Classification / Names
Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa
Teleostei (teleosts) >
Cichliformes (Cichlids, convict blennies) >
Cichlidae (Cichlids) > Ptychochrominae
Etymology: Ptychochromis: Greek, ptyx, = fold + Greek, chromis = a fish, perhaps a perch (Ref. 45335); mainty: Named after the Malagasy word for black, mainty, referring to the species’ uniform dark pigmentation pattern in preservation and large black midlateral blotch in life (Ref. 105395).
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Freshwater; benthopelagic. Tropical
Afrika: Fort Dauphin region in southeastern Madagascar (Ref. 105395).
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 14.9 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 105395)
Short description
Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
Dorsal spines (total): 13; Dorsal soft rays (total): 11 - 13; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 8 - 9; Vertebrae: 27. Diagnosis: A Ptychochromis with palatine morphology typical of species on Madagascar’s east coast (Ref. 105395). It is distinguished from all congeners by uniform dark brownish to black colouration in preservation and in life by expansive, continuous (or nearly so), longitudinal black blotch on midlateral flank extending from posterior margin of opercle to caudal peduncle versus absent in P. inornatus, P. onilahy, P. curvidens, P. loisellei, P. insolitus, or comprising multiple distinct midlateral blotches or bars in P. ernestmagnusi, P. makira, P. grandidieri, and P. oligacanthus (Ref. 105395). Ptychochromis mainty displays little or no overlap of anterior supraneural relative to supraoccipital crest, versus marked overlap in some eastern congeners like P. makira and P. ernestmagnusi; in comparison to P. grandidieri, body depth as a percentage of standard length in P. mainty considerably less for similarly sized individuals and slope of head in profile less steep; further distinguished from P. grandidieri by fewer and more sparsely arranged teeth on second pharyngobranchial toothplate of upper pharyngeal jaw, vs. numerous, densely arranged teeth (Ref. 105395).
Diet is largely unknown, but stomach contains gastropod shells (Ref. 105395).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Martinez, C.M., J. Arroyave and J.S. Sparks, 2015. A new species of Ptychochromis from southeastern Madagascar (Teleostei: Cichlidae). Zootaxa 4044(1):79-92. (Ref. 105395)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
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Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5010 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01000 (0.00244 - 0.04107), b=3.04 (2.81 - 3.27), in cm total length, based on all LWR estimates for this body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.4 ±0.5 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Resilience (Ref.
120179): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (10 of 100).
