Haplochromis Falcatus

📖 Overview

Overview information for Haplochromis Falcatus is currently being compiled by our editorial team.

🔬 Taxonomy

🐟 Physical Description

Dorsal spines (total): 14 - 16; Dorsal soft rays (total): 9 - 10; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 8 - 10; Vertebrae: 28 - 30. Diagnosis: Species with a piscivorous morphology; outer oral teeth many, small, and strongly recurved, 39-51; dominant males olive-green with an orange-red anterior part of flank and well-defined mid-lateral and dorsal-lateral bands . Amongst piscivorous species from the Lake Edward system, Haplochromis falcatus differs from all except H. curvidens by strongly recurved vs. straight to weakly recurved outer jaw teeth . It further differs from H. latifrons, H. rex, H. simba and H. aquila by the combination of smaller outer oral teeth and a larger number of outer upper jaw teeth, 39-51 vs. 22-42; further from H. latifrons, H. rex and H. simba by a shallower lacrimal, lacrimal depth 16.1-18.8% of head length vs. 18.7-23.0%; further from H. rex, H. simba and H. aquila by presence vs. absence of well-defined mid-lateral and dorsal-lateral bands; and dominant males uniformly olive-green with an orange-red anterior part of flank vs. cream-coloured with an orange operculum and light blue snout, uniformly yellow with an orange anterior part of flank, or light grey with a black head, respectively . It further differs from H. mentatus and H. glaucus by the combination of a longer pre-dorsal distance, 36.9-41.1% of standard length vs. 33.3-37.0%; a gentler lower jaw side, 15-25° vs. 30-45°; and presence vs. absence of well-defined mid-lateral and dorsal-lateral bands; further from H. mentatus by a longer head, head length 36.6-39.6% of standard length vs. 33.4-37.0%; further from H. glaucus by dominant males olive-green with an orange-red anterior part of flank vs. uniformly light blue . It further differs from H. kimondo by the combination of an oval vs. pyriform body; a straight vs. convex dorsal outline of head; shallower cheeks, cheek depth 23.3-27.4% of head length vs. 27.1-35.2%; narrower jaws, lower jaw width 40.2-45.6% of lower jaw length vs. 44.7-53.3%; and dominant males olive-green with an orange-red anterior part of flank vs. grey dorsally and yellow ventrally . It differs from H. curvidens and further differs from H. pardus by the combination of a deeper cheek, cheek depth 25.1-28.0% of head length vs. 20.8-24.9%; and a longer pre-dorsal distance, 38.2-41.1% of standard length vs. 34.1-37.9%; further from H. curvidens by presence vs. absence of well-defined mid-lateral and dorsal-lateral bands; further from H. pardus by larger adult size, maximum size 137 mm vs. 96 mm standard length; and colour pattern of small specimens less than 100 mm standard length light coloured vs. speckled to uniformly black . It further differs from H. quasimodo and H. squamipinnis by the combination of a longer head, head length 36.6-39.6% of standard length vs. 33.9-37.2%; a shorter pelvic fin, pelvic fin length 21.6-25.7% of standard length vs. 25.2-35.4%; and dominant males olive-green with an orange-red anterior part of flank vs. light grey dorsally and blue-black ventrally or slate blue, respectively; further from H. squamipinnis by absence vs. presence of minute scales on proximal parts of dorsal and anal fin .Decsription: boby shallow and oval . Head very long, narrow, and with a straight dorsal outline; eye small; interorbital area narrow; cheek and lacrimal average in depth . Snout long, acute, and slopes gently at 35-45°; premaxillary pedicel long and strongly prominent; jaws isognathous to slightly prognathous, long, slim, narrow, and rounded in dorsal view; gape large and slopes gently at 20-30°; maxilla extends to vertical through pupil; lower jaw shallow and with a straight ventral outline in lateral view, mental prominence absent, and lower jaw side nearly flat with an inclination of 15-25° to horizontal in anterior view; lower jaw expands slightly laterally halfway its length; upper jaw weakly expanded anteriorly; lips and oral mucosa large . Neurocranium shallow, ethmo-vomerine block decurved, preorbital region very shallow, 18-22% of neurocranium length, orbital region shallow, 28-30% of neurocranium length, and supraoccipital crest average in depth and wedge-shaped . Outer oral teeth numerous, unicuspid, and relatively small; necks stout, conical, and recurved; crowns recurved to strongly recurved, and acutely pointed; dental arcades rounded, and with anterior half expanded laterally; outer teeth closely and regularly set with neck-distances of 1/2-1 neck-width; no enlarged teeth posterior in upper jaw; inner teeth small, strongly recurved, unicuspid, and acutely pointed; tooth bands very slender crescent-shaped with 1-2 rows of inner teeth, and narrow posteriorly until only outer row remains past 2/3 lengths of tooth bands; inner teeth closely and regularly set on 1/2-1 neck-width from outer row in lower jaw, on 1-2 neck-widths from outer row in upper jaw; implantation recumbent; size uniform throughout tooth band . Lower pharyngeal bone average in length, triangular, slim, and shallow with a slightly deeper keel; pharyngeal teeth relatively large and slender; major cusps acutely pointed; cusp gaps straight; minor cusps and cusp protuberances very small; teeth in two median longitudinal rows equal in size and form to lateral teeth, 10 in each row; posterior transverse row with 16-21 teeth, implanted erectly with a lateral inclination; major cusps weakly recurved, bluntly pointed, and laterally compressed; minor cusps mostly absent . Chest scales small; transition to larger flank scales gradual; minute scales on proximal half of caudal fin; scales on longitudinal line 29-34, scales on upper lateral line 20-23, scales on lower lateral line 9-14, scales between dorsal fin and upper lateral line 6-8, scales between upper lateral line and anal fin 11-14, scales around caudal peduncle 17-19, scales between pelvic and pectoral fins 6-8, infraorbital cheek scales 3-5, postorbital cheek scales 8-12 . Caudal fin subtruncate; dorsal and anal fins reach to vertical through caudal-fin base; pectoral fin reaches to between genital opening and first anal-fin spine; pelvic fin reaches to between genital opening and first anal-fin spine in females, to first anal fin branched ray in males; first branched pelvic-fin ray elongated in dominant males . Ceratobranchial gill rakers in outer row of first gill arch very short, stout, and simple; posteriormost rakers weakly anvil-shaped; epibranchial gill rakers relatively slender and simple .Colouration: Colouration in life of dominant males: body olive-green with yellow sheen; anterior part of flank and operculum bright orange-red; belly and chest speckled black; cheek olive-green with red sheen; snout and lips dusky; lower lip with blue sheen; branchiostegal membrane black; eye with dark silver outer ring and silver to golden inner ring; flank with well-defined mid-lateral and dorsal-lateral bands; dorsum with 5-7 faint vertical stripes between dorsal-fin base and dorsal-lateral band; lacrimal, nostril, and interorbital stripes and a mental blotch well defined; supraorbital stripe and nape band faint; pectoral fin hyaline; pelvic fin black; dorsal fin dusky and with black lappets; anal fin faint orange-red and with dusky base and posterior part, and 3 small yellow egg spots with hyaline rings; caudal fin with dusky base and hyaline distal part . Non-dominant males similar to dominant males except for white belly and chest and faint orange-red antero-dorsal part of flank above mid-lateral band . Colouration in life of females and juveniles: body, operculum, cheek, and lacrimal olive-green yellow; belly, chest, and lower jaw white; eye with dark silver outer ring and silver to golden inner ring; flank with well-defined mid-lateral and dorsal-lateral bands; dorsum with 5-7 faint vertical stripes between dorsal-fin base and dorsal-lateral band; lacrimal, nostril, and interorbital stripes and a mental blotch well defined; supraorbital stripe and nape band faint; pectoral and pelvic fins yellowish; dorsal fin dusky and with black lappets; anal fin yellow and with 2-3 small spots resembling egg spots; caudal fin dusky . Preserved colouration: dorsal part of body brown; ventral part of body yellowish to white in females; chest and belly speckled black in dominant males; cheek yellowish and snout dusky; flank with well-defined mid-lateral and dorsal-lateral bands; dorsum with 5-7 faint vertical stripes between dorsal-fin base and dorsal-lateral band; lacrimal, nostril, and interorbital stripes and a mental blotch well defined; supraorbital stripe and nape band faint; pectoral fin dusky; pelvic fin dusky in females, black in dominant males; dorsal fin dusky and with black lappets; anal fin with dusky base and posterior part, yellowish distal part, and 1-3 small egg spots; caudal fin dusky and faintly maculated in dorsal part .

🌀 Behaviour

Behavioural data for Haplochromis Falcatus is currently being reviewed.

🦐 Diet

Diet information for Haplochromis Falcatus is currently being compiled.

🥚 Reproduction

Reproduction data for Haplochromis Falcatus is currently being compiled.

🌍 Habitat & Distribution

Freshwater; pelagic. Tropical

🌿 Ecology

📐 Morphometrics

🌡️ Water Parameters & Tolerance

📊 Population Risk & Fisheries

🐠 Related Species

🔍 Similar Species

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