From a pair to a dozen: the piscivorous species of Haplochromis (Cichlidae) from the Lake Edward system
Piscivory is a common trophic niche among cichlids of the East African Great Lakes, including Lakes Edward and George. From these two lakes, we examined the taxonomic diversity of cichlid species with a piscivorous morphology. Prior to this study, two piscivorous species were formally described, Ha...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Consortium of European Natural History Museums
2022-04-01
|
| Series: | European Journal of Taxonomy |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://europeanjournaloftaxonomy.eu/index.php/ejt/article/view/1749 |
| _version_ | 1817987847417757696 |
|---|---|
| author | Nathan Vranken Maarten Van Steenberge Annelies Heylen Eva Decru Jos Snoeks |
| author_facet | Nathan Vranken Maarten Van Steenberge Annelies Heylen Eva Decru Jos Snoeks |
| author_sort | Nathan Vranken |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
Piscivory is a common trophic niche among cichlids of the East African Great Lakes, including Lakes Edward and George. From these two lakes, we examined the taxonomic diversity of cichlid species with a piscivorous morphology. Prior to this study, two piscivorous species were formally described, Haplochromis squamipinnis and H. mentatus. We redescribe both species and describe an additional ten new species of Haplochromis with a piscivorous morphology: H. latifrons sp. nov., H. rex sp. nov., H. simba sp. nov., H. glaucus sp. nov., H. aquila sp. nov., H. kimondo sp. nov., H. falcatus sp. nov., H. curvidens sp. nov., H. pardus sp. nov., and H. quasimodo sp. nov. All twelve species differ in dominant male colour pattern (unknown for H. latifrons sp. nov. and H. curvidens sp. nov.) and morphological traits. The species can be divided into two morphological groups: the macrodontic piscivores and the microdontic piscivores. This division potentially reflects an ecological differentiation in habitat use, hunting technique, prey species, and prey size. We conclude that some 12–20% of the species from the cichlid assemblage of Lake Edward have a piscivorous morphology.
|
| first_indexed | 2024-04-14T00:27:22Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4ef83deae0704a49b573b82cc38c3415 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2118-9773 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-14T00:27:22Z |
| publishDate | 2022-04-01 |
| publisher | Consortium of European Natural History Museums |
| record_format | Article |
| series | European Journal of Taxonomy |
| spelling | doaj.art-4ef83deae0704a49b573b82cc38c34152022-12-22T02:22:41ZengConsortium of European Natural History MuseumsEuropean Journal of Taxonomy2118-97732022-04-01815110.5852/ejt.2022.815.1749From a pair to a dozen: the piscivorous species of Haplochromis (Cichlidae) from the Lake Edward systemNathan Vranken0Maarten Van Steenberge1Annelies Heylen2Eva Decru3Jos Snoeks4KU Leuven, Laboratory of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Genomics, Department of Biology, Charles Deberiotstraat 32, 3000 Leuven, BelgiumKU Leuven, Laboratory of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Genomics, Department of Biology, Charles Deberiotstraat 32, 3000 Leuven and Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Operational Directorate Taxonomy and Phylogeny, Vautierstraat 29, 1000 Brussels, Belgium and Masaryk University, Department of Botany and Zoology, Kotlářská 2, 611 37 Brno, Czech RepublicKU Leuven, Laboratory of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Genomics, Department of Biology, Charles Deberiotstraat 32, 3000 Leuven, BelgiumKU Leuven, Laboratory of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Genomics, Department of Biology, Charles Deberiotstraat 32, 3000 Leuven, BelgiumKU Leuven, Laboratory of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Genomics, Department of Biology, Charles Deberiotstraat 32, 3000 Leuven and Royal Museum for Central Africa, Biology department, Section Vertebrates, Leuvensesteenweg 13, 3080 Tervuren, Belgium Piscivory is a common trophic niche among cichlids of the East African Great Lakes, including Lakes Edward and George. From these two lakes, we examined the taxonomic diversity of cichlid species with a piscivorous morphology. Prior to this study, two piscivorous species were formally described, Haplochromis squamipinnis and H. mentatus. We redescribe both species and describe an additional ten new species of Haplochromis with a piscivorous morphology: H. latifrons sp. nov., H. rex sp. nov., H. simba sp. nov., H. glaucus sp. nov., H. aquila sp. nov., H. kimondo sp. nov., H. falcatus sp. nov., H. curvidens sp. nov., H. pardus sp. nov., and H. quasimodo sp. nov. All twelve species differ in dominant male colour pattern (unknown for H. latifrons sp. nov. and H. curvidens sp. nov.) and morphological traits. The species can be divided into two morphological groups: the macrodontic piscivores and the microdontic piscivores. This division potentially reflects an ecological differentiation in habitat use, hunting technique, prey species, and prey size. We conclude that some 12–20% of the species from the cichlid assemblage of Lake Edward have a piscivorous morphology. https://europeanjournaloftaxonomy.eu/index.php/ejt/article/view/1749Adaptive radiationhaplochrominesHarpagochromisPrognathochromisnew species |
| spellingShingle | Nathan Vranken Maarten Van Steenberge Annelies Heylen Eva Decru Jos Snoeks From a pair to a dozen: the piscivorous species of Haplochromis (Cichlidae) from the Lake Edward system European Journal of Taxonomy Adaptive radiation haplochromines Harpagochromis Prognathochromis new species |
| title | From a pair to a dozen: the piscivorous species of Haplochromis (Cichlidae) from the Lake Edward system |
| title_full | From a pair to a dozen: the piscivorous species of Haplochromis (Cichlidae) from the Lake Edward system |
| title_fullStr | From a pair to a dozen: the piscivorous species of Haplochromis (Cichlidae) from the Lake Edward system |
| title_full_unstemmed | From a pair to a dozen: the piscivorous species of Haplochromis (Cichlidae) from the Lake Edward system |
| title_short | From a pair to a dozen: the piscivorous species of Haplochromis (Cichlidae) from the Lake Edward system |
| title_sort | from a pair to a dozen the piscivorous species of haplochromis cichlidae from the lake edward system |
| topic | Adaptive radiation haplochromines Harpagochromis Prognathochromis new species |
| url | https://europeanjournaloftaxonomy.eu/index.php/ejt/article/view/1749 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT nathanvranken fromapairtoadozenthepiscivorousspeciesofhaplochromiscichlidaefromthelakeedwardsystem AT maartenvansteenberge fromapairtoadozenthepiscivorousspeciesofhaplochromiscichlidaefromthelakeedwardsystem AT anneliesheylen fromapairtoadozenthepiscivorousspeciesofhaplochromiscichlidaefromthelakeedwardsystem AT evadecru fromapairtoadozenthepiscivorousspeciesofhaplochromiscichlidaefromthelakeedwardsystem AT jossnoeks fromapairtoadozenthepiscivorousspeciesofhaplochromiscichlidaefromthelakeedwardsystem |