Astatotilapia stappersii

Astatotilapia stappersii is a ray-finned fish species in the family Cichlidae. Adults measure about 15 cm (6 inches) in total length.[2]

Astatotilapia stappersii
A. stappersii male caught at Gatumba, Burundi
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Cichliformes
Family: Cichlidae
Genus: Astatotilapia
Species:
A. stappersii
Binomial name
Astatotilapia stappersii
(Poll, 1943)
Synonyms

Haplochromis stappersii Poll, 1943

It is erroneously listed twice in the IUCN Red List, once with a proper entry under its original name Haplochromis stappersii, and once having become mixed up with the synonymy of the Striped Nothobranch (Nothobranchius taeniopygus). It is neither similar nor closely related to that toothcarp, however, apart from both being East African Acanthopterygii. FishBase places the present species in Astatotilapia.[2]

A. stappersii is found in Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, and Zambia. It inhabits the drainage basin of Lake Tanganyika, except for the Malagarasi River region. Its natural habitats are slow-flowing rivers, swamps, small freshwater lakes and marshes, and inland deltas. It eats mainly aquatic insect larvae.[1]

Its stocks may be adversely affected by habitat destruction and water pollution, and as it is of local commercial importance as food, such a reduction in numbers may lead to overfishing. Overall, however, it is common and widespread, and not considered a threatened species by the IUCN.[1]

The specific name honours the Belgian physiologist and biologist Louis Stappers (1883-1916) who led an expedition to Lake Tanganyika on which he collected the type.[3]

References
  1. Hanssens, M.; Snoeks, J. & Ntakimazi, G. (2006). "Astatotilapia stappersii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2006: e.T60463A12359328. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2006.RLTS.T60463A12359328.en.
  2. Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2018). "Astatotilapia stappersii" in FishBase. June 2018 version.
  3. Christopher Scharpf & Kenneth J. Lazara (22 July 2018). "Order CICHLIFORMES: Family CICHLIDAE: Subfamily PSEUDOCRENILABRINAE (a-g)". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 30 November 2018.


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