Paretroplus damii Bleeker, 1868Curator: Juan Miguel Artigas Azas. Last updated on 29-Aug-2008.
Original description as Paretroplus damii:
Taxonomic history:
Etymology: Named in honor of the Dutch naturalist Van Dam, who along with F. Pollen, collected the type material (Sparks, 2008). Diagnosis: Sparks, 2008: A Paretroplus belonging to Clade E, comprising P. damii, P. nourissati, P. tsimoly, and P. lamenabe, and distinguished from all congeners by the presence of a triangular, black pectoral-axil patch in combination with the absence of a series of vertical bars on the flanks. In life, unstressed individuals can easily be distinguished from all congeners by the presence of a broad, vertical pale yellow band on the anterior half of the flanks. Young Paretroplus damii are unique among congeners in the possession of a dark blotch, surrounded by a hyaline ring, posteriorly on the soft dorsal fin near its base. In preservation, Paretroplus damii is the only member of Paretroplus that exhibits a solid grayish brown to brown base coloration and the absence of vertical barring. Common names: damba, damba mena, lamena, dridrimena, ventitry, filaopisaka and loakapisaka (mg). Type locality: Lake Pambilao, Nossi-Bé, Madagascar. Distribution: Widespread in northwestern and far northern Madagascar. Along the northwestern versant of the island, the known range of Paretroplus damii extends in the south from the Anjingo-Ankofia River basin and Lake Andrapongy northward to the rivers (Sahinana and Sampiana) draining the western slopes of the Montagne d'Ambre massif in far northern Madagascar (de Rham and Nourissat, 2004). Inhabited countries: Madagascar (endemic). Habitat: Rivers and lakes with sand, rock or mud substrate, water soft but alkaline with a ph 8 or more. Aquatic vegetation normally absent (De Rham & Nourissat, 2004). Individuals from Ramena River (probably a contraction of "rano mena" = red water) in the granitic basin of the Sambirano River live in an acid water (ph around 6.5) and slightly black with a very low hardness (no more than 1°dGH). But in some other lakes, water can be quite alkalike (ph over over 8), but still with very low hardness (2-3° GH). Water temperature often surpasses 30°C. Habitats: Andrapongy (Madagascar, native). Breeding: As with other Paretroplus, males guard the spawn, wrigglers and fry in this species, as opposite with most substrate spawning cichlids (Michael Negrini, personal communication). Aquaristics: Paretroplus damii was first reproduced in captivity in the pools of Jean-Claude Nourissat in the beginning or the 2000's. The fish were captured in Lake Babano, basin of Manamjeba north of Ambilobe in 1999. The juveniles have been distributed in France.
Conservation: Paretroplus damii is evaluated by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as (DD) Data deficient (2004). Comments: The type locality at the island of Nosy Be off the coast in northwest Madagascar has failed to produce any more specimens but those two reported by Bleeker (1868) and used in the original description, despite several expeditions. De Rham and Nourissat (2004) indicate that their Malagasy guide collected individuals of Paretroplus damii in the crater Lake Djabala in the island of Nosy Be (adjacent to the type locality), considering them similar to those Paretroplus damii in the mainland and not preserving any individuals. Other pictures (12):
References:
|
|
corrections & comments | genus page | catalog index
Copyright 1996-2010 Juan Miguel Artigas Azas, All Rights Reserved |
