Classification / Names
Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa
Teleostei (teleosts) >
Cichliformes (Cichlids, convict blennies) >
Cichlidae (Cichlids) > Pseudocrenilabrinae
Etymology: Petrotilapia: Latin,petra = stone + Bechuana, African native thiape = fish (Ref. 45335); xanthos: The name xanthos, from the Greek, meaning yellow referring to the yellow breeding color of males; a noun in apposition (Ref. 87181).
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Freshwater; pelagic. Tropical; 10°S - 11°S, 34°E - 35°E
Africa: Gallireya Reef in Lake Malawi, Malawi (Ref. 87181).
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 13.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 87181)
Short description
Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
Dorsal spines (total): 17 - 19; Dorsal soft rays (total): 6 - 10; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 7 - 9. Diagnosis: The absence of a dark submarginal band in the dorsal fin distinguishes Petrotilapia xanthos from P. microgalana, P. genalutea, P. nigra, P. chrysos, P. mumboensis, and P. pyroscelos which have such a band (Ref. 87181). Adult males of P. xanthos are yellow, which distinguishes them from P. tridentiger, which are light blue with dark blue bars; they are also distinct from those of P. flaviventris, and P. palingnathos; males of P. flaviventris are yellow on ventral and mid flank with scales outlined in blue; the dorsal one-third is blue to gray with yellow and orange highlights; cheeks and throat yellow to orange; adult male, and female, P. palingnathos have distinctly retrognathous jaws and can thus be distinguished from those of P. xanthos (Ref. 87181). Females of P. xanthos are light brown, which distinguishes them from those of P. tridentiger, which are brown, from P. chrysos and P. microgalana, which are golden yellow, from those of P. flaviventris, which are yellow brown with interrupted black stripes and fading to dark brown dorsally; the melanin pattern in females of P. xanthos have both horizontal and vertical elements, which distinguishes them from those of P. chrysos, which lack a distinct melanin pattern and are completely yellow, and from P. microgalana and P. flaviventris, which have no vertical elements in their melanin pattern (Ref. 87181).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Lundeba, M., J.R. Stauffer Jr. and A. F. Konings, 2011. Five new species of the genus Petrotilapia (Teleostei: Cichlidae), from Lake Malawi, Africa. Ichthyol. Explor. Freshwat. 22(2):149-168. (Ref. 87181)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-2)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
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Internet sources
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 ±0.4 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).
