Oxylapia

Oxylapia is a genus of freshwater fish in the family Cichlidae. It contains the single species Oxylapia polli, known locally as the songatana. It is an endangered species, endemic to the Marolambo Rapids in the Nosivolo River (a tributary of the Mangoro River) in east-central Madagascar.[2] It is threatened by habitat loss and sedimentation caused by deforestation.[1] The only other single-species cichlid genus in Madagascar is Katria, and it is restricted to the same region as Oxylapia.[3] In 2010, the Nosivolo River was designated as a Ramsar Site.[4] The Oxylapia is the conservation flagship species for the district capital Marolambo.[4]

Oxylapia
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Cichliformes
Family: Cichlidae
Subfamily: Ptychochrominae
Genus: Oxylapia
Kiener & Maugé, 1966
Species:
O. polli
Binomial name
Oxylapia polli
Kiener & Maugé, 1966

Oxylapia is a highly aggressive, elongate species that reaches about 13 centimetres (5.1 in) in length.[2][5] It is the Malagasy cichlid most adapted to rheophilic conditions, but not the only (members of the lamena group in the genus Paretroplus are also rheophilic).[5]

Its specific name honours Max Poll (1908-1991), a Belgian ichthyologist for his research into African cichlids and for the guidance he gave to the authors.[6]

References
  1. Ravelomanana, T. (2016). "Oxylapia polli". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T15778A58296944. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T15778A58296944.en.
  2. Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2011). "Oxylapia polli" in FishBase. July 2011 version.
  3. Loiselle, P. & participants of the CBSG/ANGAP CAMP "Faune de Madagascar" workshop 2004 (2004). "Ptychochromoides katria". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2004. Retrieved 14 July 2011.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  4. Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust (20 September 2010). Nosivolo is designated as Madagascar's first riverine Ramsar site. Accessed 14 July 2011
  5. de Rham, P. (1996). Oxylapia polli, the enigmatic cichlid of the Nosivolo River. Accessed 14 July 2011
  6. Christopher Scharpf & Kenneth J. Lazara (22 July 2018). "Order CICHLIFORMES: Family CICHLIDAE: Subfamilies ETROPLINAE and PTYCHOCHROMINAE". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 20 November 2018.


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