Aquarist Atlas
↑ Collection form of Otopharynx sp. "Ovatus Likoma"

Otopharynx sp. "Ovatus Likoma" "Membe Point"

Otopharynx sp. "Ovatus Likoma" (Membe Point)

Membe Point — MEHM-beh POYNT (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. "Ovatus Likoma" account →

Specific to Membe Point

  • 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. "Ovatus Likoma".

CARESNOT LISTED
Genus type speciesOtopharynx auromarginatusdescribed as Tilapia auromarginata Boulenger 1908
Scientific size7 in18 cm total length
Temperature75–81 °F24–27 °C
pH7.7–8.6alkaline
Hardness (GH)up to 357 ppm
Habitat watermoderately soft, alkaline, well-buffered79 ppmLake Malawi
Depth16–82 ft5–25 m
DietPresumed paedophage on trade-name affinity to O. ovatus — takes eggs and larvae from mouthbrooding females and spawning pairs in midwater; not directly documented for this form.
Breedingmaternal mouthbroodernot documented for this form; modest, genus-typical
Sexual dimorphismYesDichromatism assumed on general Malawi cichlid grounds, with breeding males taking on blue and yellow tones typical of the flock; the specific pattern for this form is not documented.
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

The Membe Point population

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

Colour reference: living Membe Point fish at malawi.si →

About the species

Otopharynx sp. "Ovatus Likoma" is an undescribed cichlid recorded at Membe Point, near Likoma Island in Lake Malawi. Its trade name links it to Otopharynx ovatus, a formally described relative and one of the few members of its genus that hunts eggs and larvae in midwater rather than foraging over the bottom, and marks it as a distinct population found near Likoma rather than at the southern-lake localities where O. ovatus itself is typically recorded.

Full Otopharynx sp. "Ovatus Likoma" account →

Sources

  1. malawi.si — Otopharynx sp. "Ovatus Likoma" "Membe Point"
  2. malawi.si — Otopharynx sp. "ovatus likoma" (Konings-based species database; Membe Point record)
  3. FishBase — Otopharynx ovatus (Trewavas, 1935): size, midwater habit, paedophagous diet
  4. Oliver, M.K., 2018 — Six New Species of the Cichlid Genus Otopharynx from Lake Malaŵi (genus diagnosis; three-blotch melanic pattern)
  5. Konings, A. — Malawi Cichlids in their Natural Habitat (Cichlid Press; O. ovatus as the sole midwater-foraging Otopharynx)
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