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Intra-buccal feeding of young in an undescribed Tanganyikan cichlid Microdontochromis sp.

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The zooplanktivorous cichlid Microdontochromis sp. formed large stationary schools in midwater consisting of mouthbrooding and nonbrooding individuals. Early young smaller than 6.0 mm in standard length were mouthbrooded solely by females, but large young, up to 17.4 mm, were mouthbrooded by both females and males. Mouthbrooding fish took food as actively as nonbrooding fish to nourish the young and themselves. Eggs were 1.9 mm in maximum diameter, among the smallest known for mouthbrooding cichlid fishes. Young which ate food within the parent's buccal cavity showed a 10-fold increase in dry weight during the mouthbrooding period. Data suggested that parents finally farmed out their young into broods of other cichlid fishes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Ehime University, Matsuyama, 790, Japan

    Yasunobu Yanagisawa, Haruki Ochi & Andrew Rossiter

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  1. Yasunobu Yanagisawa
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  2. Haruki Ochi
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  3. Andrew Rossiter
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Yanagisawa, Y., Ochi, H. & Rossiter, A. Intra-buccal feeding of young in an undescribed Tanganyikan cichlid Microdontochromis sp.. Environ Biol Fish 47, 191–201 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00005042

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00005042

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