Variabilichromis
Encyclopedia
Variabilichromis is a monotypic
genus
of fish in the family Cichlidae which occurs in Lake Tanganyika
, of the rift lakes in Eastern Africa. The single species, Variabilichromis moorii is a small ovate bodied fish named for an early collector of fish from the lake, J. Moore. Juveniles are lighter in coloration, usually bright yellow, depending on the location. V. moorii is primarily herbivorous, and may also feed on aquatic invertebrates. Its distribution is limited to the southern half of Lake Tanganyika.
Monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group with only one biological type. The term's usage differs slightly between botany and zoology. The term monotypic has a separate use in conservation biology, monotypic habitat, regarding species habitat conversion eliminating biodiversity and...
genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of fish in the family Cichlidae which occurs in Lake Tanganyika
Lake Tanganyika
Lake Tanganyika is an African Great Lake. It is estimated to be the second largest freshwater lake in the world by volume, and the second deepest, after Lake Baikal in Siberia; it is also the world's longest freshwater lake...
, of the rift lakes in Eastern Africa. The single species, Variabilichromis moorii is a small ovate bodied fish named for an early collector of fish from the lake, J. Moore. Juveniles are lighter in coloration, usually bright yellow, depending on the location. V. moorii is primarily herbivorous, and may also feed on aquatic invertebrates. Its distribution is limited to the southern half of Lake Tanganyika.