The Cichlid Fish of Africa: Evolution's Rainbow

The Cichlid Fish of AfricaThe Cichlid Fish of Africa

What’s a cichlid?

Cichlids (sick-lids)

• Are a family of fish

• Found mainly in Africa and South

America

• A shit ton of species

Kenya

Tanzania

Uganda

Rwanda

Burundi

Zambia

Lake Malawi

Lake Tanganyika

Lake VictoriaThe Great

Lakes of

Africa

Malawi

>1300Cichlids of Africa

245Great Lakes of

North America

215Europe

~600Hawaiian Islands

# Fish SpeciesLocation

All one family!

How many species?

Who cares about cichlids?

• Fish farmers

(and fish eaters)

• Hobbyists

• Biologists

Diversity- color andDiversity- color and

morphologymorphology

Jaws

• Cichlids have two sets of jaws!

– Just like Alien

• Inner jaws mash food

• Outer jaws have teeth adapted

to their diet

Fish food

• Plankton

• Aufwuchs : algae and the

microorganisms that live on it

• Sponges– “like eating cardboard laced with indigestible fibers, ground glass in the form

of siliceous spicules, not to mention noxious chemicals”

• Other fish (piscivory)

• Other fishes’ scales (lepidophagy)

• Caviar (oophagy)

Parenting skills

• Parental care is rare in fishes,

but common in cichlids

• Some cichlids use their big

mouths to carry eggs and fry!

• Some guard their fry in nests,

chasing off predators

Hooking up

• Cichlids have a variety of different matingsystems

(1) Polygyny with Lekking

Lek- gathering of males,competitve mating display

Hooking up (for life)

• (2) Monogamy (aw)

• Monogamy rare inanimals, esp. fish

• Why monogamy?– Biparental care

– Secure a high quality mate& territory

Movies!

• “Jewel of the Rift” - Lake Tanganyika

Fish room tour

Julidochromis AKA Julies

Monogamy

Breed in rocky

caves/crevices

Aggressive

females

Astatotilapia burtoni

• Lekking males - 2 phenotypes T and NT

• Maternal Mouthbrooders

– Females become aggressive when brooding