Above: Melanochromis baliodigma (one of two closely similar species that were formerly known as Melanochromis "blotch"), from Makanjila on the southeastern shore of Lake Malawi. According to Bowers & Stauffer (1997), this opportunistic feeder can be distinguished from its close relative, M. xanthodigma, by having two to four yellow ocellae on the anal fin, instead of five to seven. Both species have two horizontal stripes and seven to nine brown vertical bars; the bars tend to be narrower in M. baliodigma. From Plate 9g of Ribbink et al., 1983; reproduced by permission of the Zoological Society of Southern Africa.
Below: The holotype of Melanochromis baliodigma
(Penn State University, PSU 2653.1), an adult male 61.9 mm SL from
Membe Island (off southern tip of Chisumulu Island); scale bar = 10 mm.
Illustration by M. Katz, from fig. 10 of
Bowers & Stauffer (1997);
used with the kind permission of N. 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 |