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Protomelas

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Protomelas
Male red empress (P. taeniolatus)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Cichliformes
Family: Cichlidae
Tribe: Haplochromini
Genus: Protomelas
Eccles & Trewavas, 1989
Type species
Chromis kirkii
Günther, 1894
Species

16, see text

Protomelas is a genus of haplochromine cichlids endemic to Lake Malawi in East Africa. The genus is part of the haplochromine tribe and have maternal mouthbrooding and sexual dimorphism typical of this group. Popular in the aquarium hobby, Protomelas species are sold under a variety of trade names (e.g., Taiwan Reef Cichlid, Red Empress Cichlid).

Species

[edit]

There are currently 16 recognized species in this genus:[1][2]

References

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  1. ^ Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Species in genus Protomelas". FishBase. April 2013 version.
  2. ^ Dierickx, Katrien; Snoeks, Jos (2020-06-23). "Protomelas krampus, a new paedophagous cichlid from Lake Malawi (Teleostei, Cichlidae)". European Journal of Taxonomy (672). doi:10.5852/ejt.2020.672. ISSN 2118-9773.