Lake Malawi cichlids — species, locations & maps

Genus:	Stigmatochromis
Biotope:	Sandy habitat adjacent to a reef, observed at about 25 m depth. Territorial males breed on the sand in a lek, each defending a bower.
Geographic distribution:	Reported from Mdoka, Lake Malawi.
Typical adult size:	Maximum total length estimated at about 20 cm.
Breeding:	Lek breeder. A colony at Mdoka contained 21 territorial males, each defending a large bower of about 100–150 cm diameter on sand. The bower wall enclosed roughly three quarters of the spawning area, with the gap positioned differently in each bower. Brooding females stayed over the sand but retreated closer to the reef rocks.
Aggression:	Breeding males are territorial while defending bowers.
Special notes:	The species was initially considered close to Stigmatochromis pleurospilus, but later comparisons suggested the rediscovered S. pleurospilus has a smaller adult size than the Mdoka fish. A similarly spotted form has also been discussed under the name Sciaenochromis sp. ‘spot bicuspid’, but the Mdoka fish is treated here as a Stigmatochromis sp. 'pleurospilus mdoka' pending further study.