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Lake Tanganyika cichlids — species, locations & maps

Lake Tanganyika cichlids — species, locations & maps
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Bathybates leo.jpg Bathybates leo 'Kansombo Banks'.jpg Bathybates leo 'Kasanga'.jpg
Previous pageNext pageBathybates leo 'Kansombo Banks'
Tribe / Genus: Bathybatini / Bathybates
Type locality: Bay of Nyanza, Lake Tanganyika, Burundi.
Biotope: Deep sandy or muddy bottoms in offshore habitats. Collected down to more than 210 m, close to the lower limit of the oxygenated layer.
Geographic distribution: Endemic to Lake Tanganyika with a lake-wide distribution in suitable habitats.
Typical adult size: Up to about 35.5 cm total length.
Sexual dimorphism: Adult males show very distinct black body markings and possess yellow egg-spots on the anal fin. In females these markings are weaker and egg-spots are only faintly developed.
Diet: Predominantly piscivorous and likely a bathypelagic pursuit hunter. Feeds mainly on clupeids (Stolothrissa and Limnothrissa), and more rarely on cichlids.
Breeding: Spawning has not been observed. However, it is undoubtedly a maternal mouthbrooder, as is typical for the genus Bathybates.
Special notes: Distinguished from all other Bathybates species by its colour pattern: a large black spot on the gill cover, three vertical black bands behind the gill cover, followed by three broad horizontal black bands reaching the caudal fin.

Belongs to the elongated Bathybates group and differs from B. hornii by having more branchiospines, a round eye (vs. oval), and higher total dorsal/anal ray counts. Differs from B. fasciatus by a smaller eye, fewer total dorsal rays, and fewer branchiospines.

Unlike B. fasciatus, juveniles are not encountered in shallow beach seines, suggesting that B. leo likely spends most of its life cycle in deep water and rarely ventures into shallow zones.

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Photo: © African Diving Ltd
Photo: © African Diving Ltd
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Lake Tanganyika cichlids — species, locations & maps.
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