Interview with Anton Lamboj

[Mike Wise]

Check out: http://www.cichlidae.com/interview.php?id=419. It looks like there will be some interesting papers in the future.

 

[peterK]

Thanks much for the link, Mike!

 

[ed seeley]

Great article and thanks for the link.

Will his revision of Pelvicachromis split the two groups up then do people think? Or just set up a new genus for P.'Blue fin'?

 

[tjudy]

I had the chance to talk with him last Fall for quite a while. New genus for sp. Blue Fin is going to happen. No firm decision to split type 1 kribs (P. humilis, rubrolabiatus and signatus) into a different genus has been made... yet. P. taeniatus will likely be divided, nothing new (remember that what is now P. taeniatus was two species until 1960's) however, unless he finds a strong argument for separating P. taen. 'Wouri' to its own species. Lots of questions at this point... time will tell.

 

[ed seeley]

I had the chance to talk with him last Fall for quite a while. New genus for sp. Blue Fin is going to happen. No firm decision to split type 1 kribs (P. humilis, rubrolabiatus and signatus) into a different genus has been made... yet. P. taeniatus will likely be divided, nothing new (remember that what is now P. taeniatus was two species until 1960's) however, unless he finds a strong argument for separating P. taen. 'Wouri' to its own species. Lots of questions at this point... time will tell.

Sounds like an interesting conversation! Do you know if any of these revisions, or if anyone else, is doing any genetic analyses of the Chromidotilapine group? I can't help looking at the pictures of sp.'Blue Fin' (though I've not kept them yet myself) and thinking that, apart from the shape of the pelvics, it looks like a fairly typical Pelvicachromis and a genetic analysis/comparison might show that maybe the group needs redefining rather than stick a related fish in a different genus because of the rules of nomenclature?

 

[tjudy]

The Chromidotilapine group has a lot of differnt genera in it. Genetic analysis, DNA at any rate, gets done whenever possible. I sent Anton 75 fin snips from all my wild Pelvicachromis stock a few weeks ago. DNA analysis is only a small part of the big picture, however. Spiltting or lumping is still based primarliy on morphology.

sp. Blue Fin is physically different form other Pelvicachromis in a few ways. The pelvic fins of both males and females are elongated, there is a significantly different scale count around the caudal peduncle and there is some significant dentition differences (which I do not know well enough to describe). sp. Blue Fin eggs also hang from the roof of the cave by a filament, unlike Pelvicachromis. Color pattern in females is also very different. All Pelvicachromis express various patterns of color allong with black facial stripes and lateral stripes alongthe lateral line and subdorsal area. sp. blue fin females do not show nearly the pattern variety that Pelvicachromis does. There are no dark facial stripes in any behavior pattern I have seen, nor is there a subdorsal stripe down the back. The lateral line stripe, which is faint, appears in stress or neutral pattern, while in most Pelvicachromis the line is quite dark in at least one or two specific behavioral situations.

 

[ed seeley]

The Chromidotilapine group has a lot of differnt genera in it. Genetic analysis, DNA at any rate, gets done whenever possible. I sent Anton 75 fin snips from all my wild Pelvicachromis stock a few weeks ago. DNA analysis is only a small part of the big picture, however. Spiltting or lumping is still based primarliy on morphology.

sp. Blue Fin is physically different form other Pelvicachromis in a few ways. The pelvic fins of both males and females are elongated, there is a significantly different scale count around the caudal peduncle and there is some significant dentition differences (which I do not know well enough to describe). sp. Blue Fin eggs also hang from the roof of the cave by a filament, unlike Pelvicachromis. Color pattern in females is also very different. All Pelvicachromis express various patterns of color allong with black facial stripes and lateral stripes alongthe lateral line and subdorsal area. sp. blue fin females do not show nearly the pattern variety that Pelvicachromis does. There are no dark facial stripes in any behavior pattern I have seen, nor is there a subdorsal stripe down the back. The lateral line stripe, which is faint, appears in stress or neutral pattern, while in most Pelvicachromis the line is quite dark in at least one or two specific behavioral situations.

Sounds like I'll definitely have to try and get hold of some then if they're so different! Thanks for the info.

I specialised in DNA fingerprinting when at uni so am slightly biased towards it I admit. As long as studies are multi-loci and focus on different genomic and non-genomic areas of the DNA it should provide much more information on when groups diverged. Morphology can change rapidly whereas the rate of mutation in DNA is a little less fluid.

 

[peterK]

Sorry for the OT, but...
Does anyone know how to contact (by Internet) with Dr Lamboj? Here in Poland there's no e.g. Benitochromis or even nicer Pelvics in offer and I think he could help me finding these awesome creatures...

 

[RAF]

I think the ACP project if succesfull can be a turning point in the hobbie and in conservation programs as we know both of them.

There are several Associations already envolved in the project, being mine one of them, and (OT) I'm know adapting my fish room in order to be able to mantain on of Madagascar endangered species.