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| Protomelas krampus
Dierickx & Snoeks, 2020
DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2020.672 |
Abstract
A new paedophagous species of Protomelas, Protomelas krampus sp. nov., is described from Lake Malawi. It has been found in Lukoma Bay in Tanzania, near Mara Point in Mozambique, and at Otter Point, Chizumulu, the Likoma Islands and Mazinzi Reef in Malawi. This species is placed in the genus Protomelas based on its melanin pattern, which comprises a continuous midlateral stripe. A morphometric study was done to compare this species with its congeners and similar species of Hemitaeniochromis and Caprichromis. It differs from most congeners by having only one inner tooth row. Furthermore, P. krampus sp. nov. differs from P. insignis, P. spilopterus, H. brachyrhynchus, H. urotaenia, Caprichromis liemi and C. orthognathus by its shorter premaxillary pedicel, shorter prepectoral distances and dentition. It also differs largely in its melanin pattern from the paedophagous species C. liemi, C. orthognathus, Diplotaxodon greenwoodi and Naevochromis chrysogaster, as well as H. brachyrhynchus and H. urotaenia. Protomelas krampus sp. nov. has been observed to ram mouth-brooding cichlids from above to feed on their eggs or larvae.
Keywords: Cichliformes; East Africa; mouth-brooding cichlids; Mozambique; trophic ecology
Taxonomy
Class Actinopterygii Klein, 1885Order Cichliformes Betancur et al., 2013
Family Cichlidae Bonaparte, 1840
Subfamily Pseudocrenilabrinae Fowler, 1934
Tribe Haplochromini Poll, 1986
Genus Protomelas Eccles & Trewavas, 1989
Protomelas Eccles & Trewavas, 1989: 40
(type species: Chromis kirkii Günther, 1894,
by original designation).
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| Photograph of live specimen of Protomelas krampus sp. nov. (specimen not preserved; length unknown)
(photo: Ad Konings).
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| Fig. 4. Photographs of preserved specimens of Protomelas krampus sp. nov. A. Holotype (RMCA 99- 041-P-4768). B. Paratype (RMCA 99-041-P-4767). Melanin pattern strongly faded. Fig. 5. Photograph of preserved paratype (RMCA 99-041-P-4767) of Protomelas krampus sp. nov., shortly after preservation. |
Protomelas krampus sp. nov.
Diagnosis: Protomelas krampus sp. nov. differs from most species of Protomelas, i.e., P. annectens (Regan, 1922),
P. fenestratus (Trewavas, 1935), P. kirkii (Günther, 1894), P. labridens (Trewavas, 1935), P. macrodon
Eccles, 1989, P. marginatus (Trewavas, 1935), P. pleurotaenia (Boulenger, 1901), P. similis (Regan,
1922), P. spilonotus (Trewavas, 1935), P. taeniolatus (Trewavas, 1935), P. triaenodon (Trewavas, 1935)
and P. virgatus (Trewavas, 1935), by having only one inner tooth row, whereas the other species have
two rows.
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Etymology: The specific name, ʻkrampusʼ, is a noun in apposition and was chosen in reference to the European folklore character Krampus. This demon puts naughty children in a bag and takes them away, which is reminiscent of a paedophagous behaviour. The goat-like appearance of Krampus also implicitly refers to the head-butting behaviour of the species. The same implicit reference to this behaviour is also found in the genus name Caprichromis of other paedophagous species of Lake Malawi.
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| Fig. 7. Distribution map of Protomelas krampus sp. nov. Red star = holotype; red dot = paratype; green triangles = possible sightings by Konings (2016); orange square = possible sighting by McKaye & Kocher (1983); yellow diamond = possible sighting by Stauffer (pers. comm.). Inset: map of Africa with indication of area of Lake Malawi. |
Geographical distribution (Fig. 7): The specimens of P. krampus sp. nov. were found in Lukoma Bay (11°22.50′ S, 34°52.00′ E), south of Mbamba Bay, Lake Malawi (Tanzania) and at rocks just south of Mara Point (12°11.34′ S, 34°41.73′ E), Aldeia Mala, Lake Malawi (Mozambique), at depths of 32.5–33.2 m. Three others specimens that also may belong to this species were caught near Otter Point (14°03′ S, 34°49′ E), Mangochi, Lake Malawi (Malawi), at a depth of 7–20 m (McKaye & Kocher 1983). It has also been observed near Chizumulu and Likoma Islands (Konings 2016) and Mazinzi Reef (Stauffer, pers. comm.). Hence the species has a confirmed distribution in the central-eastern part of the lake, but it may also occur in the southern part.
Ecology: The behaviour and ecology of specimens most likely belonging to this species have been observed by McKaye & Kocher (1983) and Konings (1989, 2016). They observed this species feeding on eggs and fry while stealing them from mouth-brooding females of other cichlid species. The paedophage rams these females from above on the snout and the brooding females may release some eggs or larvae upon this impact. The brood can then be snatched by P. krampus sp. nov. The inclined position of the mouth enables the fish to immediately grab the brood since it is already in a good position relative to the prey after ramming from above (Konings 1989, 2016).
Katrien Dierickx and Jos Snoeks. 2020. Protomelas krampus, A New Paedophagous Cichlid from Lake Malawi (Teleostei, Cichlidae). European Journal of Taxonomy. 672: 1–18. DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2020.672
