Above: Melanochromis dialeptos (formerly known as Melanochromis "dwarf auratus" or M. "auratus Masinje form"), photographed underwater at Masinje Rocks, north of Makanjila, Malawi, to which vicinity it is endemic. This female clearly shows the distinguishing features of M. dialeptos: the black markings in the caudal fin are found throughout the fin, the black stripes on the body are narrow and rough-edged, and the snout profile is rounded as in Melanochromis auratus, not pointed as in M. simulans. From Plate 9f of Ribbink et al., 1983; reproduced by permission of the Zoological Society of Southern Africa.

Below: The holotype of Melanochromis dialeptos (Pennsylvania State University, PSU 2649.1), an adult male 72.0 mm SL from Masinje, Malawi (north of Makanjila Point); scale bar = 10 mm. Illustration by M. Katz, from fig. 2 of Bowers & Stauffer (1997); used with the kind permission of Dr. Nancy Bowers.
 

Last Update: 1 June 2008 Web Author: M. K. Oliver, Ph.D. Copyright © 1997-2021 by M. K. Oliver, Ph.D. - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED