Classification / Names
Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa
Teleostei (teleosts) >
Cichliformes (Cichlids, convict blennies) >
Cichlidae (Cichlids) > Pseudocrenilabrinae
Etymology: Lethrinops: Greek, lethrinia, a fish pertaining to genus Pagellus + Greek, ops = similar to; atrilabris: "Atri-" from plural of the adjective "ater", meaning "black", and "labris" from plural of "labrum", meaning "lip", in reference to the black lips of the males in breeding dress (Ref. 127517).
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Freshwater; benthopelagic; depth range 84 - 105 m (Ref. 127517). Tropical
Africa: Malawi.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 7.3 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 127517)
Short description
Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
Dorsal spines (total): 15 - 16; Dorsal soft rays (total): 9 - 10; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 7 - 9. Diagnosis: The lower jaw dentition of Lethrinops-type; mature males with a melanic pattern of strongly contrasting dark vertical flank bars on a pale background, and a dark area on the jaws and the underside of the head and chest; in addition, the species can be identified by its relatively small adult body side, not known to exceed 73 mm standard length, large eye, short, rounded snout, ventrally placed mouth, 13-14 ceratobranchial gill rakers and laterally compressed body (Ref. 127517). The male's melanic pattern of strongly contrasting vertical flank bars is not exhibited by any known species of Ctenochromis, Taeniolethrinops or Tramitichromis (Ref. 127517). Among the Lethrinops species, males of the shallow-water group (L. albus, L. auritus, L. furcifer, L. lethrinus, L. leptodon, L. lunaris, L. macrochir, L. macrophthalmus, L. marginatus, L. microstoma, L. parvidens and L. turneri) do not show such strong vertical flank barring and tend to be less deep-bodied and laterally compressed and confined to shallower water, generally less than 50 m depth, compared to 84-94 m for L. atrilabris (Ref. 127517). Among the remaining, 'deep-water' Lethrinops species: L. atrilabris has a greater number of lower gill rakers than L. christyi, L. longipinnis and L. altus, 13-14 vs. 8-9, 9-10 and 10-11, respectively; these three species can further be distinguished by their head and jaw shape: L. christyi has small pointed jaws and concave upper profile of snout vs. larger jaws set low on a rounded head profile in L. atrilabris, L. longipinnis has a much longer snout, and L. altus has hooked maxillae, showing a markedly curved lower profile, in contrast to the straight maxillae in L. atrilabris (Ref. 127517). Lethrinops atrilabris has fewer lower gill rakers than L. micrentodon, L. gossei, L. stridei, L. macracanthus and L. microdon, 13-14 vs. 15-19, 18-19, 19-23, 21-24 and 24-29, respectively (Ref. 127517). Lethrinops mylodon generally has fewer lower gill rakers, 10-14 vs. 13-14 in L. atrilabris, and also differs in having a very heavily built lower pharyngeal bone with stout molariform teeth vs. lightly built, with small slender teeth in L. atrilabris, and in attaining a much larger size, over 200 mm standard length vs. less than 80 mm standard length in L atrilabris; L. longimanus generally has a higher count of lower gill rakers, 14-19 vs. 13-14 in L. atrilabris, can also be distinguished by its larger maximum size, 150 mm standard length vs. less than 80 mm standard length in L. atrilabris, and male breeding dress of a bronze colour, weakly barred vs. the strongly barred black and silver of L. atrilabris (Ref. 127517).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae
Turner, G.F., 2022. A new species of deep-water Lethrinops (Cichlidae) from Lake Malawi. J. Fish Biol. 101(6):1405-1410. (Ref. 127517)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
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Internet sources
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): 3.1 ±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).
