Lethrinops 'oliveri'
Text & photo by Guest Author: Prof. George F. Turner, Bangor University, UK

This is an undescribed Lethrinops species. It gets to about 15 cm (6 inches) total length and is a common cichlid species at depths of 65-130m (approx. 210-425 feet) or more in the SE Arm of Lake Malawi, between Monkey Bay and Boadzulu Island. It has fewer lower gillrakers (17-21), a smaller head and a less prominent mental (chin) process than L. microdon, but more gillrakers than other similar species, excepting L. stridei, which has a deeper body and more vertical bars.

In the 1980s and early 1990s, this was an important species in the commercial trawl catch, in which it had largely replaced the bigger species, such as Lethrinops microdon, which could not stand the heavy fishing pressure in that area. I am not sure who came up with the nickname, but when I worked at Monkey Bay in the early 1990s, this species had long been known as 'oliveri' after Mike Oliver — none other than the webmaster of this site. The photo shown here is of a mature male, but not showing the brightest breeding dress.

	Suggested citation of this page: Turner, G.F. (2002) Lethrinops 'oliveri'. http://malawicichlids.com/mw08115.htm. In: "The Cichlid Fishes of Lake Malawi, Africa" (M.K. Oliver, webmaster), http://malawicichlids.com. Accessed [date].
	Last updated: 24 May 2008 Page first posted: 1 December 2002 Web Author: M. K. Oliver, Ph.D. Copyright © 1997-2021 by M. K. Oliver, Ph.D. - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED