Petrotilapia ?retrognathous? (Petrotilapia palingnathos)

Scientific name: Petrotilapia palingnathos Lundeba, Stauffer Jr. & Konings, 2011

The Petrotilapia ?retrognathous? (Petrotilapia palingnathos) is a freshwater fish of the family Cichlidae. Native range: Africa, Malawi. Lake Malawi occurs at Chizumulu Island. Konings (2007) reports this species' presence at Taiwanee Reef as well.

Biology

Adult male and female P. palingnathos have distinctly retrognathous jaws and can thus be distinguished from all other members of Petrotilapia. Furthermore, the absence of a dark submarginal band in the dorsal fin distinguishes P. palingnathos from P. microgalana, P. genalutea, P. nigra, P. chrysos, P. mumboensis, and P. pyroscelos, which have such a band. Adult males of P. palingnathos are dark gray with orange markings and scales outlined in blue with orange cheek and a blue gular area, which distinguishes them from P. tridentiger, which are light blue with dark blue bars, and from males of P. xanthos which are yellow, while those of P. flaviventris are yellow on ventral and mid-sides with scales outlined in blue (Ref/ 87181).

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name
Petrotilapia palingnathos
Family
Cichlidae (Cichlids)
Order
Perciformes (Perch-like fish)
Class
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Maximum length
11.8
Environment
Freshwater; pelagic
Climate
Tropical
Distribution
Africa: Malawi. Lake Malawi occurs at Chizumulu Island. Konings (2007) reports this species' presence at Taiwanee Reef as well.
Conservation status (IUCN)
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Harmless
Uses
Fisheries:

Sources

Taxonomy, distribution and biology data: FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds.), licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

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