''Protomelas kirkii'' is a species of

cichlid 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 ...

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

, where it is most commonly found in areas vegetated with ''

Vallisneria ''Vallisneria'' (named in honor of Antonio Vallisneri) is a genus of freshwater aquatic plant, commonly called eelgrass, tape grass or vallis. The genus is widely distributed in tropical and subtropical regions of Asia, Africa, Australia, Europe ...

''. This species can reach a length of TL. It can also be found in the

aquarium trade Fishkeeping is a popular hobby, practiced by aquarists, concerned with keeping fish in a home aquarium or garden pond. It is a practice that encompasses the art of maintaining one's own aquatic ecosystem, featuring a lot of variety with various ...

Description

This cichlid fish is relatively deep-bodied, with a small mouth and a yellow-brown colour with an obvious horizontal flank stripe. It often lives together with the similar-looking '' Protomelas similis'' and '' P. labridens''. ''Protomelas kirkii'' can be distinguished by its longer snout and small terminal (forward-facing) mouth. Females and immatures are countershaded, yellowish-brown on the upper surface, and paler on the flanks and underside. There is a strong dark horizontal stripe along the midline, and sometimes a thinner dark band about half-way between the midline band and the base of the

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates. Dorsal fins have evolved independently several times through convergent evolution adapting to marine environments, so the fins are not all homologous. They are found ...

. There are often dark blotches along the base of the dorsal fin. Faint dark vertical bars can sometimes be seen on the flanks. The tip of the dorsal fin is edged in red. Mature males, which are generally much larger than adult females, are bright metallic blue-green with numerous orange-red spots on the dorsal and caudal (tail) fins. The anal fin is dark reddish with numerous yellow-white spots and streaks. The male also has reddish edges on many of the scales behind 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 ani ...

Systematics

The species was described as ''Chromis kirkii'' in 1894 by

Albert Günther Albert Karl Ludwig Gotthilf Günther , also Albert Charles Lewis Gotthilf Günther (3October 18301February 1914), was a German-born British zoologist, ichthyologist, and herpetologist. Günther is ranked the second-most productive reptile tax ...

at the

Natural History Museum A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history scientific collection, collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, Fungus, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleo ...

in London, from specimens sent by Sir

Harry Johnston Sir Harry Hamilton Johnston (12 June 1858 – 31 July 1927) was a British explorer, botanist, artist, colonial administrator, and linguist who travelled widely across Africa to speak some of the languages spoken by people on that continent. ...

, then colonial governor of

British Central Africa The British Central Africa Protectorate (BCA) was a British protectorate proclaimed in 1889 and ratified in 1891 that occupied the same area as present-day Malawi: it was renamed Nyasaland in 1907. British interest in the area arose from visits ...

. The reason for the species name is not given, but Günther mentions receiving a previous set of zoological specimens from Sir John Kirk, who accompanied

David Livingstone David Livingstone (; 19 March 1813 – 1 May 1873) was a Scottish physician, Congregationalist, pioneer Christian missionary with the London Missionary Society, and an explorer in Africa. Livingstone was married to Mary Moffat Livings ...

on some of his explorations of the area, so 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 ...

was a dedication to Kirk. The genus ''Chromis'' is now used for marine fishes of the family

Pomacentridae Pomacentridae is a family of ray-finned fish, comprising the damselfishes and clownfishes. This family were formerly placed in the order Perciformes or as indeterminate percomorphs, but are now considered basal blenniiforms. They are primaril ...

, and ''C. kirkii'' was moved around various genera, most notably residing in the genus ''

Haplochromis ''Haplochromis'' is a ray-finned fish genus in the family Cichlidae. It has been used as the default " wastebin taxon" for Pseudocrenilabrinae cichlids of the East African Rift, and as such became the "largest" fish "genus". Many of these cichl ...

'' from the 1920s to 1980s. In 1989, David Eccles and

Ethelwynn 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 ichthy ...

designated ''C. kirkii'' as the type species for their new genus ''

Protomelas ''Protomelas'' is a genus of haplochromine cichlids endemism, endemic to Lake Malawi in East Africa. The genus is part of the haplochromine tribe (biology), tribe and have maternal mouthbrooding and sexual dimorphism typical of this group. Popula ...

'', which then contained some 14 endemic Lake Malawi cichlid fish species united by a shared body pattern (in females and immatures) comprising both horizontal and vertical dark markings. It has been informally proposed that the genus ''

Eclectochromis ''Eclectochromis'' is a small genus of haplochromine cichlids endemic to Lake Malawi Lake Malawi, also known as Lake Nyasa in Tanzania and Lago Niassa in Mozambique, () is an African Great Lakes, African Great Lake and the southernmost lake ...

'' should be combined with ''Protomelas''.

Distribution

The species is endemic to Lake Malawi and its catchment. It is found throughout the lake in suitable habitats, and penetrates into rivers, being found downstream in the

Shire River The Shire is the largest river in Malawi. It is the only outlet of Lake Malawi and flows into the Zambezi River in Mozambique. Its length is . The upper Shire River issues from Lake Malawi and runs approximately before it enters shallow Lake Malo ...

as far as the Kapachira Falls and in

Lake Malombe Lake Malombe is a lake in southern part of Malawi. It is located on the Shire River, in the Southern Region around , about south of much larger Lake Malawi. It has an area of about . In recent years the number of fishermen on the lake has risen ...

Behaviour & ecology

''Protomelas kirkii'' is confined to shallow, weedy parts of the lake and associated rivers. They are reported to feed on small invertebrates collected from the lake bottom. The species is a typical maternal

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 ...

. Males build a small mound of sediment, often in an area cleared of weeds in shallow water (less than 2m deep). They defend their territories and try to attract females to

spawn Spawn or spawning may refer to: * Spawning, the eggs and sperm of aquatic animals Arts, entertainment and media * Spawn (character), a fictional character in the comic series of the same name and in the associated franchise ** ''Spawn: Armageddon' ...

with them. Females collect the eggs in their mouths and release the free-swimming young after a few weeks.

Exploitation & conservation

The species is caught as a

food fish Many species of fish are caught by humans and consumed as food in virtually all regions around the world. Their meat has been an important dietary source of protein and other nutrients in the human diet. The English language does not have a s ...

using beach seines in shallow waters around the lake. In Malawi, it is generally known as 'Kambuzi', although this term is often applied to other small fishes caught in shallow water. It is also occasionally traded as an aquarium fish. It is said to be robust in captivity, although it requires

alkaline water A water ionizer (also known as an alkaline ionizer) is a home appliance which claims to raise the pH of drinking water by using electrolysis to separate the incoming water stream into acidic and alkaline components. The treated water is called alk ...

(pH 7–8.5). Males are said to be permanently territorial and so no more than one should be kept in a standard home

aquarium An aquarium (: 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, amphibians, aquati ...

.Konings, Ad. (March 05, 2009). "Protomelas kirkii (Günther, 1894)". Cichlid Room Companion. Retrieved on August 27, 2018, from: https://www.cichlidae.com/species.php?id=505 . It is presently rated 'least concern' in the IUCN Red List.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3317256 kirkii Fish of Lake Malawi Fish of Malawi Fish of Mozambique Freshwater fish of Tanzania Fish described in 1894 Taxa named by Albert Günther Taxonomy articles created by Polbot