''Copadichromis borleyi'' is a species of

haplochromine __NOTOC__ The haplochromine cichlids are a tribe of cichlids in subfamily Pseudocrenilabrinae called Haplochromini. This group includes the type genus ('' Haplochromis'') plus a number of closely related genera such as ''Aulonocara'', ''Astatoti ...

cichlid Cichlids are fish from the family Cichlidae in the order Cichliformes. Cichlids were traditionally classed in a suborder, the Labroidei, along with the wrasses ( Labridae), in the order Perciformes, but molecular studies have contradicted th ...

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found 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 found els ...

Lake Malawi Lake Malawi, also known as Lake Nyasa in Tanzania and Lago Niassa in Mozambique, is an African Great Lake and the southernmost lake in the East African Rift system, located between Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania. It is the fifth largest fres ...

East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the histori ...

. The species is popular in the

fishkeeping Fishkeeping is a popular hobby, practiced by aquarists, concerned with keeping fish in a home aquarium or garden pond. There is also a piscicultural fishkeeping industry, serving as a branch of agriculture. Origins of fishkeeping Fish ha ...

hobby where it is frequently kept in

aquariums An aquarium (plural: ''aquariums'' or ''aquaria'') is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. fishkeeping, Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amp ...

.Staeck W, Linke H (1996) African Cichlids II: Cichlids from East Africa. A handbook for their identification, care and breeding. Tetra Press. Konings A (1997) ''Back to nature guide to Laek Malawi cichlids'' Druckhaus Beltz, Germany. The species has numerous common names, including redfin hap and goldfin hap.

Description

''C. borleyi'' is a relatively small

, males grow to 13-16 centimetres (5–6 in) total length, while females are typically slightly smaller reaching 13 centimetres.Konings A (2001) ''Malaŵi cichlids in their natural habitat'' 3rd Edn. Cichlid Press. USA. In addition to these minor difference in size, the species displays marked

sexual dimorphism Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most an ...

with males displaying larger

ventral fin Pelvic fins or ventral fins are paired fins located on the ventral surface of fish. The paired pelvic fins are homologous Homology may refer to: Sciences Biology *Homology (biology), any characteristic of biological organisms that is der ...

s marked with egg spots, light-blue edging to the

dorsal Dorsal (from Latin ''dorsum'' ‘back’) may refer to: * Dorsal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location referring to the back or upper side of an organism or parts of an organism * Dorsal, positioned on top of an aircraft's fuselage * Dorsal co ...

and ventral fins, along with metallic blue colouration of the

head A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple animals may no ...

, and yellow to red flanks. In contrast, females are silver-to-brown and display three black spots along their sides. Juveniles are

monomorphic Monomorphic or Monomorphism may refer to: *Monomorphism, an injective homomorphism in mathematics * Monomorphic QRS complex, a wave pattern seen on an electrocardiogram * Monomorphic, a linguistic term meaning "consisting of only one morpheme" *Mo ...

and are coloured like the adult females. Some intraspecific variation has been recorded with regard to colouration, these differently coloured forms are geographically restricted to certain localities in Lake Malawi.

Distribution and habitat

''C. borleyi'' is widespread in Lake Malawi, occurring along the coasts of

Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northe ...

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Mala ...

and

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

. The species is limited to

littoral zone The littoral zone or nearshore is the part of a sea, lake, or river that is close to the shore. In coastal ecology, the littoral zone includes the intertidal zone extending from the high water mark (which is rarely inundated), to coastal ...

s with large rocks and boulders. The water in which species is found is warm (24 – 29 °C,75 – 84 °F), hard and

alkaline In chemistry, an alkali (; from ar, القلوي, al-qaly, lit=ashes of the saltwort) is a basic, ionic salt of an alkali metal or an alkaline earth metal. An alkali can also be defined as a base that dissolves in water. A solution of a ...

; typical of the water chemistry of Lake Malawi.

Diet

The species feeds primarily on

zooplankton Zooplankton are the animal component of the planktonic community ("zoo" comes from the Greek word for ''animal''). Plankton are aquatic organisms that are unable to swim effectively against currents, and consequently drift or are carried along by ...

, by means of specialized, suction feeding action and highly protrudable mouth.Fryer, G, Iles TD (1972) ''The cichlid fishes of the Great Lakes of Africa''. Oliver & Boyd, Edinburgh; TFH Publications, New Jersey

Taxonomy

The species was described in 1960 by

Thomas Derrick Iles Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the Ap ...

as ''Haplochromis borleyi'', and was later moved to ''

Copadichromis ''Copadichromis'' is a genus of haplochromine cichlids endemic to Lake Malawi in Eastern Africa. ''Copadichromis'' are part of a group known as utaka and are popular with aquarists, as this genus is relatively peaceful in captivity compared to t ...

'' by David Eccles and

Ethylwynn Trewavas Ethelwynn Trewavas (5 November 1900 – 16 August 1993) was an ichthyologist at the British Museum of Natural History. She was known for her work on the families Cichlidae and Sciaenidae. She worked with Charles Tate Regan, another ichthyo ...

. The species is also known under the synonym ''Cyrtocara borleyi'', and is occasionally sold under the trade name of ''Haplochromis granderus''. The specific name honours H. John H. Borley who was Director of the Game Fish & Tsetse Control Department of

Nyasaland Nyasaland () was a British protectorate located in Africa that was established in 1907 when the former British Central Africa Protectorate changed its name. Between 1953 and 1963, Nyasaland was part of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasal ...

Reproduction

''C. borleyi'' is a

polygamous Crimes Polygamy (from Late Greek (') "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, sociologists call this polygyny. When a woman is married ...

, maternally

mouthbrooding 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 ...

cichlid. Males frequently claim areas adjacent to, or on top of, large, submerged boulders and spawn on the horizontal upper surface of the boulder. Some geographic variants are known to build sand bowers atop large rocks in which spawning and courting takes place. The species has no defined breeding season and breeding occurs year-round.

References