Chalinochromis
Chalinochromis is a small cichlid genus from the subfamily Pseudocrenilabrinae. These ray-finned fishes are endemic to Lake Tanganyika in the East African Rift. The scientific name refers to the bridle-like markings across the heads of members of this genus. They have specialized jaws enabling them to feed on sponges.

This genus has a puzzling relationship with the extremely similar species placed in "Julidochromis". In their mtDNA NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2 sequence, "Chalinochromis" are closer to "J. dickfeldi", "J. ornatus" and "J. transcriptus" – in particular the latter two – than to any other living fish, while "J. marlieri" and "J. regani" are closer to "Telmatochromis". "Julidochromis" thus might need to be split in two, with "Chalinochromis" included in one lineage. Alternatively, there has twice been successful intergeneric hybridization between particular lineages of "Julidochromis" males and "Chalinochromis" females (males generally do not pass on mtDNA to their offspring). Yet another possibility is that "Julidochromis" is monophyletic and includes "Chalinochromis"; in this scenario males of the common ancestor of "J. marlieri" and "J. regani" would have hybridized with females of the common ancestor of "Telmatochromis".

"Chalinochromis" are popular aquarium fishes, and require similar care to "Julidochromis". Like most lamprologine species, "Chalinochromis" are secretive during spawning, often choosing a small cave or crevice to spawn inside. In the aquarium the species often spawns under flat pieces of slate.
Q3406
cichlid
Concept
Q34740
genus
Concept
Q164280
subfamily
Concept
Q134254
Pseudocrenilabrinae
Concept
Q127282
ray-finned fish
Concept
Q5511
Lake Tanganyika
LOC
Q1234397
East African Rift
LOC
Q36642
scientific name
Concept
Q148558
bridle
Concept
Q18960
sponge
Concept
Q133609
Julidochromis
Concept
Q27075
mtDNA
MISC
Q3869349
NADH dehydrogenase
Concept
Q899781
subunit
Concept
Q380546
sequence
Concept
Q261589
J. dickfeldi
Concept
Q601485
J. ornatus
Concept
Q979636
J. transcriptus
Concept
Q1515543
J. marlieri
Concept
Q1460298
J. regani
Concept
Q136768
Telmatochromis
Concept
None
intergeneric
UNK
Q42621
hybrid
Concept
Q210958
monophyletic
Concept
Q45782
aquarium
Concept
Q145239
lamprologine
Concept
Q145278
Chalinochromis
Concept
Q145278
Chalinochromis
Concept
Q145278
Chalinochromis
Concept
Q145278
Chalinochromis
Concept
Q145278
Chalinochromis
Concept
Q145278
Chalinochromis
Concept
Q145278
Chalinochromis
Concept
+2^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
2
NUMBER
parent taxon
taxon rank
part of
parent taxon
taxon rank