Paedophagy

Paedophagy

Paedophagy literally means the "consumption of children". It is a term used to describe the feeding behaviour of fish, or other animals, whose diet is partially, or primarily the eggs or larvae of other animals. [Nshombo M (1991) Occasional egg-eating by the scale-eater Plecodus straeleni (Cichlidae) of Lake Tanganyika "Environmental Biology of Fishes" 31:207-212.] [Ribbink AJ, Ribbink AC (1997) Paedophagia among cichlid fishes of Lake Victoria and Lake Malawi/Nyasa "South African Journal of Science" 93: 509-512.] [Wilhelm W (1980) The disputed feeding behavior of a paedophagous haplochromine cichlid (Pisces) observed and discussed "Behaviour" 74: 310-323.] The term is frequently applied to various species of cichlid fish from Lake Malawi of the genera "Caprichromis", "Hemitaeniochromis", and "Naevochromis". In Lake Tanganyika species of the genus "Haplotaxodon" and possibly "Greenwoodochromis bellcrossi" may also be implicated in this sort of feeding strategy. [Konings A (2007) Paedophagy in Malawi cichlids. "Cichlid News" 16: 28-32] The orange chromide, ("Etroplus maculatus") is also a paedophagous cichlid.Loiselle PV (1994) The Cichlid Aquarium, Voyageur Press, ISBN 1-56465-146-0]

Some paedophagus fish specialise in feeding on the young of mouthbrooding cichlids, ramming the buccal cavity of the mouthbrooder to dislodge, and then consume the eggs or larvae held within. [McKaye KR, Kocher T (1983) Head ramming behaviour by three paedophagous cichlids in Lake Malawi, Africa. "Animal Behaviour" 31: 206-221]

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