Cyphotilapia
Cyphotilapia is a small genus of African cichlids endemic to Lake Tanganyika, with C. frontosa being roughly confined to the northern half of the lake and C. gibberosa roughly to the southern half.[1] They have a distinctly banded pattern, bulbous foreheads when mature and can reach up to 33 cm (1.1 feet) in length.[1][2]
| Cyphotilapia | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Humphead cichlid (C. frontosa) | |
 | |
| Cyphotilapia gibberosa | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Cichliformes |
| Family: | Cichlidae |
| Subfamily: | Pseudocrenilabrinae |
| Tribe: | Cyphotilapini Takahashi, 2003 |
| Genus: | Cyphotilapia Regan, 1920 |
| Type species | |
| Paratilapia frontosa Boulenger, 1906 | |
These are a mouth-brooding cichlid with a rather small batch of fry each spawn. The mother will hold the fry in her mouth for about 3–4 weeks before finally releasing about 30-70 fry. These are slow-growing fish, which take up to 6 years to reach sexual maturity. They can live for up to 25 years.
Species
There are currently two recognized species in this genus:[2]
- Cyphotilapia frontosa (Boulenger, 1906) (Humphead cichlid)
- Cyphotilapia gibberosa T. Takahashi & Nakaya, 2003
References
- Takahashi, T. and K. Nakaya (2003). New species of Cyphotilapia (Perciformes: Cichlidae) from Lake Tanganyika, Africa. Copeia 2003(4): 824-832.
- Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2013). Species of Cyphotilapia in FishBase. February 2013 version.
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