Protomelas krampus, a new paedophagous cichlid from Lake Malawi (Teleostei, Cichlidae)

  • Katrien Dierickx Ichthyology, Section Vertebrates, Department of Biology, Royal Museum for Central Africa, Tervuursesteenweg 13, 3080 Tervuren http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9028-7652
  • Jos Snoeks Ichthyology, Section Vertebrates, Department of Biology, Royal Museum for Central Africa, Tervuursesteenweg 13, 3080 Tervuren
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2020.672
Keywords: Cichliformes, East Africa, mouth-brooding cichlids, Mozambique, trophic ecology

Abstract

A new paedophagous species of Protomelas, P. krampus sp. nov., is described from Lake Malawi. It has been found in Lukoma Bay in Tanzania, near Mara Point in Mozambique, and at Otter Point, Chizumulu, the Likoma Islands and Mazinzi Reef in Malawi. This species is placed in the genus Protomelas based on its melanin pattern, which comprises a continuous midlateral stripe. A morphometric study was done to compare this species with its congeners and similar species of Hemitaeniochromis and Caprichromis. It differs from most congeners by having only one inner tooth row. Furthermore, P. krampus sp. nov. differs from P. insignis, P. spilopterus, H. brachyrhynchus, H. urotaenia, Caprichromis liemi and C. orthognathus by its shorter premaxillary pedicel, shorter prepectoral distances and dentition. It also differs largely in its melanin pattern from the paedophagous species C. liemi, C. orthognathus, Diplotaxodon greenwoodi and Naevochromis chrysogaster, as well as H. brachyrhynchus and H. urotaenia. Protomelas krampus sp. nov. has been observed to ram mouth-brooding cichlids from above to feed on their eggs or larvae.

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Published
2020-06-23
How to Cite
Dierickx, K., & Snoeks, J. (2020). Protomelas krampus, a new paedophagous cichlid from Lake Malawi (Teleostei, Cichlidae). European Journal of Taxonomy, (672). https://doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2020.672
Issue
No. 672 (2020): Protomelas krampus, a new paedophagous cichlid from Lake Malawi (Teleostei, Cichlidae)
Section
Zoology

Copyright (c) 2020 Katrien Dierickx, Jos Snoeks

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