Tropheus

annectens

brichardi

duboisi

moori

sp. "black"

sp. "red"

Tropheus, Boulenger 1898

Tropheus moorii Boulenger 1898

Link to Jessica Miller's Tropheus variant distribution map.

Original Description:

• Boulenger; 1898; "Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London; p 496 and in: Transactions of the Zoological Society of London" 15 (1); p 17.

The genus Tropheus, erected by Boulenger in 1898 for the species moorii, groups some gregarious algae grazing species of rock dweller cichlids endemic to Lake Tanganyika. Although only four species are currently recognized: Tropheus annectens, Boulenger 1900; brichardi, Nelissen & Thysvanden Audenaerde 1975; duboisi; Marlier 1959 and moorii; Boulenger 1898 (polli probably being synonym of annectens and T. kasabae synonym of moorii), and other are probably to be described T. sp. "black", T. sp. "red" and T. sp. "Kaiser", many geographical forms exist, so much that just Tropheus moorii is known in more than 50 color races (Konings, 1988) incuding a xanthic form (Veall, 1995).

Tropheus are found (with the possible exception of T. duboisi) inhabiting the upper ten meters of the rocky biotope (Konings, 1992). The distribution of the species through the lake is not always contiguous and that may be the result of the varying levels Lake Tanganyika has shown over time: splitting and merging populations as lake levels increased or decreased, probably being three lakes during some periods of time (Konings, 1994).

References

• Konings, Ad; 1988; Tanganyika Cichlids, Verduijn Cichlids; Holland.
• Konings, Ad; ; 1992; "The genus Tropheus"; Cichlids yearbook 2, Cichlids press, pp. 13-15.
• Konings, Ad; 1994; "The Distribution Pattern of Tropheus Species"; Cichlids yearbook 4, Cichlids press, pp. 6-11.
• Veall, Toby; 1995; "Xanthism in Tropheus moorii"; Cichlids yearbook 5, Cichlids press, pp. 24-25.