Zambezi bream

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Zambezi bream

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Cichliformes
Family: Cichlidae
Genus: Pharyngochromis
Species:
P. acuticeps
Binomial name
Pharyngochromis acuticeps
Synonyms[2]
  • Chromis acuticeps Steindachner, 1866
  • Haplochromis acuticeps (Steindachner, 1866)
  • Tilapia acuticeps (Steindachner, 1866)
  • Chromis jallae Boulenger, 1896
  • Haplochromis jallae (Boulenger, 1896)
  • Tilapia jallae (Boulenger, 1896)

Zambezi bream (Pharyngochromis acuticeps), also known as dwarf bream, is a species of haplochromine cichlid which is found in river systems in southern Africa.

Description

The Zambezi bream is a medium-sized species of haplochromine which has a large head with a rounded snout and an slightly, upward pointing mouth. It has a slender body with a relatively straight outline, a long

iridescent green towards the belly. The scales have red in their centres and there are red dots on the parts of the dorsal and anal fins supported by rays, while the tail has brown spots and there are orange egg imitating spots on the anal fin.[3]
They grow to a total length of 12 centimetres (4.7 in).[2]

Distribution

The Zambezi bream is found in the upper and middle catchments of the

Chobe River, Okavango River and Cunene River in Botswana, Namibia and Angola.[3] A population in the Mwekera, a tributary of the Kafue River may represent a separate species.[1] Although some sources state that it is absent in the Cunene.[4]

Habitat and biology

The Zambezi bream is found in the margins of river channels and tributaries where there is a slower current as well as in lagoons and floodplains dominated by sawgrass, wherever there is an abundance of aquatic plants or tangles of tree roots. They are predators which feed on molluscs especially snails and freshwater mussels, as well as freshwater crustaceans and insect larvae and the eggs and fry of other fishes. It is preyed on by cormorants and

long-tailed cormorant, African darter and grey heron.[5]

References

  1. ^
    doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2007.RLTS.T63342A12660347.en
    . Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  2. ^ a b Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2018). "Pharyngochromis acuticeps" in FishBase. October 2018 version.
  3. ^
    ISBN 978-1775845065
    .
  4. ^ Tor F. Næsje; Clinton J. Hay; Nande Nickanor; Johan H. Koekemoer; Rita Strand & Eva B. Thorstad. "Fish populations, gill net catches and gill net selectivity in the Kwando River, Namibia" (PDF). NINA Project Report no. 27. Norwegian Institute for Nature Research Tungasletta 2 NO-7485 Trondheim Norway. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
  5. S2CID 15653523
    .
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