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Alcolapia

Alcolapia
Alcolapia alcalica
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Cichliformes
Family: Cichlidae
Subfamily: Pseudocrenilabrinae
Tribe: Oreochromini
Genus: Alcolapia
Thys van den Audenaerde, 1969
Type species
Tilapia grahami
Boulenger, 1912

Alcolapia is a genus of small fishes in the family Cichlidae. Their native range is restricted to margins of Lake Natron and Lake Magadi, as well as similar conditions in nearby hot springs, in Kenya and Tanzania.[1] They live in waters that are warm (mostly 30–42.8 °C [86–109 °F], although occasionally down to 20 °C [68 °F]), hypersaline (salinity above 40‰) and alkaline (pH above 10).[1][2] Species from this genus have also been introduced to Lake Nakuru and Lake Elmenteita.[3] They are the only fish in their range.[1]

The different Alcolapia species differ primarily in the position of their mouth (straight, upturned or downturned) and the colors of the adult males.[1] They are fairly small fish, with the largest species reaching up to 20 cm (7.9 in) in standard length.[3] They mostly feed on algae and cyanobacteria, but also take other plant material, fish eggs, fry and remains, and insects in smaller quantities (except A. alcalica, which feed on other plant material at about the same level as algae and cyanobacteria).[1] They are maternal mouthbrooders.[4]

  1. ^ a b c d e Ford, A.G.P.; L. Ruber; J. Newton; K.K. Dasmahapatra; J.D. Balarin; K. Bruun; J.J. Day (2016). "Niche divergence facilitated by fine-scale ecological partitioning in a recent cichlid fish adaptive radiation". Evolution. 70 (12): 2718–2735. doi:10.1111/evo.13072. PMC 5132037. PMID 27659769.
  2. ^ Ford, A.G.P.; et al. (2019). "Molecular phylogeny of Oreochromis (Cichlidae: Oreochromini) reveals mito-nuclear discordance and multiple colonisation of adverse aquatic environments" (PDF). Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 136: 215–226. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2019.04.008. PMID 30974200.
  3. ^ a b Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Species in genus Alcolapia". FishBase. September 2019 version.
  4. ^ Genner, M.J.; G.F. Turner; B.P. Ngatunga (2018). "A Guide to Tilapia Fishes of Tanzania" (PDF). Retrieved 6 November 2019.

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