Classification / Names
Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa
Teleostei (teleosts) >
Cichliformes (Cichlids, convict blennies) >
Cichlidae (Cichlids) > Pseudocrenilabrinae
Etymology: Maylandia: In honour of Hans J. Mayland, German ictiologist (Ref. 45335); xanthos: The specific epithet, xanthos, is Greek for yellow, in reference to the yellow belly and dorsal fin of breeding males; it is treated as a noun in apposition (Ref. 86409).
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Freshwater; benthopelagic. Tropical; 11°S - 12°S, 34°E - 35°E
Africa: Lake Malawi in Mozambique (Ref. 86409).
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 4.9 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 86409)
Short description
Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
Dorsal spines (total): 17 - 18; Dorsal soft rays (total): 8 - 10; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 8 - 9. Diagnosis: A moderately-sloped head and bicuspid teeth in the outer row of the jaws place this species in Maylandia (Ref. 86409). The brown and blue/gray alternating lateral bars in conjunction with the yellow dorsal and dark anal fin of breeding males distinguish M. xanthos from males of all other members of Maylandia (Ref. 86409). Female M. xanthos are yellow/brown, usually more yellow than females of any other member of the Aurora group, but not all female M. xanthos can be distinguished according to the colour pattern; Maylandia xanthos is further distinguished from M. aurora males from the Mbweca and Tumbi Point populations that are similar but lack dark pigment in the anal fin, and from the neighboring M. glaucos by the lower jaw length, which is longer in M. xanthos, 34.6–36.7% of head length, than in M. aurora, 28.4–33.5% of head length, and in M. glaucos, 28.8–32.8% of head length (Ref. 86409).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae
Ciccotto, P.J., A. Konings and J.R. Stauffer Jr., 2011. Descriptions of five new species in the genus Metriaclima (Teleostei: Cichlidae) from Lake Malaŵi, Africa. Zootaxa 2738:1-25. (Ref. 86409)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
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Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01514 (0.00700 - 0.03275), b=2.97 (2.80 - 3.14), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 2.5 ±0.1 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (10 of 100).
