Teleostei (teleosts) >
Cichliformes (Cichlids, convict blennies) >
Cichlidae (Cichlids) > Pseudocrenilabrinae
Etymology: Maylandia: In honour of Hans J. Mayland, German ictiologist (Ref. 45335); flavifemina: The specific name is derived from the Latin flavus, meaning yellow, and femina, meaning female, in reference to the yellow color of females; noun in apposition (Ref. 76849).
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Freshwater; benthopelagic; depth range 4 - 50 m (Ref. 6256), usually 6 - 15 m (Ref. 76849). Tropical
Africa: endemic to Lake Malawi, Malawi (Ref. 76849).
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 8.5 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 76849)
Short description
Morphology | Morphometrics
Dorsal
spines
(total): 17 - 19;
Dorsal
soft rays
(total): 8-10;
Anal
spines: 3-4;
Anal
soft rays: 6 - 9. Diagnosis: juveniles and females light blue-beige to all yellow with bright yellow anal fin; males with black anal fin and black membranes in caudal fin; snout 27.7-36.6% head length; cheek depth 18.8-28.8% HL; caudal peduncle length of females 10.8-16.7% SL; body depth of females 32.9-38.8% SL (Ref. 76849).
Lives in sand-rock interface over slabs, over pockets of sand among the rocks and occasionally over broken rock (Ref. 6256). Males are territorial and chase mainly conspecific males from their territories, with a territory normally consisting of a space between the rocks often with a sandy bottom; males at the bottom of the reef usually burrow from beneath a rock to create a spawning cave (Ref. 76849). Females are often solitary or sometimes occur in small groups, rarely numbering more than 3 individuals (Ref. 6256, 76849). Juveniles and non-territorial adult males occur singly, in pairs or in small groups of 3-8 fish (Ref. 6256). Feeds from the sedimentrich aufwuchs on the rocks from which it rakes diatoms and loose algal strands (Ref. 76849).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Konings, A.F. and J.R. Stauffer Jr., 2006. Revised diagnosis of Metriaclima (Teleostei: Cichlidae) with description of a new species from Lake Malawi National Park, Africa. Ichthyol. Explor. Freshwat. 17(3):233-246. (Ref. 76849)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
More information
Common namesSynonymsMetabolismPredatorsEcotoxicologyReproductionMaturitySpawningSpawning aggregationFecundityEggsEgg development
Age/SizeGrowthLength-weightLength-lengthLength-frequenciesMorphometricsMorphologyLarvaeLarval dynamicsRecruitmentAbundanceBRUVS
ReferencesAquacultureAquaculture profileStrainsGeneticsElectrophoresesHeritabilityDiseasesProcessingNutrientsMass conversion
Tools
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01514 (0.00700 - 0.03275), b=2.97 (2.80 - 3.14), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 2.3 ±0.1 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Resilience (Ref.
120179): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (10 of 100).
