2022/04/21 by Nathan Vranken, Maarten Van Steenberge, Annelies Heylen +2 · 1 citation
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Environmental Science · #Fish Biology and Ecology Studies #Aquatic Ecosystems and Biodiversity #Fish Ecology and Management Studies
paper · pdf · doi:10.5852/ejt.2022.815.1749
openalex publication_date 2022/04/21 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/22
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.