Description

Dorsal spines (total): 14 - 16; Dorsal soft rays (total): 9 - 10; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 8 - 10; Vertebrae: 28 - 30. Diagnosis: A species of Astatotilapia with a relatively slender body, its depth 32-37% of standard length; snout pointed; mouth large, oblique, lower jaw 37-45% of head length; caudal fin well rounded, slender, maximum width when extended 75-80% of its length; caudal peduncle longer than deep, its length/depth 1.10-1.44; chest scales relatively small, 12-14 in mid-ventral line between the row's origin on the isthmus and its termination between pelvic fins; colouration of breeding males distinctive with a well-marked series of maroon red spots along flanks, in parallel rows along scale rows except rows on and above upper lateral line (Ref. 49182).

Common Names

Taxonomic Hierarchy

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Teleostei

Order: Cichliformes

Family: Cichlidae

Genus: Astatotilapia

Species: Astatotilapia tweddlei Jackson, 1985

Climate Zone

Location

Biology

Inhabits swampy lakes and slow streams (Ref. 4967). The maximum length of 110 cm given by Eccles (1992) [Ref. 4967] is apparently a mistake, maybe for 11.0 cm.

Habitat

benthopelagic