The cichlids of the genus Julidochromis are among the most popular species of cichlid from Lake Tanganyika. Until recently five different species have been recognized. All of them are kept and bred in home aquaria. These are J. dickfeldi, J. marlieri, J. ornatus, J. regani, and J. transcriptus. The most recently described species of those is J. dickfeldi, which has been described scientifically by Wolfgang Staeck in 1975.
For some time already a form of Julidochromis is known in the hobby under various names, because it was not possible to place it doubtless in a speces described already. It was thus named Julidochromis regani “Kipili”, J. ornatus “Kipili” or simply J. sp. “Kipili”. This form has now been described formally under the name of Julidochromis marksmithi. It differs from J. ornatus and J. dickfeldi inter alia by the presence of a dark stripe on the chin (lacking in both J. ornatus and J. dickfeldi) and from J. regani by the presence of only 2.5 longitudinal stripes (vs. 4 longitudinal stripes in J. regani).
The type locality of J. marksmithi is Kerenge Island at the Tanzanian coast of Lake Tanganyika. So far the species is known only from Kipili and the islands nearby (Mvuna Island, Ulwile Is., Kerenge Is., Nkondwe Is.), and the somewhat northern Cape Mpimbwe (Msalaba). Maximum length od the species is usually 8-9 cm, but there are also reports from literature which say that it may reach up to 12 cm.
Literature:
Burgess, W. E. (2014): Julidochromis marksmithi, A New Species of Julidochromis from the Tanzanian Coast of Lake Tanganyika.Tanganika MAGAZYN nr 15, grudzień 2014: 40 – 49
| Angaben zum Tier | |
|---|---|
| Herkunft | Nachzucht / bred |
