Gallery of Cynotilapia

Here are several underwater photographs of various color forms, populations, and possibly still-unnamed species of Cynotilapia. Some of these forms surely represent populations of Cynotilapia afra, while others may eventually be described and named as separate species if further field observations of their behavior and ecology corroborate their distinctness. Notice the overall similarity of several of these forms to Maylandia zebra (which, however, has bicuspid outer jaw teeth, in contrast to the unicuspid teeth in species of Cynotilapia).

All photos below are from the plates in Ribbink et al., 1983. They are reproduced by permission of the Zoological Society of Southern Africa. The locality where the photo was taken and the plate number in Ribbink et al. are identified under each photo. Ribbink et al. coined the names used here, some of them in slightly different form.

Cynotilapia sp. "chinyankwazi," Chinyankwazi Island, Plate 10h	C. sp. "black dorsal," Maleri Island, Plate 10i
Cynotilapia sp. "yellow dorsal," Likoma Island, Plate 10j	C. afra (with white dorsal fin) feeding on plankton, Mbenji I., Plate 11a
Cynotilapia sp. "mbamba" feeding on plankton, Likoma I., Plate 11b	C. sp. "mbamba," Chitande, Plate 11c
Cynotilapia sp. "lion," Lion's Cove, Plate 11d

 

 

 

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