Giant cichlid
| Giant cichlid | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Perciformes |
| Family: | Cichlidae |
| Subfamily: | Pseudocrenilabrinae |
| Tribe: | Boulengerochromini |
| Genus: | Boulengerochromis Pellegrin, 1904 |
| Species: | B. microlepis |
| Binomial name | |
| Boulengerochromis microlepis (Boulenger, 1899) | |
The giant cichlid (Boulengerochromis microlepis) is an East African species of fish in the Cichlidae family. It is the only member of its genus Boulengerochromis and tribe Boulengerochromini. The species was originally described as Tilapia microlepis by George Albert Boulenger in 1899. The genus name was changed in his honour by Jacques Pellegrin in 1904.
This is possibly the largest cichlid, growing to a length of 90 cm (35 in) in males and 75 cm (30 in) in females.[1] This large predatory fish is endemic to Lake Tanganyika in East Africa, where it occurs in the countries of Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, and Zambia.
References
- ↑ Bailey, M. (18 March 2011). The 10 biggest cichlids. Practical Fishkeeping
- Bigirimana, C. 2005. Boulengerochromis microlepis. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 4 August 2007.
- Boulengerochromis microlepis FishBase (2006) Eds. Froese, R. and D. Pauly. fishbase.org version (07/2014).
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