Classification / Names
Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa
Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) >
Perciformes (Perch-likes) >
Cichlidae (Cichlids) > Pseudocrenilabrinae
Etymology: Petrotilapia: Latin,petra = stone + Bechuana, African native thiape = fish (Ref. 45335); flaviventris: The name flaviventris, from flavus (Latin), meaning yellow and venter (Latin), meaning meaning the underside or belly, referring to the yellow color on the ventral side of this species. A noun in apposition (Ref. 87181).
Environment / Climate / Range
Ecology
Freshwater; pelagic. Tropical, preferred ?; 12°S - 13°S, 34°E - 35°E
Africa: endemic to Lake Malawi, occurs at Chizumulu Island and between Mbweca, Mozambique, and Undu Point, Tanzania (Ref. 87181).
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 11.1 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 87181)
Short description
Morphology | Morphometrics
Absence of a dark submarginal band in the dorsal fin distinguishes P. flaviventris from males of P. microgalana, P. genalutea, P. nigra, P. chrysos, P. mumboensis, and P. pyroscelos, which have such a band. Adult males of P. flaviventris are yellow on ventral and mid flank with scales outlined in blue; the dorsal one-third is blue to gray with yellow and orange highlights; cheeks and throat are yellow to orange. Males of P. tridentiger are light blue with dark blue bars; while those of P. xanthos are yellow. Adult male (and female) P. palingnathos have distinctly retrognathous jaws and can thus be distinguished from those of P.flaviventris. Females of P. flaviventris are yellow brown with interrupted black horizontal stripes and with a background coloration fading to dark brown dorsally, which distinguishes them from those of P. tridentiger, which are brown and from P. chrysos and P. microgalana, which are golden yellow. Females of P. flaviventris are further distinguished from those of P. xanthos, which are light brown (Ref. 87181).
Inhabits the deeper rocky environments of Lake Malawi (Ref. 87181). Petrotilapia species have fleshy lips with numerous slender teeth that are used to comb the algae on rocks for diatoms and loose algal strands (Ref. 6256, 87181). Adult Petrotilapia males establish territories; females, juveniles, and non-territorial males are found either singly or in schools throughout the rocky habitat (Ref. 6256).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Lundeba, M., J.R. Stauffer Jr. and A. F. Konings, 2011. Five new species of the genus Petrotilapia (Teleostei: Cichlidae), from Lake Malawi, Africa. Ichthyol. Explor. Freshwat. 22(2): 149-168 (Ref. 87181)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 109396)
CITES (Ref. 94142)
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries:
More information
Common namesSynonymsMetabolismPredatorsEcotoxicologyReproductionMaturitySpawningFecundityEggsEgg development
Age/SizeGrowthLength-weightLength-lengthLength-frequenciesMorphometricsMorphologyLarvaeLarval dynamicsRecruitmentAbundance
ReferencesAquacultureAquaculture profileStrainsGeneticsAllele frequenciesHeritabilityDiseasesProcessingMass conversion
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Estimates of some properties based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82805): PD
50 = 0.5010 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01000 (0.00244 - 0.04107), b=3.04 (2.81 - 3.27), based on all LWR estimates for this body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic Level (Ref.
69278): 3.4 ±0.4 se; Based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Resilience (Ref.
69278): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (15 of 100) .
