Like many cichlid species, they’re mouth brooders: Both parents carry babies orally and let them out to feed, recalling them at the first hint of danger, until the young strike out on their own or become too big to fit
Nothing about cichlids is ordinary. In Lake Tanganyika alone, at the divide between Central and East Africa, roughly 250 species evolved from a single ancestor over 9.7 million years.
Some are the size of a preschooler; others, no longer than a pinkie finger. Some spend their lives searching for and defending the perfect shell or building elaborate sand stages on which to attract a mate. Others thrive in harems. Many are doting parents to their young fish—though sometimes they eat their own eggs. In a clear example of explosive diversification, cichlids have adapted to fit almost every niche in the lake.
Emperor cichlids, believed to mate only once, watch over their thousands of offspring, called fry. Adults can grow to almost three feet, making them the largest of the nearly 250 cichlid species endemic to Lake Tanganyika.Please be respectful of copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. The majority of cichlids there are found nowhere else, and they offer scientists clues to unlocking the secrets of evolution. It’s an urgent endeavor:The fish face myriad threats: Urban development degrades their water; gill net fishing depletes populations. The most beautiful are coveted for the aquarium trade; many die in transport., at the University of Basel in Switzerland, hopes that growing scientific interest in the fish will spur conservation efforts.
For featherfin cichlids, all the world’s a stage. This male has carried 55 pounds of sand, mouthful by mouthful, to construct a 26-inch-wide, circular bower. By morning, when he’ll shimmer in the sun, he’ll dance vigorously across his stage, hoping to attract a mate. Dozens more will do the same for passing females that judge the dances and the bowers—where couples will mate.
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