Otopharynx sp. "Flat Jaw" "Senga Bay"

Senga BaySEHN-gah BAY (approx.)

The fish

How this cichlid is built, and everything about how it lives, eats and breeds, is shared with the species — this page doesn't repeat it.

Read the full Otopharynx sp. "Flat Jaw" account →

Specific to Senga Bay

  • Collection locality & coordinates
  • Local coloration — best judged from the living-fish photo
  • Kept as a single-provenance line, never crossed with other collection points

Care facts below are the species' — shared with Otopharynx sp. "Flat Jaw".

CARESNOT LISTED
Scientific size5 in13 cm total length
Temperature75–82 °F24–28 °C
pH7.7–8.6alkaline
Hardness (GH)very hardup to 446 ppm
Depth33–82 ft10–25 m
DietPresumed benthic invertivore, picking prey directly off sand or rock using a flattened lower jaw; not directly documented for this form.
Breedingmaternal mouthbroodernot documented for this form; modest, genus-typical
Sexual dimorphismYesDichromatism assumed on general Malawi cichlid grounds; the specific colour pattern for this form is not documented.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Senga Bay population

Otopharynx sp. "Flat Jaw" "Senga Bay" is the Senga Bay population of Otopharynx sp. "Flat Jaw", a geographic colour form from the Malawi coast of Lake Malawi in the southern part of the lake. It is the same species as Otopharynx sp. "Flat Jaw", distinguished by its collection locality and local coloration; aquarists keep and breed it as a discrete, provenance-labelled line.

Colour reference: living Senga Bay fish at malawi.si

About the species

Otopharynx sp. "Flat Jaw" is an undescribed cichlid recorded at Senga Bay, on the central-western shore of Lake Malawi. Its trade name describes a flattened, underslung lower jaw distinct from the more generalised mouth of most Otopharynx — a descriptor also applied to at least one other undescribed population elsewhere in the lake, suggesting this jaw shape has arisen, or been noticed, in more than one locality form.

Full Otopharynx sp. "Flat Jaw" account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Otopharynx sp. "Flat Jaw" "Senga Bay"
  2. malawi.si — Otopharynx (Konings-based species database; Malawi genus overview)
  3. Konings, A. — Malawi Cichlids in their Natural Habitat (Cichlid Press; foremost Malawi field authority)
  4. Cichlid Room Companion — Otopharynx (genus profile)