Classification / Names
Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa
Teleostei (teleosts) >
Cichliformes (Cichlids, convict blennies) >
Cichlidae (Cichlids) > Pseudocrenilabrinae
Etymology: Haplochromis: Greek, Haploos = single + Greek, chromis = a fish, perhaps a perch (Ref. 45335); simba: Species name from Swahili 'simba' for 'lion'; referring to yellow body, orange cheeks that resemble manes, and predatory morphology (Ref. 126312).
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Freshwater; pelagic. Tropical
Africa: Lake Edward (Ref. 126312).
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 10.9 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 126312)
Short description
Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
Dorsal spines (total): 14 - 16; Dorsal soft rays (total): 9 - 10; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 8 - 9; Vertebrae: 30 - 31. Diagnosis: Species with a piscivorous morphology; premaxillary pedicel and mental prominences strongly developed; outer oral teeth few and large, 22-31; dominant males yellow with an orange anterior part of flank (Ref. 126312). Amongst piscivorous species from the Lake Edward system, Haplochromis simba differs from H. latifrons, H. mentatus, and H. glaucus by the combination of a narrower interorbital area, interorbital width 45.5-50.4% of head width vs. 50.9-63.3%; and a strongly developed vs. absent or weakly developed mental prominence; it further differs from H. latifrons by a longer anal fin base, 17.3-19.0% of standard length vs. 14.7-17.3%; and absence vs. presence of a well-defined mid-lateral band; further from H. mentatus by a smaller number of outer upper jaw teeth, 22-31 vs. 28-46; and dominant males yellow with an orange anterior part of flank vs. green-yellow with a red anterior part of flank; further from H. glaucus by a narrower lower pharyngeal element, lower pharyngeal width 83.8-87.9% of lower pharyngeal length vs. 93.3-95.1%; and dominant males yellow with an orange anterior part of flank vs. uniformly light-blue (Ref. 126312). It differs from H. rex and H. aquila by the combination of a smaller number of scales between first anal-fin spine and upper lateral line, 9-11 vs. 12-16, rarely 11; and a strongly developed vs. absent or weakly developed mental prominence; it further differs from H. rex by a lower number of longitudinal line scales, 32-33 vs. 34-38; and dominant males uniformly yellow with an orange anterior part of flank vs. cream-coloured with an orange operculum and a light blue snout; further from H. aquila by a smaller eye, eye diameter 26.7-29.5% of head length vs. 30.0-31.5%; and dominant males yellow with an orange anterior part of flank and a yellow head vs. uniformly light grey with a black head (Ref. 126312). It differs from H. kimondo, H. falcatus, H. curvidens, H. pardus, H. quasimodo, and H. squamipinnis by the combination of large vs. small outer oral teeth and a smaller number of outer upper jaw teeth, 22-31 vs. 39-79; it further differs from H. falcatus, H. curvidens, and H. pardus by a deeper lacrimal, lacrimal depth 18.7-20.5% of head length vs. 16.0-18.8%; further from H. kimondo and H. quasimodo by a narrower head, head width 39.5-41.5% of head length vs. 42.0-48.1%; further from H. squamipinnis by absence vs. presence of minute scales on proximal part of dorsal fin (Ref. 126312).
Found in inshore areas over hard substrates (Ref. 126312). Based on its morphology, most probably a piscivorous species (Ref. 126312).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae
Vranken, N., M. Van Steenberge, A. Heylen, E. Decru and J. Snoeks, 2022. From a pair to a dozen: the piscivorous species of Haplochromis (Cichlidae) from the Lake Edward system. Eur. J. Taxon. 815:1-94. (Ref. 126312)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
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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].
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.4 ±0.4 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
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).
