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Teleostei (teleosts) > Cichliformes (Cichlids, convict blennies) > Cichlidae (Cichlids) > Pseudocrenilabrinae
Etymology: Mchenga: Name from Chichewa, the indigenous language of Malawi; mchenga (sand), was chosen to indicate the type of bowers constructed by the members of this genus. Gender is feminine.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Freshwater; benthopelagic; depth range 2 - 3 m (Ref. 58018). Tropical

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Africa: Lake Malawi.

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: L_m ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 11.1 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 27597)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 16 - 17; Dorsal soft rays (total): 10 - 12; Anal soft rays: 9 - 10. Diagnosis: 13-16 gill rakers on first ceratobranchial (Ref. 57549), 4-6 on epibranchial (Ref. 27597). No yellow ocelli on anal fin of females and non-breeding males; breeding males with black markings in caudal fin; preorbital 18.1-22.1% HL; teeth in outer rows on dentary and premaxilla of mature males small and bicuspid (Ref. 57549).

Forages in the water column, feeding mainly on zooplankton.

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Male builds cone-shaped bowers in large breeding arenas off sand beaches in water 3-10 m deep.

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator : Kullander, Sven O. | Collaborators

Stauffer, J.R. Jr., T.J. LoVullo and K.R. McKaye, 1993. Three new sand-dwelling cichlids from Lake Malawi, Africa, with a discussion of the status of the genus Copadichormis (Teleostei: Cichlidae). Copeia 1993(4):1017-1027. (Ref. 27597)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-2)

Critically Endangered (CR) (B1ab(v)); Date assessed: 22 May 2018

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

Harmless

Human uses

FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

More information

Trophic ecology
Food items
Diet composition
Food consumption
Food rations
Predators

Ecology
Ecology

Population dynamics
Growth parameters
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversion
Recruitment
Abundance

Life cycle
Reproduction
Maturity
Maturity/Gills rel.
Fecundity
Spawning
Spawning aggregations
Eggs
Egg development
Larvae
Larval dynamics

Distribution
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Anatomy
Gill area
Brain
Otolith

Physiology
Body composition
Nutrients
Oxygen consumption
Swimming type
Swimming speed
Visual pigments
Fish sound
Diseases & Parasites
Toxicity (LC50s)

Genetics
Genetics
Heterozygosity
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Stamps, coins, misc.

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Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

Internet sources

Estimates based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804): PD₅₀ = 0.5156 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].

Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01445 (0.00674 - 0.03099), b=2.99 (2.82 - 3.16), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref. 93245).

Trophic level (Ref. 69278): 3.4 ±0.45 se; based on food items.

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).

Mchenga conophoros (Stauffer, LoVullo & McKaye, 1993)