| Plecodus straeleni | |
|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
 Least Concern (IUCN 3.1) | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Cichliformes |
| Family: | Cichlidae |
| Genus: | Plecodus |
| Species: | P. straeleni |
| Binomial name | |
| Plecodus straeleni Poll, 1948 | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Plecodus straeleni is a species of cichlid fish that is endemic to Lake Tanganyika in East Africa. This species can reach a total length of 16 centimetres (6.3 in).
Like all species of Plecodus, this fish is a scale-eater. Unlike other members of its genus, it has a distinctive striped pattern and closely resembles the harmless Neolamprologus sexfasciatus. It uses this aggressive mimicry to be able to approach unsuspecting fish and rapidly take a mouthful of scales. It also resembles the larger Cyphotilapia and has been recorded swimming among their schools, but this may be protective rather than aggressive mimicry. Although it may attack the species it mimics, most victims are other species and under some circumstances it will feed on fish eggs.
The specific name honours the Belgian paleontologist and carcinologist Victor van Straelen (1889-1964) who was Director of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences.
References
- Bigirimana, C. (2006). "Plecodus straeleni". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2006: e.T60657A12381640. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2006.RLTS.T60657A12381640.en. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
- ^ Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Plecodus straeleni". FishBase. April 2013 version.
- Takahashi; Watanabe; Nishida; and Hori (2007). Evolution of feeding specialization in Tanganyikan scale-eating cichlids: A molecular phylogenetic approach. BMC Evolutionary Biology 7: 195. doi:10.1186/1471-2148-7-195
- ^ Boileau; Cortesi; Egger; Muschick; Indermaur; Theis; Büscher; and Salzburger (2015). A complex mode of aggressive mimicry in a scale-eating cichlid fish. Biol Lett. 11(9): 20150521. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2015.0521
- Nshombo, M. (1991). Occasional egg-eating by the scale-eater Plecodus straeleni (Cichlidae) of Lake Tanganyika. Environmental Biology of Fishes 31(2): 207–212. doi:10.1007/BF00001022
- Christopher Scharpf & Kenneth J. Lazara (25 September 2018). "Order CICHLIFORMES: Family CICHLIDAE: Subfamily PSEUDOCRENILABRINAE (p-y)". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
External links
| Taxon identifiers | |
|---|---|
| Plecodus straeleni | |
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