C. obliquidens, which is rarely exported for the
aquarium trade, has attractive subtle coloration but is not one of the more colorful mbuna.
Its color pattern of narrow, faint vertical bars and two thin horizontal stripes closely
resembles that of the nonendemic haplochromine
Astatotilapia calliptera as well as the hypothesized primitive
color pattern of the endemic "hap" flock (as seen in, e.g.,
Protomelas virgatus). C. obliquidens may be a
plesiomorphic (phylogenetically primitive) species close to the primitive mbuna. It is widely
distributed around the shores of the lake.
At left: Cyathochromis obliquidens, photographed underwater on rocky shore at Monkey Bay, Malawi.
This species occurs principally on intermediate sandy/rocky shores in shallow water
(to about 5 m or 16 feet). It feeds on loose algae (Aufwuchs) and associated small
organisms, brushed both from rocks and from the leaves of Vallisneria and
Potamogeton plants, which grow on sand.
"Males are aggressively territorial chasing conspecifics and other Mbuna species
with which it shares the intermediate habitat, but other cichlids are attacked less often.
Spawning sites are excavated either among the V. aethiopica or beneath rocks.
In dense V. aethiopica beds some plants may be uprooted to accommodate the spawning
site. Females, juveniles and non-territorial males occur singly or in small groups."
Below: A C. obliquidens specimen (102 mm SL) also from Monkey Bay;
(at right in drawing): left premaxilla (lateral view) and anterior outer row tooth of
C. obliquidens (drawings by Elizabeth M. Tarr). Notice the slender outer jaw teeth,
which lean obliquely toward the middle of the jaw (hence the specific name obliquidens).
Small photo from Plate 11i and drawing from Fig. 20 of
Ribbink et al. (1983);
reproduced by permission of the
Zoological Society of Southern Africa.
Above: A breeding male Cyathochromis obliquidens, collected 7 August 1980
by M. K. Oliver, T. D. Kocher, and K. R. McKaye; photo copyright © by M. K. Oliver.
On this occasion, using SCUBA, we chased this and
other fishes into a gill net with ½-inch mesh set in a Potamogeton bed in 3-4.5 m
(10-15 feet) depth on the sandy beach at Cape Maclear, Nankumba Peninsula, southern Lake
Malawi. At right: Enlargement of anal fin, showing the prominent yellow egg-dummies;
more about the eggspots of Lake Malawi cichlids can be found here.
Photo copyright © by M. K. Oliver.
At left:
Cyathochromis obliquidens, photographed underwater on rocky shore at Monkey Bay, Malawi.
This species occurs principally on intermediate sandy/rocky shores in shallow water
(to about 5 m or 16 feet). It feeds on loose algae (Aufwuchs) and associated small
organisms, brushed both from rocks and from the leaves of Vallisneria and
Potamogeton plants, which grow on sand.
