The konye (''Konia eisentrauti'') is a

critically endangered An IUCN Red List critically endangered (CR or sometimes CE) species is one that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild. As of December 2023, of t ...

species of fish in the family

Cichlidae Cichlids () are a large, diverse, and widespread family of percomorph fish in the family Cichlidae, order Cichliformes. At least 1,760 species have been scientifically described, making it one of the largest vertebrate families, with on ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

Lake Barombi Mbo Lake Barombi Mbo or Barombi-ma-Mbu is a lake near Kumba in the Southwest Region of Cameroon. It is located in the Cameroon volcanic chain, and is the largest volcanic lake in this region. It is one of the oldest radiocarbon-dated lakes in Afri ...

, a crater lake in western

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

. It is threatened because of

pollution Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause harm. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the component ...

and

sedimentation Sedimentation is the deposition of sediments. It takes place when particles in suspension settle out of the fluid in which they are entrained and come to rest against a barrier. This is due to their motion through the fluid in response to th ...

due to human activities, and potentially also by large emissions of

carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalent bond, covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in a gas state at room temperature and at norma ...

(CO₂) from the lake's bottom (compare

Lake Nyos Lake Nyos ( ) is a crater lake in the Northwest Region of Cameroon, located about northwest of Yaoundé, the capital. Nyos is a deep lake high on the flank of an inactive volcano in the Oku volcanic plain along the Cameroon line of volcan ...

). This species can reach a length of TL.

Description

The konye is a small species of cichlid growing to a length of about . It is somewhat laterally compressed and has a horizontal mouth and sloping forehead. The fins are colourless. the dorsal fin has 15 to 16 spines and 10 to 11 soft rays; the anal fin has 3 spines and 8 to 9 soft rays. The colouring of this fish is distinctive, with a pale background shade and a row of dark blotches running down the back, and another row along each flank. The head is mostly bare of scales, the cheeks have a few scales and the body is fully scaled.

Ecology

The konye is a

benthopelagic The demersal zone is the part of the sea or ocean (or deep lake) consisting of the part of the water column near to (and significantly affected by) the seabed and the benthos. The demersal zone is just above the benthic zone and forms a layer of ...

species living in the warm upper waters of the lake where the temperature is around . It feeds on pieces of plant, scraping algae off rocks and stones, and also on

mayflies Mayflies (also known as shadflies or fishflies in Canada and the upper Midwestern United States, as Canadian soldiers in the American Great Lakes region, and as up-winged flies in the United Kingdom) are aquatic insects belonging to the order ...

, small invertebrates and fish eggs and sometimes steals food collected by

freshwater crab Around 1,300 species of freshwater crabs are distributed throughout the tropics and subtropics, divided among eight family (biology), families. They show direct development and maternal care of a small number of offspring, in contrast to marine c ...

s. This fish is a

mouthbrooder Mouthbrooding, also known as oral incubation and buccal incubation, is the care given by some groups of animals to their offspring by holding them in the mouth of the parent for extended periods of time. Although mouthbrooding is performed by a va ...

. Either of the parents take the fertilised eggs into their mouth, and retain them there for protection. While mouthbrooding, the fish tends to remain quietly near the lakebed, and females tend to be more successful at raising the young than males. The incubation period is 7 to 10 days, the fry usually being expelled to live independently after about three weeks.

Status

The konye is known from a single body of water,

, in Cameroon. The area around the lake is increasingly being deforested and used for

slash-and-burn Slash-and-burn agriculture is a form of shifting cultivation that involves the cutting and burning of plants in a forest or woodland to create a Field (agriculture), field called a swidden. The method begins by cutting down the trees and woody p ...

agriculture and

palm oil Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the mesocarp (reddish pulp) of the fruit of oil palms. The oil is used in food manufacturing, in beauty products, and as biofuel. Palm oil accounted for about 36% of global oils produced from o ...

plantations. This has encouraged sedimentation in the lake and pollution. Being more exposed to winds than previously, there is a danger that the waters of the lake may "turn over", with deep, cold, oxygen-poor water replacing the warm, nutrient-rich and well-oxygenated surface layers. Another possible hazard that the fish may face in this crater lake is

outgassing Outgassing (sometimes called offgassing, particularly when in reference to indoor air quality) is the release of a gas that was dissolved, trapped, frozen, or absorbed in some material. Outgassing can include sublimation and evaporation (whic ...

, the emission of "burps" of CO₂ formerly held in solution. An episode of this sort is thought to have occurred in 2007, when many deep water fish were found floating on the surface of the lake. As a result of these threats, the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the stat ...

has assessed the conservation status of this fish as "

Specific name

The

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

honours

Martin Eisentraut Martin may refer to: Places Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Europe * Martin, Croatia, a village * Martin, Slovakia, a city * Martín del Río, Aragón, Spain * Mart� ...

(1902-1994), a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

zoologist Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the structure, embryology, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct, and how they interact with their ecosystems. Zoology is one ...

, who was leader of the expedition which collected the

type Type may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc. * Data type, collection of values used for computations. * File type * TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file. * ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q304683 Konia (fish) Cichlid fish of Africa Freshwater fish of Cameroon Endemic fauna of Cameroon Fish of Lake Barombi Mbo Fish described in 1962 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot