A phyletic study on lacustrine haplochromine fishes (Perciformes, Cichlidae) of East Africa, based on scale and squamation characters

Phyletic relations within the haplochromine cichlids of East Africa were investigated using scale and squamation characters, finding most of the genera proposed in Greenwood's revision could be confirmed by this approach.

Abstract

Phyletic relations within the haplochromine cichlids of East Africa were investigated using scale and squamation characters. Within the L. Victoria–Edward–Kivu species flock most of the genera proposed in Greenwood's revision could be confirmed by this approach. In addition the genera could be interrelated phylogenetically. They form two distinct superlineages comprising several genera each. The genus Astatotilapia as conceived by Greenwood is diphyletic. The fluviatile members of the genus form the sister taxon of the L. Victoria–Edward–Kivu flock, while the rest are a subgroup of that flock. The flock seems to be of monophyletic origin.