Damba mipentina

Damba mipentina
At London Zoo
Conservation status

Critically Endangered  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Family: Cichlidae
Subfamily: Etroplinae
Genus: Paretroplus
Species: P. maculatus
Binomial name
Paretroplus maculatus
Kiener & Maugé, 1966

The damba mipentina (Paretroplus maculatus) is a critically endangered species of cichlid fish from turbid, shallow flood-plain lakes in the Betsiboka and Ikopa River basins in northwestern Madagascar.[2] It has declined drastically because of habitat loss, overfishing and invasive species.[1][2] It is part of a captive breeding program by public institutions like London Zoo and among fishkeeping hobbyists.[3]

This relatively deep-bodied Paretroplus can easily be separate from other members of the genus by the large black spot on the side of the body.[2] It reaches 30 centimetres (12 in) in length.[4]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Loiselle, P. & participants of the CBSG/ANGAP CAMP "Faune de Madagascar" workshop, Mantasoa, Madagascar 2001 2004. Paretroplus maculatus. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 15 May 2013.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Sparks, J. S. (2008). Phylogeny of the Cichlid Subfamily Etroplinae and Taxonomic Revision of the Malagasy Cichlid Genus Paretroplus (Teleostei: Cichlidae). Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History Number 314 :1-151
  3. Guinane, S. (2001). Personal experiences of Paretroplus menarambo & Paretroplus maculatus.
  4. Guinane, S. (2000). The Madagascan Cichlid Genus Paretroplus (Bleeker, 1865). Accessed 15 July 2011