Xenotilapia spilopterus
Xenotilapia spilopterus Poll & Stewart, 1975
Xenotilapia spilopterus
photo by Barberis, C.


Deprecated: strlen(): Passing null to parameter #1 ($string) of type string is deprecated in /var/www/html/FieldGuide/FieldGuideSummary.php on line 600

Deprecated: strlen(): Passing null to parameter #1 ($string) of type string is deprecated in /var/www/html/FieldGuide/FieldGuideSummary.php on line 616
Family:  Cichlidae (Cichlids), subfamily: Pseudocrenilabrinae
Max. size:  9.6 cm TL (male/unsexed)
Environment:  demersal; freshwater
Distribution:  Africa: endemic to Lake Tanganyika, widely distributed in the southern part of the lake (Ref. 46829).
Diagnosis:   
Biology:  Lives in groups, sometimes large schools; biparental mouthbrooder (Ref. 6770, 46829). Lives over the sand of the intermediate habitat; forages by scooping up sandy substrate or sediment and sifting it through gills; feeds mainly on insect larvae; rarely large schools are found in mid-water feeding on zooplankton (Ref. 46829).
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC); Date assessed: 23 February 2025 Ref. (130435)
Threat to humans:  harmless


Source and more info: www.fishbase.org. For personal, classroom, and other internal use only. Not for publication.