Description

Dorsal spines (total): 17; Dorsal soft rays (total): 11 - 12; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 9 - 10. Diagnosis: A medium-sized laterally spotted haplochromine separable from all previously described species of Otopharynx both by its unique melanin pattern and by its distinctive lower pharyngeal bone (Ref. 119408). The suprapectoral spot is rectangular, 2-2.5 scales high, longitudinally elongate, covering 7-8 consecutive scales starting with the seventh scale of the upper lateral line, extending vertically from just above the lateral midline to slightly above the upper lateral line; the supraanal and precaudal spots are conjoined, forming a continuous stripe, paler at its midlength in some specimens, from the level of the anal-fin origin to the base of the caudal fin; the lower pharyngeal bone is broadly triangular, somewhat heart-shaped, with numerous uniformly small, laterally compressed, crowded, bicuspid teeth (Ref. 119408).

Common Names

No common names available.

Taxonomic Hierarchy

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Teleostei

Order: Cichliformes

Family: Cichlidae

Genus: Otopharynx

Species: Otopharynx alpha Oliver, 2018

Climate Zone

Location

Biology

Life cycle and mating behavior

Habitat

benthopelagic