Search Results for ‘science news’

Laetacara araguaiae. Photo by Frank M. Greco (CC BY 3.0) A diagnoses of Laetacara species has been published in Vertebrate Zoology authored by Felipe Polivanov Ottoni. This latest article attempts to unify all prior descriptions and modifications of known species of Laetacara. If you are...

Synodontis multipunctatus. Photo by Mario Rubio García (CC BY 2.0) Synodontis multipunctatus, aka cuckoo catfish, is a parasitic brooder that uses other fish to raise and protect their offspring. S. multipunctatus exploits Lake Tanganyika mouthbrooders by swooping in and laying its own eggs...

Pundamilia nyererei from Lake Victoria. Photo by Kevin Bauman (CC BY 1.0) . A new report put out by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) has some bad news about Lake Victoria. The lake's native species are no strangers to mass extinctions. The...

Crenicichla dandara, female (A) and juvenile (B). Photos by Oliver Lucanus/Publication Formerly known as Crenicichla sp. 'Xingu III', the newest described pike cichlid has been named Crenicichla dandara. This species is a member of the lugubris group, the largest-sized pike cichlids. C. dandara...

Female Neolamprologus caudopunctatus. Photo credit Michael Bernkopf-Vetmeduni Vienna Research in cichlid cannibalism, specifically what triggers a cichlid to go from caregiver to cannibal, was conducted by the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna. Some interesting and surprising...

Trematocranus pachychilus. Photo from publication . A new species of Trematocranus has recently been named. Joining a small group, Trematocranus pachychilus becomes only the forth species in the genus to be described. This species of haplochromis has only been collected in one part of Lake...

Neolamprologus obscurus. Photo by Ad Konings A species of cichlid from Lake Tanganyika has been found to exhibit group cooperative behavior that benefits all members of the group. Neolamprologus obscurus are small cichlids (3.5" max) that live in the crevices and caves of rocky areas in the...

Satanoperca curupira. Photo by U. Werner A new species from the Madeira River basin in Brazil has been described. Satanoperca curupira belongs to a genus of fish known for their feeding behavior as eartheaters. They feed by picking up mouthfuls of sand and sifting through it to find small...

Crenicichla ploegi. Male (left) and female (right). Photo by Marcelo Krause A new species of pike cichlid, Crenicichla ploegi, has been recently described. This species can be found in streams and rivers of the Mato Grosso State in central Brazil. C. ploegi is part of the Crenicichla saxatilis...

Pelvicachromis taeniatus as they mature. Image by Dr. Denis Meuthen - University of Bonn It is common for subdominant males to not display their brightest coloration in the presence of a dominant male. Some species' males, like Chindongo (Pseudotropheus) saulosi, even take on the coloration...

Metriaclima koningsi. Male and females. Photos by Alf Persson Metriaclima koningsi, formally known as Metriaclima sp. 'membe deep', has been officially named and described. Named after Ad Konings, M. koningsi is found around the islands of Likoma and Maingano in Lake Malawi. This species has a...

A short video showing a feather star swimming. Definitely not a cichlid or even a freshwater creature, but impressive enough to post a video. This is a crinoid and they've been around for at least 300 million years. They are usually found on rocks where they feed on food particles with the...

Satellite image of Amazon River. Photo by NASA A new study published in the journal Fish and Fisheries has linked fish population to the amount of forest surrounding the body of water in the Amazon River basin. Although the study isn't cichlid specific, it can be assumed that cichlid...

Pundamilia nyererei. Photo by Robert De Leon The vast diversity of cichlid species, especially within the confines for a lake or river, has intrigued scientists. Various hypothesis have been put to the test and while they help explain some of the diversity, there are still many questions that...

Hemibates koningsi. Photo by Ad Konings After many years of being considered a variant of Hemibates stenosoma, or as a closely related unsubscribed species, Hemibates koningsi has been formally described. H. koningsi differentiates itself from H. stenosoma, the only other member of the genus...

Lates niloticus (Nile Perch). Photo by smudger888 (CC BY 2.0) The introduction of the Nile Perch (Lates niloticus) into Lake Victoria resulted in the devastation of the local ecosystem. The native Haplochromine species became food for the large, fast growing and aggressive new species...

Larval cartilage and bone. Photo by UMass Amherst A new study from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst may answer why evolution alone doesn't account for all variability in cichlids. A study recently published describes how fish exercise, for instance jaw muscles, during the larval stage...

Male Labeotropheus artatorostris. Photo from publication / Ad Konings Labeotrophus is a genus with only a handful of species, of which L. fuelleborni and L. trewavasae are the most well known in the hobby. A new species has been proposed by Michael J. Pauers from what were originally...

Some of the many haplochromine species An interesting article by Les Kaufman on the importance of biodiversity for an ecosystem's resilience. Kaufman is a professor of biology at Boston University. He has been interested in cichlids since he was a student at Johns Hopkins University. Les...

An article on Nature.com titled Damming the rivers of the Amazon basin details the far-reaching consequences of dams along the Amazon River. Although this blog has covered other articles about the impact of damming the Amazon River, new research has shown that the impact goes far beyond the...