Maylandia

Life-forms

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Megaclassis: Osteichthyes
Superclassis/Classis: Actinopterygii
Classis/Subclassis: Actinopteri
Subclassis/Infraclassis: Neopterygii
Infraclassis: Teleostei
Megacohors: Osteoglossocephalai
Supercohors: Clupeocephala
Cohors: Euteleosteomorpha
Subcohors: Neoteleostei
Infracohors: Eurypterygia
Sectio: Ctenosquamata
Subsectio: Acanthomorphata
Divisio/Superordo: Acanthopterygii
Subdivisio: Percomorphaceae
Series: Ovalentaria
Superordo: Cichlomorphae
Ordo: Cichliformes

Familia: Cichlidae
Subfamilia: Pseudocrenilabrinae
Tribus: Haplochromini
Genus: Maylandia
Species (34): M. aurora – M. barlowi – M. benetos – M. callainos – M. chrysomallos – M. cyneusmarginata – M. elegans – M. emmiltos – M. estherae – M. fainzilberi – M. flavifemina – M. glaucos – M. greshakei – M. hajomaylandi – M. heteropicta – M. lanisticola – M. livingstonii – M. lombardoi – M. lundoense – M. mbenjii – M. midomo – M. mossambica – M. nigrodorsalis – M. nkhunguensis – M. pambazuko – M. phaeos – M. pura – M. pyrsonotos – M. sciasma – M. tarakiki – M. thapsinogen – M. xanstomachus – M. xanthos – M. zebra

As Metriaclima: M. flavicauda – M. koningsi – M. usisyae
Name

Maylandia Meyer & Foerster, 1984: 112

Type species: Pseudotropheus (Maylandia) greshakei Meyer & Foerster, 1984, fixed by original designation

Synonymy

Metriaclima Stauffer, Bowers, Kellogg & McKaye, 1997

References
Primary references

Meyer, M.K. & Foerster, W. 1984. Un nouveau Pseudotropheus du lac Malawi avec des remarques sur le complexe Pseudotropheus-Melanochromis (Pisces, Perciformes, Cichlidae). Revue française d'aquariologie et d'herpetologie 10(4) (1983): 107–112. Reference page.

Additional references

Ciccotto, P.J., Konings, A., & Stauffer, J.R. jr. 2011: Descriptions of five new species in the genus Metriaclima (Teleostei: Cichlidae) from Lake Malaŵi, Africa. Zootaxa, 2738: 1–25. Abstract & excerpt
Condé, B. & J. Géry 1999: Maylandia Meyer et Foerster, 1984, un nom générique disponible (Teleostei, Perciformes, Cichlidae). Revue française d'aquariologie et d'herpetologie, 26 (1-2): 21–22.
Stauffer, J.R., Jr.; Black, K.; Konings, A.F. 2013: Descriptions of five new species of Metriaclima (Teleostei: Cichlidae) from Lake Malaŵi, Africa. Zootaxa 3647(1): 101–136. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3647.1.6 Reference page.
Li, S., Konings, A.F. & Stauffer, J.R. Jr. 2016. A Revision of the Pseudotropheus elongatus species group (Teleostei: Cichlidae) With Description of a New Genus and Seven New Species. Zootaxa 4168(2): 353–381. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4168.2.9. Reference page.
Stauffer, J.R. jr. 2018. Description of Metriaclima koningsi, a new species (Teleostei: Cichlidae) from Lake Malaŵi, Malaŵi, Africa. Zootaxa 4370(1): 95–100. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4370.1.8. Reference page.
Stauffer, Jr., J.R., Bowers, N.J., Kellogg, K.A. & McKaye, K.R. 1997. A revision of the blue-black Pseudotropheus zebra (Teleostei: Cichlidae) complex from Lake Malaŵi, Africa, with a description of a new genus and ten new species. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 148: 189–230. JSTOR. PDF. Reference page.

Links

ION search for Maylandia
ION search for Metriaclima
Nomenclator Zoologicus search for Maylandia
Nomenclator Zoologicus search for Metriaclima
Maylandia species list in FishBase,
Froese, R. & Pauly, D. (eds.) 2024. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication, www.fishbase.org, version 10/2023.
Metriaclima species list in FishBase,
Froese, R. & Pauly, D. (eds.) 2024. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication, www.fishbase.org, version 10/2023.
Maylandia and its species (including synonyms) in Catalog of Fishes, Eschmeyer, W.N., Fricke, R. & van der Laan, R. (eds.) 2024. Catalog of Fishes electronic version.
Metriaclima and its species (including synonyms) in Catalog of Fishes, Eschmeyer, W.N., Fricke, R. & van der Laan, R. (eds.) 2024. Catalog of Fishes electronic version.

Maylandia or Metriaclima is a genus of haplochromine cichlids endemic to Lake Malawi in East Africa. They belong to the mbuna (rock-dwelling) haplochromines.[1]

All species in this genus are relatively small fishes, less than 20 cm (7.9 in) in length. Like most Lake Malawi cichlids, exhibit brood care via maternal mouthbrooding. Numerous members of the genus are traded as aquarium fish. They are attractive because they are brightly colored and often very sexually dimorphic; like other cichlids they are not suited for beginners and for most companion tanks.[2]
Name

The name Maylandia, honours the cichlid enthusiast and author about aquaria Hans Joachim Mayland, who died in 2004,[3] was proposed as a subgenus of Pseudotropheus in 1984,[4] naming the long-known but undescribed "Ice Blue Zebra" as the type species.

In 1997 Stauffer et al.[5] described the genus Metriaclima, dismissing the pre-existing Maylandia on the assumption that it lacked a type species and a diagnosis. Two years later Condé and Géry[6] published an analysis and declared Metriaclima to be a junior synonym of Maylandia, and Maylandia hence the valid name of the genus, a view accepted by most ichthyologists.

A few authors, notably Ad Konings, dispute that the original description of Maylandia is sufficient to establish and maintain the genus. They maintain that "Maylandia" is a nomen nudum – literally, a "naked name" that does not validly refer to a group of animals as per the rules of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature.[7]

In the present article, following FishBase, Catalog of Fishes and the IUCN, the genus name Maylandia is used.
Male (left) and female Cobalt Zebras (M. callainos) are not dichromatic, but have different mouths
Species

There are currently 30 recognized species in this genus:[8][9][10]

Maylandia aurora (W. E. Burgess, 1976)
Maylandia barlowi (McKaye & Stauffer, 1986)
Maylandia benetos (Stauffer, Bowers, Kellogg & McKaye, 1997)
Maylandia callainos (Stauffer & Hert, 1992) (Cobalt Zebra, Cobalt Blue Mbuna)
Maylandia chrysomallos (Stauffer, Bowers, Kellogg & McKaye, 1997)
Maylandia cyneusmarginatus (Stauffer, Bowers, Kellogg & McKaye, 1997)
Maylandia emmiltos (Stauffer, Bowers, Kellogg & McKaye, 1997)
Maylandia estherae (Konings, 1995) (Red Zebra Mbuna, Red Zebra, Esther Grant's Zebra)
Maylandia fainzilberi Staeck, 1976
Maylandia flavicauda (Li, Konings & Stauffer 2016)[10]
Maylandia flavifemina (Konings & Stauffer, 2006)
Maylandia glaucos (Ciccotta, Konings & Stauffer, 2011)
Maylandia greshakei (M. K. Meyer & W. Förster, 1984) (William's Mbuna, Ice Blue Zebra Mbuna, Ice Blue Zebra)
Maylandia hajomaylandi (M. K. Meyer & Schartl, 1984)
Maylandia heteropicta Staeck, 1980
Maylandia koningsi (Stauffer 2018) [11]
Maylandia lanisticola (W. E. Burgess, 1976)
Maylandia livingstonii (Boulenger, 1899)
Maylandia lombardoi (W. E. Burgess, 1977) (Kennyi Mbuna, Kenyi Mbuna, Lombardoi Mbuna)
Maylandia lundoensis (Stauffer, K. E. Black & Konings, 2013)[9]
Maylandia mbenjii (Stauffer, Bowers, Kellogg & McKaye, 1997)
Maylandia midomo (Stauffer, K. E. Black & Konings, 2013)[9]
Maylandia mossambica (Ciccotta, Konings & Stauffer, 2011)
Maylandia nigrodorsalis (Stauffer, K. E. Black & Konings, 2013)[9]
Maylandia nkhunguensis (Ciccotta, Konings & Stauffer, 2011)
Maylandia pambazuko (Stauffer, K. E. Black & Konings, 2013)[9]
Maylandia phaeos (Stauffer, Bowers, Kellogg & McKaye, 1997)
Maylandia pulpican (Tawil, 2002)
Maylandia pyrsonotos (Stauffer, Bowers, Kellogg & McKaye, 1997)
Maylandia sciasma (Ciccotta, Konings & Stauffer, 2011)
Maylandia tarakiki (Stauffer, K. E. Black & Konings, 2013)[9]
Maylandia xanstomachus (Stauffer & Boltz, 1989)
Maylandia xanthos (Ciccotta, Konings & Stauffer, 2011)
Maylandia zebra (Boulenger, 1899) (Zebra Mbuna)

Footnotes

Oliver (2009)
Clarke (2007)
Christopher Scharpf & Kenneth J. Lazara (4 December 2018). "Order CICHLIFORMES: Family CICHLIDAE: Subfamily PSEUDOCRENILABRINAE (l-o)". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
Meyer & Foerster (1984)
Stauffer et al. (1997)
Condé & Géry (1999)
Konings (2001, 2005), Stauffer et al. (1997), Konings & Stauffer (2006)
Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2013). Species of Maylandia in FishBase. February 2013 version.
Stauffer, J.R. Jr., Black, K. & Konings, A.F. (2013): Descriptions of five new species of Metriaclima (Teleostei: Cichlidae) from Lake Malawi, Africa. Zootaxa, 3647 (1): 101–136.
Li, S.; A. F. Konings & J. R. Stauffer Jr. (2016). "A revision of the Pseudotropheus elongatus species group (Teleostei: Cichlidae) with description of a new genus and seven new species". Zootaxa. 4168 (2): 353–381. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4168.2.9. PMID 27701342. Abstract
Stauffer Jr., J. R. (2018). "Description of Metriaclima koningsi, a new species (Teleostei: Cichlidae) from Lake Malaŵi, Malaŵi, Africa". Zootaxa. 4370 (1): 95–100. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4370.1.7. PMID 29689858. Abstract