brazil (Teleostei: Labroidei: Cichlidae)". Vertebrate Zoology. v. 61(n. 3), pp. 335 – 342 (crc04091) (streszczenie)

A new species of Apistogramma, Apistogramma playayacu has been described and published today in the electronic version of Vertebrate Zoology. The new species inhabits in the Ecuadorian Napo River system and probably belongs to the Apistogramma macmasteri species complex. It is the 71th species of Apistogramma described.

Römer, Uwe. 2011. "Apistogramma playayacu sp. n.: Description of a new cichlid species (Teleostei: Perciformes: Geophaginae) from the Rio Napo system, Ecuador". Vertebrate Zoology. v. 61(n. 3), pp. 321 – 333 (crc04092) (streszczenie)

Rolf C. Hagen was a pillar in the pet products industry who touched many with his generosity and compassion. It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Rolf C. Hagen, who left us suddenly yet peacefully at his home in Montreal surrounded by his loving wife Marianne and grandson Justin on Saturday, October 22, 2011 (From the Montreal Gazzete).

A new paper by Bernd Egger., Yuri Klaefiger., Anya Theis & Walter Salzburger has been published in the digital magazine Plos One. The paper deals with the role of egg-spots on haplochromine male cichlids anal fins as an attractor for females. Males of about 1500 mouth-brooding species utilize these conspicuous egg-dummies during courtship apparently to attract females and to maximize fertilization success. The purpose of the experiment is to test the hypothesis that the evolution of haplochromine egg-spots was triggered by a pre-existing bias for eggs or egg-like coloration. The results of the tests indeed revealed that females are attracted by egg-spots, and those colors preferred are yellow, orange or red.

Egger, Bernd & Yuri Klaefiger, Anya Theis & Walter Salzburger. 2011. "A sensory bias has triggered the evolution of egg-spots in cichlid fishes". Plos One. v. 6(n. 10), pp. e25601 (crc03899) (streszczenie)

One new behavior study by Bruintjes, Rick, D. Bonfils, D. Heg M. Taborsky on the highly researched Neolamprologus pulcher has been published in PLoS ONE. The study shows that in the colony cooperative breeding species, subordinate males (those that are not the dominant male in a colony) can gain paternity mating with individuals in the colony. Such paternity makes them more eager to defend the colony against potential egg predators than those males not participating in reproduction.

Bruintjes, Rick & D. Bonfils, D. Heg, M. Taborsky. 2011. "Paternity of subordinates raises cooperative effort in cichlids". Plos One. v. 6(n. 10), pp. e25673 (crc03886) (streszczenie)

Dwa nowe gatunki z rodzaju Stigmatochromis, mianowicie Stigmatochromis macrorhynchos and Stigmatochromis melanchros zostały opisane przez zespół Jay R. Stauffer Jra, Rachel M. Cleaver-Yodera, i Ad Konings. Artykuł został opublikowany dziś w Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington.

Stauffer, Jay Richard Jr. & R.M. Cleaver-Yoder & A. Konings. 2011. "Two new species of Stigmatochromis (Teleostei: Cichlidae) from Lake Malaŵi, Africa". Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. v. 124(n. 3), pp. 212-222 (crc03872) (streszczenie)