Copadichromis virginalis, Lake Malawi utaka : fisheries, aquarium

Copadichromis virginalis (Iles, 1960)

Lake Malawi utaka
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Copadichromis virginalis
Male Picture by Tong, S.P.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Cichliformes (Cichlids, convict blennies) > Cichlidae (Cichlids) > Pseudocrenilabrinae
Etymology: Copadichromis: Greek, kopas, -ados = carved + Chromis, see.

Taxonomic Remarks
Iles (1960) reported 2 different morphs at the type locality when describing C. virginalis: the holotype and some paratypes are referred to as "kaduna", while some other paratypes are named "kajose". Both morphs appear to be valid species, C. virginalis therefor only refers to the "kaduna" morph, while "kajose" awaits formal description as a new species (Ref. 54524).

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Freshwater; demersal. Tropical; 9°S - 12°S

Distribution Territories | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Africa: Endemic to the north end of Lake Malawi.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm 10.6  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 13.2 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 4979)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics


Body shape (shape guide): fusiform / normal.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Demersal, sand-dwelling species (Ref. 54524).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Annual breeding season is brief. Females brood young or show development of the buccal brood pouch.

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator : Kullander, Sven O. | Collaborators

Snoeks, J. and M. Hanssens, 2003. Partner 3: Africa Museum (MRAC.LI). p. 71-82. In K. Irvine (ed.) The trophic ecology of the demersal fish community of Lake Malawi/Niassa, Central Africa. INCO-DC Final Report covering period from 1st March 1998 to 28th February 2002. 159 p. (Ref. 54524)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-2 (Global))

  Near Threatened (NT) (A2bd); Date assessed: 22 June 2018

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

Fisheries: commercial; aquarium: commercial
FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

More information

Trophic ecology
Food items (preys)
Diet composition
Food consumption
Food rations
Predators
Ecology
Ecology
Population dynamics
Growth parameters
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversion
Recruitment
Abundance
Life cycle
Reproduction
Maturity
Maturity/Gills rel.
Fecundity
Spawning
Spawning aggregations
Eggs
Egg development
Larvae
Larval dynamics
Distribution
Territories
FAO areas
Ecosystems
Occurrences
Introductions
BRUVS - Videos
Anatomy
Gill area
Brain
Otolith
Physiology
Body composition
Nutrients
Oxygen consumption
Swimming type
Swimming speed
Visual pigments
Fish sound
Diseases & Parasites
Toxicity (LC50s)
Genetics
Genome
Genetics
Heterozygosity
Heritability
Genetic Diversity
Human related
Aquaculture systems
Aquaculture profiles
Strains
Ciguatera cases
Stamps, coins, misc.
Outreach
Collaborators
Taxonomy
Common names
Synonyms
Morphology
Morphometrics
Pictures
References
References

Tools

E-book | Field guide | Identification keys | Length-frequency wizard | Life-history tool | Point map | Catch-MSY |

Special reports

Check for Aquarium maintenance | Check for Species Fact Sheets | Check for Aquaculture Fact Sheets

Download XML

Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | OneZoom | Open Tree of Life | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | TreeBase | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index
(Ref. 82804) 		PD50 = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight a=0.01445 (0.00671 - 0.03113), b=2.99 (2.82 - 3.16), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level
(Ref. 69278) 		3.0   ±0.32 se; based on food items.
Generation time 1.4 ( na - na) years. Estimated as median ln(3)/K based on 1 growth studies.
Resilience
(Ref. 120179) 		Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.78; tm=3).
Fishing Vulnerability
(Ref. 59153) 		Low vulnerability (18 of 100). 🛈
Price category
(Ref. 80766) 		Unknown.
Nutrients
(Ref. 124155) 		Calcium = 231 [128, 540] mg/100g; Iron = 2.02 [1.11, 4.04] mg/100g; Protein = 18.5 [17.1, 20.0] %; Omega3 = 0.485 [0.171, 1.433] g/100g; Selenium = 56.3 [23.4, 142.7] μg/100g; VitaminA = 52.9 [12.6, 169.8] μg/100g; Zinc = 3 [2, 5] mg/100g (wet weight);