Classification / Names
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Teleostei (teleosts) >
Cichliformes (Cichlids, convict blennies) >
Cichlidae (Cichlids) > Pseudocrenilabrinae
Etymology: Palaeoplex: The genus name Palaeoplex alludes to the concept of geoecodynamics where the palaeoplex of a species is the proxy for the total genomic variation of a given species comprising DNA signatures of the evolutionary history of a species in a given landscape; the analysis of the palaeoplex of a species theoretically allows for reconstruction of the species history in that landscape; as the new genus is tied geographically to a very ancient landscape, and, as published DNA analyses suggest, a long history of this genus in that landscape, the genus name refers to the scientific potential of this genus to elucidate the complex landscape evolution of that region through the analysis of the palaeoplex of the new genus.; palimpsest: A palimpsest is a parchment manuscript page, most commonly used in medieval times, that has been secondarily overwritten after all layers of old handwritten letter had been scraped off, sometimes repeatedly; the species name palimpsest is used here to denote that the palaeoplex is like a palimpsest; it is the result of the history of the species endemic in a dynamic landscape; a noun in apposition (Ref. 122072).
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Freshwater; benthopelagic. Tropical
Africa: Luongo River, tributary of Luapula River, and Kalungwishi River drainage, tributary of Lake Mweru, in Zambia (Ref. 122072).
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 14.3 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 122072)
Short description
Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
Dorsal spines (total): 14 - 15; Dorsal soft rays (total): 10 - 12; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 7 - 9; Vertebrae: 27 - 30. Diagnosis: Palaeoplex palimpsest differs from Pseudocrenilabrus multicolor by having more abdominal vertebrae, 14-15 vs. 13, and more scales on the horizontal line, 28-31 vs. 26-27; from Ps. nicholsi by having more scales on the horizontal line, 28-31 vs. 25-26, more total gill rakers, 12-17 vs. 10-11, more abdominal vertebrae, 14-15 vs. 12-13, and total vertebrae, 27-30 vs. 25-26; from Ps. pyrrhocaudalis by having more abdominal vertebrae, 14-15 vs. 12-13; it is distinguished from Ps. philander philander by more abdominal vertebrae, 14-15 vs. 12-13; it is distinguished from Ps. philander dispersus and from several Pseudocrenilabrus populations of yet undefined taxonomic status by having more abdominal vertebrae, 14-15 vs. 13; in addition Palaeoplex palimpsest has more scales on the horizontal line, 28-31 vs. 26-27 than Ps. philander dispersus, and from the putatively new species Pseudocrenilabrus sp. "Upper Kalungwishi" it is distinguished by having more total vertebrae, 27-30 vs. 26 (Ref. 122072). From Orthochromis machadoi it is distinguished by having comparatively large scales on the chest vs. partly scaleless chest, with deeply embedded minute scales; moreover, Palaeoplex palimpsest is distinguished from O. machadoi by having a distinctively longer last dorsal fin spine, 14.7-18.6% of standard length vs. 10.1-14.6%, fewer dorsal fin spines, 14-15 vs. 16-17, and by the position of the pterygiophore supporting last dorsal-fin spine at vertebral count, 13-14 vs. 15-16 (Ref. 122072). Palaeoplex palimpsest is distinguished from Orthochromis kalungwishiensis, O. luongoensis, O. katumbii, and O. mporokoso by having fewer dorsal fin spines, 14-15 vs. 16-19, and by the position of the pterygiophore supporting the last dorsal-fin spine, vertebral count 13-14 vs. 15-18, and by having fewer total vertebrae albeit with overlap, 27-30 vs. 30-33; further, Palaeoplex palimpsest is distinguished from these northern Zambian Orthochromis by having comparatively large and well-developed scales on belly and chest vs. small to minute scales, sometimes with deeply embedded chest scales; further, adult males of Palaeoplex palimpsest feature a large orange Pseudocrenilabrus blotch at the distal end of the anal fin which is absent in the northern Zambian Orthochromis species (Ref. 122072).
Found in river which is rocky with sandy to muddy patches, about 25 m wide, and with an estimated depth of approximately 1.5 m; the shoreline is fringed with dense vegetation; the species seems to prefer stretches of slow flowing water as it was neither observed nor collected in the small rapid-like stretches of the river (Ref. 122072). The molariform teeth of the lower pharyngeal jaw suggest that this species feeds at least partly on molluscs which are crushed by the pharyngeal jaws (Ref. 122072).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae
Schedel, F.D.B., V.M.S. Kupriyanov, C. Katongo and U.K. Schliewen, 2020. Palaeoplex gen. nov. and Lufubuchromis gen. non, two new monotypic cichlid genera (Teleostei: Cichlidae) from northern Zambia. Zootaxa 4718(2):191-229. (Ref. 122072)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries:
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Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = No PD50 data [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01000 (0.00244 - 0.04107), b=3.04 (2.81 - 3.27), in cm total length, based on all LWR estimates for this body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.4 ±0.4 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Resilience (Ref.
120179): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (10 of 100).
