Description

Vertebrae: 29 - 31. Diagnosis: Haplochromis sphex is a small sized (less than 9 cm standard length), slender (body depth less than 32% of standard length) micrognathic species, with mainly bicuspid teeth in the oral jaws; dorsal head profile straight to moderately curved (Ref. 85523). The colouration of the sexually active males is yellow with blackish longitudinal, interrupted bands and vertical bars, producing a so-called 'chess board pattern'; this pattern also occurs in several oral shelling molluscivores, insectivores and algae scrapers, but these species generally are larger, have a deeper body, have a strongly curved dorsal head profile and a lower jaw length/width ratio of less than 1.5, whereas in Haplochromis sphex it ranges from 1.5 to 2.7 (Ref. 85523). It differs from other small species with a 'chess board pattern', H. bwathondii and H. sauvagei, by its shallower body; sexually active males of H. sauvagei generally have a more distinct 'chess board pattern' than H. sphex; in contrast to H. sphex, sexually active males of both H. bwathondii and H. sauvagei develop a red chest and belly; the colouration of females and quiescent males of H. sauvagei is rather similar to that of sexually active males of H. sphex (Ref. 85523).

Common Names

No common names available.

Taxonomic Hierarchy

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Teleostei

Order: Cichliformes

Family: Cichlidae

Genus: Haplochromis

Species: Haplochromis sphex ter Huurne & Witte, 2010

Climate Zone

Location

Biology

Found in waters up to a depth of 10 m both over sand and mud (Ref. 85523). It fed mainly on phytoplankton (Cyanophyta and Aulacoseira) and occasionally on copepods (Ref. 85523). This species is a female mouth brooder (Ref. 85523).

Habitat

benthopelagic