''Tropheus'' is a small

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of at least six

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

cichlids Cichlids () are a large, diverse, and widespread family of Percomorpha, percomorph fish in the family (biology), family Cichlidae, order Cichliformes. At least 1,760 species have been Binomial nomenclature, scientifically described, making ...

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 Tanganyika Lake Tanganyika ( ; ) is an African Great Lakes, African Great Lake. It is the world's List of lakes by volume, second-largest freshwater lake by volume and the List of lakes by depth, second deepest, in both cases after Lake Baikal in Siberia. ...

East Africa East Africa, also known as Eastern Africa or the East of Africa, is a region at the eastern edge of the Africa, African continent, distinguished by its unique geographical, historical, and cultural landscape. Defined in varying scopes, the regi ...

. The genus is widespread across all regions of Lake Tanganyika, from Burundi in the north to Zambia in the south. Males and females are relatively similar in color, with only subtle

sexual dimorphism Sexual dimorphism is the condition where sexes of the same species exhibit different Morphology (biology), morphological characteristics, including characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most dioecy, di ...

in the form of the male's larger size. All species are maternal

mouthbrooders 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 ...

, with the females caring for their eggs and fry in their mouths; this characteristic provides their generic name, ''Tropheus'', which comes from the Greek ''

trophos Trophos was a biopharmaceutical company specialising in the discovery and development of novel therapeutics to treat both orphan neurodegenerative diseases and more prevalent disorders. Trophos was founded in 1999 in Marseille by three scientist ...

'', which means "to nurse" or, according to Boulenger, "one who rears, brings up, educates". The genus is fished lightly by the local population, but has never become a staple food fish due to its relatively small size and its habitat, which enables it to dart between rocks when threatened. Most species occur along the coastal fringes of the lake at depths less than 3 m. These rocky shores, with numerous rocky outcroppings and boulder formations, form a habitat similar to many of the

mbuna Mbuna (pronounced Mmm-boo-nah ) is the common name for a large group of African cichlids from Lake Malawi, and are members of the haplochromine tribe within the family Cichlidae. The name ''mbuna'' means "rockfish" in the language of the Tonga pe ...

cichlids of Lake Malawi. This habitat provides shelter, and due to the shallow depth and the long hours of strong sunlight, heavy algal growth on which they feed. The only ''Tropheus'' species to dwell further out and deeper in the lake is ''Tropheus duboisi'', which in general inhabits deeper regions of the lake down to around 15–20 m. All species are algal grazers and have underslung mouths adapted to rasping

algae Algae ( , ; : alga ) is an informal term for any organisms of a large and diverse group of photosynthesis, photosynthetic organisms that are not plants, and includes species from multiple distinct clades. Such organisms range from unicellular ...

and

microinvertebrate Invertebrates are animals that neither develop nor retain a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''spine'' or ''backbone''), which evolved from the notochord. It is a paraphyletic grouping including all animals excluding the chordata, chordate s ...

s from submerged rocks. The genus is relatively popular with aquarium hobbyists due to the beautiful markings and interesting behavior. ''Tropheus moorii'' in particular has become something of a cult fish within the hobby, in spite of the difficulties involved in keeping species of this genus in captivity.

Species

Six recognized species are in this genus: * '' Tropheus annectens'' Boulenger, 1900 * '' Tropheus brichardi'' Nelissen & Thys van den Audenaerde, 1975 * ''

Tropheus duboisi ''Tropheus duboisi'', the white spotted cichlid, is a species of cichlid endemic to Lake Tanganyika. It can reach a length of . Distribution and habitat The species is found only in Lake Tanganyika, restricted to rocky substrates (rubble or slab ...

'' Marlier, 1959 (white spotted cichlid) * '' Tropheus kasabae'' Nelissen, 1977 * ''

Tropheus moorii ''Tropheus moorii'' (blunthead cichlid) is a species of cichlid endemic to Lake Tanganyika in Africa. Over 40 different color morphs of this species are dispersed throughout the lake, ranging from dark green to flame red and yellow. They mostly ...

'' Boulenger, 1898 (blunthead cichlid) * '' Tropheus polli'' G. S. Axelrod, 1977

References

{{Authority control Tropheini Cichlid genera Taxa named by George Albert Boulenger