Telmatochromis

__NOTOC__Taxobox
name = "Telmatochromis"
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
superclassis = Osteichthyes
classis = Actinopterygii
subclassis = Neopterygii
infraclassis = Teleostei
superordo = Acanthopterygii
ordo = Perciformes
familia = Cichlidae
subfmailia = Pseudocrenilabrinae
tribus = Lamprologini
genus = "Telmatochromis"
genus_authority = Boulenger, 1898
subdivision_ranks = Species
subdivision = 7, see text

"Telmatochromis" is a small cichlid genus of the subfamily Pseudocrenilabrinae. These ray-finned fishes are endemic to Lake Tanganyika in East Africa.

ystematics

7 species are included here. Analysis of their mtDNA NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2 (ND2) sequence shows that hybridization must have played some role in the evolution of this genus.Day "et al." (2007)]

For one thing, it might be that "Telmatochromis" is close to "Julidochromis", which they somewhat resemble. A possibility is hybridization between the ancestor of "Telmatochromis" and a lineage of "Julidochromis" which later gave rise to "J. marlieri" and the Convict Julie ("J. regani"). Similar ND2 DNA has been found in these and "T. bifrenatus", "T. brichardi" and "T. temporalis".

"T. vittatus" on the other hand has a ND2 DNA sequence resembling that of "Lamprologus congoensis" and "L. teugelsi". But "T. vittatus" does not at all appear very similar to these species, and in fact may well be closer to "T. bifrenatus" and "T. brichardi" than to "T. temporalis". That would mean that male ancestors of "T. vittatus" had successfully interbred with female "Lamprologus" after the lineage of the former had diverged from its relatives.

pecies

The following species have been described: [FishBase (2006)]
* "Telmatochromis bifrenatus"
* "Telmatochromis brachygnathus"
* "Telmatochromis brichardi" Louisy, 1989
* "Telmatochromis burgeoni" Poll, 1942
* "Telmatochromis dhonti"
* "Telmatochromis temporalis"
* "Telmatochromis vittatus"

Footnotes

References

* (2007): Phylogenetic relationships of the Lake Tanganyika cichlid tribe Lamprologini: The story from mitochondrial DNA. "Mol. Phylogenet. Evol." 45(2): 629–642. doi|10.1016/j.ympev.2007.02.025 (HTML abstract)
* (2006): [http://www.fishbase.org/NomenClature/ValidNameList.cfm?criteria=SYNONYMS.SynGenus+%3D+%27Telmatochromis%27++AND+SYNONYMS.SynSpecies+like+%27%25%25%27+&vtitle=Scientific+Names+where+Genus+Equals+%3Ci%3ETelmatochromis%3C%2Fi%3E "Telmatochromis" species] . Version of 2006-MAR-14. Retrieved 2008-AUG-25.