Mislabeled Cichlids on the Net

[dhm325]

P. signatus based on the spots on the male's dorsal fin.

 

[aquaticclarity]

My wild pair of this fish is now down to a male. All of the remaining fry/juvinals I have are girls so I now have an F0/F1 "pair" that I hope becomes compatable. (Ted, get your 2 pair going!) The fish in the picture goes by the same species name as the "Tiger" shelldweller from Lake Tanganyika.

Jeff

 

[aquaticclarity]

dhm325,

I missed response while I was typing. Yes, I agree with you the fish pictured is P. signatus.

Jeff

 

[Randall]

Pelvicachromis signatus

Good going, DHM and Jeff! Based on the characteristic black markings on the male's dorsal fin and black spot on the female's caudal peduncle and dorsal fin, Pelvicachromis signatus it is.

The next misidentified photo may be a little tricky. The label reads Pelviachromis rubrolabiatus. Is the label right?

http://www.jjphoto.dk/fish_archive/aquarium/pelvicachromis_rubrolabiatus.htm

Good luck!

Randall Kohn

 

[tjudy]

sp. 'Guinean Blue Fin'... male... genus yet to be published. (Randall, any word on when that paper comes out?)

 

[tjudy]

Here is a tough one from the same site....

http://www.jjphoto.dk/fish_archive/aquarium/pelvicachromis_taeniatus.htm

I will grant that the fish are indeed the species stated... but that might not always be the case. The female and male are from two very different populations of the species. So... what IS the male, and what are the possible populations of the female pictured?

 

[Randall]

'Pelvicachromis sp. "Blue Fin"

Ted, it's only be five minutes since I posted the last misidentified fish! This has got to be a record. Given the pattern of black dots on the upper half of the caudal fin (vs. concentrated on the median part on Pelvicachromis roloffi) and elongate, more straight to slighty convex head profile (vs. less elongate, more convex head profile on P. roloffi), I'd say the photo labeled P. rubrolabiatus is indeed 'P.' sp. "Blue Fin."

As for the "tough one from the same site," both photos depict P. taeniatus from Cameroon. The female could be one of several varieties, but I'd say Moliwe (although Muyuka, Ndonga, and Kienke are possible), and the male is P. taeniatus "Wouri."

Randall needs some time to find another misidentified photo.

Thanks!

Randall Kohn

 

[Randall]

Thysochromis ansorgii?

Even very fine hobbyist magazines like "Cichlid News" are subject to an occasional misidentifications. In the "What's New" section of the April 2005 issue, for example, a photo depicting Thysochromis ansorgii was published. When the page comes up, please scroll down to the "West Africa" heading. Does the photo really depict T. ansorgii?

http://cichlidnews.com/issues/2005apr/whatsnew.html

Good luck!

Randall Kohn

 

[aquaticclarity]

Pelmatochromis nigrofasciatus

Jeff

 

[tjudy]

I should stop searching the net for west African cichid images... I keep finding my pictures! Most of them are found on European web sites. So far none have been misidentified though.

 

[Randall]

Pelmatochromis nigrofasciatus

That's another one for Jeff! The photo of Thysochromis ansorgii in the April 2005 issue of "Cichlid News" is indeed Pelmatochromis nigrofasciatus. After realizing their faux pas, the magazine published a subsequent correction.

For our next mislabeled photo, we return to the genus Hemichromis (there seems to be an inexaustable supply of mislabeled jewelfish on the Net). The following photo is taken from the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission web site. The fact sheet cites Hemichromis letourneauxi. Are they correct? Careful, this is a trick question!

http://nis.gsmfc.org/nis_factsheet.php?toc_id=186

Good luck!

Randall Kohn

 

[tjudy]

No clue....

Here is one that I found. This is interesting because the owner of this site (a well known and respected importer in the USA) uses images given to him by the pros. The second to last fish on the page is identified as 'Pel. humilis 'Kolente'. What is it really? Here's some hints.. we have already had this fish mis-ID'd once in this thread, and the fish is correctly identified in a different set of images on the same page.

http://www.webraretropicalfish.com/photo_gallery%202.htm

 

[Randall]

Pelvicachromis signatus

Hi Ted,

Looks like Pelvicachromis signatus Lamboj, 2004. Tony Orso uses some interesting names on his web site.

Any takers on the last misidentified jewelfish?

Randall Kohn

 

[retro_gk]

H. cristatus?

Randall, I'd say H. cristatus, based on the tail pattern, although the lateral blotch isn't clearly ocellated.

 

[k98]

just have to take a look at list.

ex
MALAWI
THESE ARE TANK RAISED TRUE VARIETIES NOT POND MIXES!
AULONACARA SP. RUBY RED 4-5CM. ``5 NICE ORANGE RED COLOR
AUL. SP. OB -PAIR 7CM. 35 NICE OB WITH GREAT COLOR

and look at this one

GUINEA SPECIES GREEN DORSAL

verry not serious

im not sure if this is a good place for pure wild fish.who here have try some fish from this guy?i have never see any wild thomasi at a price that low

 

[aquaticclarity]

If pressed to give a guess I would go with H. bimaculatus. But trying to distinguish H. bimaculatus, letourneauxi, and even guttatus from a lone bad picture is tough! And my tract record trying to I.D. jewels is even worse:redface:

Jeff

 

[aquaticclarity]

Randall,

So what is it?

Jeff

 

[Randall]

Hemichromis letourneauxi

Hello friends,

So sorry for the long overdue answer. I was waiting to hear back from Paul Loiselle before divulging the identity of the last mislabeled photo, but Dr. Loiselle was away for the past two months.

Although the Hemichromis sp. depicted in the following link appears to correspond to the photo of H. paynei Loinselle, 1979, in the 1994 edition of Linke & Staeck's "Cichlids of West Africa" (p. 73), it is indeed H. letourneauxi Sauvage, 1880. So, if the Hemichromis pair depicted on pages 73 and 74 of L&S's book is not H. paynei but rather H. letourneaxi, what does the former species look like?

http://nis.gsmfc.org/nis_factsheet.php?toc_id=186

All the best,

Randall Kohn

 

[tjudy]

Surprise surprise.. Fishbase.org has one (at least) wrong: http://www.fishbase.org/Photos/PicturesSummary.cfm?ID=62069&what=species

 

[aquaticclarity]

Something funny is going on...

The first two times I looked at the link a photo of P. rubrolabiatus came up, labeled as such. The third time I looked a photo of P. rolloffi appeared, labeled as P. rubrolabiatus!

Jeff