Pseudotropheus is a genus of in the family Cichlidae. These mbuna cichlids are endemism to Lake Malawi in East Africa.
Taxonomy
Like some other large cichlid
genus, such as
Cichlasoma, a number of related
have been recently reassigned to different genera such as
Tropheops or
Maylandia. Some
species of
Melanochromis in turn have been moved into
Pseudotropheus.
There are currently 25 recognized species in this genus:
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Pseudotropheus ater Stauffer, 1988
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Pseudotropheus benetos (Bowers & Stauffer, 1997)
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Pseudotropheus brevis (Trewavas, 1935)
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Pseudotropheus crabro (Ribbink & D. S. C. Lewis, 1982)
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Pseudotropheus cyaneorhabdos (Bowers & Stauffer, 1997)
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Pseudotropheus cyaneus Stauffer, 1988
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Pseudotropheus demasoni Konings, 1994
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Pseudotropheus elegans Trewavas, 1935
[Stauffer, J.R.Jr., Konings, A.F. & Ryan, T.M. (2016): Redescription of Pseudotropheus livingstonii and Pseudotropheus elegans from Lake Malaŵi, Africa. Zootaxa, 4154 (2): 169-178.]
-
Pseudotropheus elongatus Geoffrey Fryer, 1956
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Pseudotropheus flavus Stauffer, 1988
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Pseudotropheus fuscoides Fryer, 1956
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Pseudotropheus fuscus Trewavas, 1935
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Pseudotropheus galanos Stauffer & Kellogg, 2002
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Pseudotropheus interruptus (D. S. Johnson, 1975)
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Pseudotropheus joanjohnsonae (D. S. Johnson, 1974)
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Pseudotropheus johannii Eccles, 1973
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Pseudotropheus likomae Konings, Miller, & Stauffer 2024
[Konings, Ad & T.A. Miller, J.R. Stauffer Jr. 2024. "Description of a rock-dwelling cichlid that re-invaded the sand substrate in Lake Malaŵi, Africa". Zootaxa. 5399(2):181–189. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5399.2.7 ]
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Pseudotropheus longior Lothar Seegers, 1996
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Pseudotropheus minutus Geoffrey Fryer, 1956
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Pseudotropheus perileucos (Bowers & Stauffer, 1997)
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Pseudotropheus perspicax (Trewavas, 1935)
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Pseudotropheus purpuratus D. S. Johnson, 1976
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Pseudotropheus saulosi Konings, 1990
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Pseudotropheus socolofi D. S. Johnson, 1974
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Pseudotropheus tursiops W. E. Burgess & H. R. Axelrod, 1975
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Pseudotropheus williamsi (Günther, 1894)
Several of these were moved to the new genus Chindongo in 2016.[Li, S.; A.F. Konings; and J.R. Stauffer Jr. (2016). A Revision of the Pseudotropheus elongatus species group (Teleostei: Cichlidae) With Description of a New Genus and Seven New Species. Zootaxa 4168 (2): 353–381. ]
Biology
Mbuna literally means "rockdweller" and this description accurately depicts the lifestyle of these
which mostly live in rocky areas. Most pseudotrophine cichlids are
algae grazers in the wild.
Like most cichlids from Lake Malawi, fish from this genus reproduce via maternal mouthbrooder. The males often have egg spots on their which attract spawn-ready females towards them where they attempt to retrieve the imitation eggs while the male emits sperm into her biting mouth, thus fertilizing the eggs. The female and male generally move in an intensive circular motion while they spawn. Eventually, the female retrieves all of her eggs and incubates them in her mouth without eating for 2–4 weeks depending on the species and the particular fish after which the fry are released. Most, possibly all species of Pseudotropheus will breed together if given the right environment.[
]
In aquaculture
Fish of this genus are popular amongst tropical aquarium. They are relatively aggressive fish, usually requiring large aquaria with ample rock coverage for hiding and providing havens from aggression. It is usually important to keep a high population of fish in the aquaria to distribute the Fish aggression. They are extremely hardy fish and can live nearly ten years. It is best to keep them with other African cichlids of similar size.
