gentle lemur

Silver bullet

Aquarium, Tropiquaria, 22nd November 2021.
Adult male, Rhamphochromis species Chilingali.
The silver bullets of the genus Rhamphochromis are fast-swimming, predatory cichlids from Lake Malawi. Lake Chilingali was an arm of the Lake that became isolated and the Rhamphochromis species there developed into this dwarf form. Unfortunately the dam between the lakes was breached and Lake Chilingali became drained, so this species may now be extinct in the wild. It has been bred at Tropiquaria.
 
I think I misunderstood some reports about Lake Chilingali: the dam I mentioned above split that Lake into two, so that when it was breached the two parts were rejoined. Lake Chilingali remains separated from Lake Malawi, so its endemic cichlids are not in immediate danger.
 
The bursting of the dam dramatically altered the depth and hydrology of the shallow, well-sedimented lake; and the endemics were already declining under invasive species pressure. Still very much at risk and the pandemic has prevented surveying to see if they remain extant in the wild.
 

Media information

Category
Tropiquaria
Added by
gentle lemur
Date added
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Image metadata

Device
NIKON CORPORATION NIKON D500
Aperture
ƒ/5
Focal length
40.0 mm
Exposure time
1/20 second(s)
ISO
800
Filename
Tropiquaria002B281.jpg
File size
161.9 KB
Date taken
Mon, 22 November 2021 2:50 PM
Dimensions
1500px x 900px

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