| Cichlidae (Cichlids), subfamily: Etroplinae |
| 15.88 cm SL (male/unsexed) |
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demersal; freshwater |
| Africa: northwestern Madagascar (Ref. 78623). |
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Dorsal spines (total): 18-20; Dorsal soft rays (total): 13-15; Anal spines: 9-11; Anal soft rays: 11-12. Diagnosis: A shallow-bodied Paretroplus distinguished from all congeners except P. gymnopreopercularis by the presence of a blotchy, mottled, and irregular pigmentation pattern, the absence of vertical bars on the flanks, and by a fleshy snout that extends rostral to the lips and also ventrally to cover a portion of the upper lip (Ref. 78623). Paretroplus kieneri is distinguished from its sister taxon, P. gymnopreopercularis, by the presence of a more or less fully scaled preopercle, except along the ventral margin, vs. completely asquamate; a pointed and mildly convex predorsal profile, vs. blunt and strongly convex; and a second lacrimal plate that forms a part, albeit small, of the orbit margin, vs. second lacrimal plate excluded from orbit margin; the pigmentation pattern of P. kieneri is conspicuously blotchy, mottled, and irregular, whereas P. gymnopreopercularis is characterized by a weakly mottled and especially uniform chain-link lateral pigmentation pattern, owing to darkly pigmented scale margins (Ref. 78623). |
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Vulnerable (VU); Date assessed: 02 July 2016 (B1ab(i,ii,iii,iv)) Ref. (130435)
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| harmless |
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