Taxonomic Key for Hemichromis

[aquaticclarity]

With all the problematic Hemichromis identification I think I already know the answer to my question, but is there a taxonomic key out there for the genus?

Jeff

 

[Chugger]

that would be great, if there isn't we should get together and agree on , and make one

 

[aquaticclarity]

It would need to be done by a taxonomist/ichthyologist…an export in the field, at least for it to have any validity or to wide acceptance. At best hobbyists could create a guide for Hemichromis identification, which would still be very useful.

Jeff

 

[Mike Wise]

One was published in the "Buntbarsche Bulletin" about 15 years ago, but I don't know of anything more recent.

 

[Randall]

Hemichromis taxonomy

Hello friends,

Mike is quite right (as usual!). Paul Loiselle published "An Annotated Key to the Genus Hemichomis Peters 1858" in the "Buntbarsche Bulletin" in 1992. I used and referenced the paper in my Hemichromis article that was published in the July 2004 issue of "Cichlid News."

http://www.apistogramma.com/cms/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=536

Since Dr. Loiselle published his key, however, several new species have been discovered, and it can no longer be maintained with certainty that some forms found in the hobby correspond to published species. The true identities of the forms that hobbyists commonly call Hemichromis bimaculatus and H. paynei, for example, remain to be seen. Additionally, a form in the U.S. hobby from Kinkole in the DR Congo that resembles H. lifalili may or may not prove to be H. lifalili at all.

For the most part, identifying wild Hemichromis specimens is not really that difficult, if one knows what external diagnostic characters to look for. Problems arise, however, when wild specimens are collected and exporters assign names that lead one to believe that the fish offered was found in one location, when it was actually collected in another. This scenario has transpired several times in recent years and has caused confusion among hobbyists and distributors alike. Additional confusion occurs when hobbyists select for certain characters, i.e. coloration or iridiophores, and after several generations, the offspring no longer resemble their wild counterparts. This has happened with H. guttatus: some of the tank-raised "H. lifalili" seen in the hobby are actually very red and heavily spangled H. guttatus.

Work on yet another revision of the genus is in prep, but it will likely be several years until a paper is published.

Thanks!

All the best,

Randall Kohn

 

[aquaticclarity]

Thanks for the info Mike and Randall. I'll have to see if I can dig up a copy of Loiselle's key...dated or not it's a start!

Jeff