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Lake Malawi cichlids — species, locations & maps

Lake Malawi cichlids — species, locations & maps
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Diplotaxodon longimaxilla 'Nkhata Bay'.jpg Diplotaxodon longimaxilla 'South East Arm' (George Turner) 01.jpg
Previous pageDiplotaxodon longimaxilla 'South East Arm'
Genus: Diplotaxodon
Type locality: Domira Bay, northwest of Mbenji Island, Lake Malawi
Biotope: Offshore deep-water habitats close to the lake floor, typically at about 70–145 m depth, with mud-covered bottom in the deeper zone.
Geographic distribution: Offshore in Lake Malawi; reported as lake-wide but rare compared with D. limnothrissa, D. macrops, and D. argenteus.
Typical adult size: Type specimens range from 117.3–180.5 mm SL; reported maximum at least 203 mm SL (about 24 cm total length).
Sexual dimorphism: Males have two pale yellow ocelli on the anal fin. Females and immature individuals are uniformly silvery and countershaded, lacking vertical bars, horizontal stripes, and flank spots.
Aquarium setup: A deep-water offshore species associated with near-bottom habitats; it has never been kept in the aquarium.
Diet: An offshore piscivore.
Breeding: Maternal mouthbrooder.
Special notes: Whole-genome phylogenetic analyses resolve it as a genetically distinct lineage and place it as sister to a clade comprising Diplotaxodon greenwoodi and Pallidochromis tokolosh, with this group forming the sister lineage to Diplotaxodon apogon.

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Photo: © George Turner
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Lake Malawi cichlids — species, locations & maps.
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