The holotype of Placidochromis hennydaviesae, a fish of unreported
sex but apparently male (65.7 mm SL; USNM 210698), trawled off
Monkey Bay, Malawi in 43 fathoms. Photo by Dr. Herbert R. Axelrod, from
Fig. 5 of Burgess & Axelrod (1973);
reproduced with the permission of T.F.H. Publications, Inc.
Initially, this small species was placed in the genus Haplochromis.
The original description (op. cit., p. 91) twice states that this
holotype specimen has sixteen ("XVI") spines in the dorsal fin, but then
says: "The XIV dorsal fin spines of H. hennydaviesae help
to distinguish it from many other species of Haplochromis in which
the normal dorsal fin spine count is XV or more" (p. 92). I have examined
this specimen and can report that it has fourteen dorsal fin spines.
Last Update: 13 November 1999
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