| Family: |
Alestidae (African tetras) |
| Max. size: |
8.1 cm SL (male/unsexed) |
| Environment: |
pelagic; freshwater, |
| Distribution: |
Africa: endemic to Lake Turkana, Kenya (Ref. 52331, 53378). |
| Diagnosis: |
It has sharply pointed fang-like teeth and a muzzle-like prognathous snout (Ref. 53378). Pale fawn with silvery scales, darker on the dorsal surface (Ref. 53378). Both lobes of the caudal fin marked with red chromatophores on the lower lobe (Ref. 53378). The dorsal surface is lightly patterned with melanophores in preserved specimens, heavier in a band on the middorsal line (Ref. 53378). Characteristic patches of black pigment are present on the snout, on the lower jaw and on the mid-lateral portion of the caudal peduncle (Ref. 53378). Distal margin of caudal fin with broad edging of black pigment (Ref. 53378). |
| Biology: |
Pelagic, restricted to offshore waters; feeds chiefly on prawns, zooplankton and insects with an increasing proportion of small fish in larger individuals; spawns within lake; dominant species in terms of standing stock in Lake Turkana (Ref. 53378). |
| IUCN Red List Status: |
Vulnerable (VU); Date assessed: 05 July 2022 (B1ab(i,ii,iii,v)) Ref. (130435)
|
| Threat to humans: |
harmless |
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