Lamprologus lethops
| Lamprologus lethops | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Cichliformes |
| Family: | Cichlidae |
| Genus: | Lamprologus |
| Species: | L. lethops |
| Binomial name | |
| Lamprologus lethops T. R. Roberts & D. J. Stewart, 1976 | |
Lamprologus lethops is a species of cichlid fish from areas with fast current in the Congo River in Central Africa, where it is believed to live in depths as great as 160 m (520 ft) below the surface.[2] It reaches about 10 cm (4 in) in length with males growing somewhat larger than females, is all whitish in color (non-pigmented), and essentially blind as adult, as their eyes are covered in a thick layer of skin (only retain a slight sensibility to light).[3][4] The eyes of juveniles are rudimentary and not covered by skin.[4]
Living L. lethops were seen for the first time in 2011 when local fishermen managed to bring up a few specimens alive from the depths. Otherwise they rapidly die due to changes in pressure.[4][5] They have subsequently been kept in aquaria.[5] Based on these individuals its behavior is essentially similar to that of its "normal-looking" relatives, like L. congoensis.[4][5]
Among other fish species with similar adaptations (reduced eyes and non-pigmented) found in similar habitats in the Congo River are an elephantfish (Stomatorhinus microps), a clariid catfish (Gymnallabes nops), a mochokid catfish (Chiloglanis sp.), two claroteid catfish (Notoglanidium pallidum and Platyallabes tihoni), and four spiny eels (Mastacembelus aviceps, M. brichardi, M. crassus and M. latens).[6][7]
References
- ↑ Moelants, T. 2010. Lamprologus lethops. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. www.iucnredlist.org Archived 2014-06-27 at the Wayback Machine.. Downloaded on 22 April 2013.
- ↑ Norlander, Britt (April 20, 2009). Rough waters: one of the world's most turbulent rivers is home to a wide array of fish species. Now, large dams are threatening their future. Archived 2013-10-17 at Archive.is Science World
- ↑ Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2013). "Lamprologus lethops" in FishBase. February 2013 version.
- 1 2 3 4 Lucanus, Oliver (April-March 2014). "Aquatic Travel: Blind fishes from the Congo river". Amazonas Magazine. 3 (2). Check date values in:
|date=(help) - 1 2 3 Lucanus, Oliver (2013). "First Notes on the Husbandry of the Blind Cichlid Lamprologus lethops from the Congo River". Cichlid News. 22 (1): 6–11.
- ↑ Lucanus, Oliver (17 May 2012). "The Mexican Blind Cave Fish Isn't the Only Troglodytic Fish Available to Fishkeepers". Fish Channel. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016.
- ↑ Elizabeth Alter, S.; Brown, B.; Stiassny, M.L.J. (2015). "Molecular phylogenetics reveals convergent evolution in lower Congo River spiny eels". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 15 (1). doi:10.1186/s12862-015-0507-x.