Serranochromis

Serranochromis live in a wide variety of freshwater habitats, ranging from shallow, heavily vegetated waters to deep, open waters. This includes main river channels, backwaters, floodplains, lakes and lagoons, but only a few of the species have been recorded in fast-flowing waters.{{cite journal| author1=Winemiller, I.K.O. | author2=L.C. Kelso-Winemiller | year=1991 | title=Serranochromis altus, a New Species of Piscivorous Cichlid (Teleostei: Perciformes) from the Upper Zambezi River | journal=Copeia | volume=1991 | issue=3 | pages=675–686 | doi=10.2307/1446393 | jstor=1446393 }}{{cite journal| author1=Thorstad, E.B. | author2=C.J. Hay | author3=T.F. Næsje | author4=B. Chanda | author5=F. Økland | year=2005 | title=Movement and habitat utilization of nembwe, Serranochromis robustus (Gunther 1864), in the Upper Zambezi River | journal=African Zoology | volume=40 | issue=2 | pages=253–259 | doi=10.1080/15627020.2005.11407324 | s2cid=84080641 }} Smaller Serranochromis tend to avoid open waters if common tigerfish are present,{{FishBase | genus = Serranochromis | species = thumbergi | month = October | year = 2019}} but the largest Serranochromis are generally too large to be considered typical prey to common tigerfish and they co-exist in the same habitat.

Depending on the exact species of Serranochromis, the maximum length is between {{cvt|25|and(-)|56|cm|in|0}}, and the largest species can reach up to {{cvt|7|kg|lb}} in weight.

They feed almost entirely on small fish, especially other cichlids, cyprinids, elephantfish and squeaker catfish, but some will also take invertebrates. Although all will take most types of small fish, there is a level of specialisation: S. altus is nocturnal or crepuscular, similar to its main prey, the elephantfish. S. angusticeps is well-camouflaged among dense aquatic vegetation, which allows it to slowly approach its main prey, small cyprinids. S. jallae has a particularly robust mouth and teeth suitable for dealing with its main prey, the spiny and heavily armored squeaker catfish (however, young S. jallae mostly feed on small cyprinids and aquatic insects).

Serranochromis are mouthbrooders and most—if not all—species are seasonal breeders that begin spawning around the end of the low water period. They generally reach maturity when two or three years old.

Serranochromis support important commercial and subsistence fisheries, and are also valued as game fish. S. jallae has been introduced for fishing to some places in Southern Africa outside its original range and in these places it can have an adverse effect on small native fish, especially cyprinids.{{cite journal| author1=Gratwicke, B. | author2=B.E. Marshall | year=2005 | title=The relationship between the exotic predators Micropterus salmoides and Serranochromis robustus and native stream fishes in Zimbabwe | journal=Journal of Fish Biology | volume=58 | issue=1 | pages=68–75 | doi=10.1111/j.1095-8649.2001.tb00499.x }} Conversely, S. robustus has declined drastically in its native range due to overfishing, leading the IUCN to rate it as critically endangered. S. meridianus is considered endangered due to habitat degradation and the poorly known S. janus is considered data deficient (available information is insufficient for determining its conservation status), while the remaining species in the genus are least concern (not threatened).{{cite web| author=IUCN | year=2019 | title=Serranochromis | url=https://www.iucnredlist.org/search?query=Serranochromis&searchType=species | publisher=The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species | version=2019-2 | accessdate=2 October 2019 }}

{{multiple image | direction = horizontal | image1 = Serranochromis altus.jpg | image2 = Serranochromis angusticeps.jpg | width1 = 225 | width2 = 225 | footer = S. altus (right) and S. angusticeps (left) were confused until 1991 and their morphology is quite similar, but they do differ in certain morphometrics, color, habitat preference and feeding behavior }}

According to FishBase, there are currently 11 recognized species in this genus:

• Serranochromis altus Winemiller & Kelso-Winemiller, 1991 (Humpback largemouth)
• Serranochromis angusticeps (Boulenger, 1907) (Speckleface bream,[https://www.gbif.org/species/2369975 Serranochromis angusticeps (Boulenger, 1907)] in GBIF Secretariat (2019). GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei accessed via GBIF.org on 2021-04-10 thinface cichlid)
• Serranochromis jallae (Boulenger, 1896) (Nembwe)
• Serranochromis janus Trewavas, 1964
• Serranochromis longimanus (Boulenger, 1911) (Longfin largemouth)
• Serranochromis macrocephalus (Boulenger, 1899) (Purpleface largemouth)
• Serranochromis meridianus R. A. Jubb, 1967 (Lowveld largemouth)
• Serranochromis robustus (Günther, 1864) (Yellow-belly bream)
• Serranochromis spei Trewavas, 1964
• Serranochromis stappersi Trewavas, 1964
• Serranochromis thumbergi (Castelnau, 1861) (Brownspot largemouth)

File:Serranochromis thumbergi (Castelnau, 1861) collected in Zambia by South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity3.jpg collected in Lavushi Manda National Park, Zambia, by the South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity]]

A few other, possibly undescribed species are known from the genus.{{cite journal| author1=Joyce, D.A. | author2=D.H. Lunt | author3=R. Bills | author4=G.F. Turner | author5=C. Katongo | author6=N. Duftner | author7=C. Sturmbauer | author8=O. Seehause | year=2005 | title=An extant cichlid fish radiation emerged in an extinct Pleistocene lake | journal=Nature | volume=435 | issue=7038 | pages=90–95 | doi=10.1038/nature03489 | pmid=15875022 | bibcode=2005Natur.435...90J | s2cid=4313746 | url=http://doc.rero.ch/record/15299/files/PAL_E2598.pdf }}{{cite journal| author1=Musilová, Z. | author2=L. Kalous | author3=M. Petrtýl | author4=P. Chaloupková | year=2013 | title=Cichlid Fishes in the Angolan Headwaters Region: Molecular Evidence of the Ichthyofaunal Contact between the Cuanza and Okavango-Zambezi Systems | journal=PLOS ONE | volume=8 | issue=5 | page=e65047 | doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0065047 | pmid=23724120 | pmc=3664563 | bibcode=2013PLoSO...865047M | doi-access=free }} Furthermore, the taxonomy of the S. macrocephalus and S. robustus complexes is not fully resolved. Based on mtDNA, both are polyphyletic. A partial solution to the S. robustus complex has been to recognize jallae as its own species, instead of the traditional treatment where it was considered a subspecies of S. robustus.{{Catalog of Fishes |genus=Serranochromis | access-date=2 October 2019}}

Additionally, Sargochromis (the "smallmouths"; found in the same overall region and mostly feed on invertebrates) has been considered a subgenus of Serranochromis, but today it is generally recognized as a separate genus.{{Cof record|genid=9095|title=Sargochromis|access-date=19 January 2019}} These genera, along with Chetia, Pharyngochromis and others, form a group sometimes known as the serranochromines or Serranochromini.{{cite journal| author=Greenwood, P.H. | year=1993 | title=A review of the serranochromine cichlid fish genera Pharyngochromis, Sargochromis, Serranochromis and Chetia (Teleostei: Labroidei) | journal=Bull. Br. Mus. (Nat. Hist.) Zool. | volume=59 | issue=1 | pages=33–44 }}{{cite journal| author1=Bouckaert, R. | author2=M. Steel | author3=W. Salzburger | author4=Z. Starostová | author5=J.M.I. Barth | author6=Z. Musilová | author7=M. Matschiner | year=2017 | title=Bayesian Phylogenetic Estimation of Clade Ages Supports Trans-Atlantic Dispersal of Cichlid Fishes | journal=Systematic Biology | volume=66 | issue=1 | pages=3–22 | doi=10.1093/sysbio/syw076 | pmid=28173588 | doi-access=free | hdl=10852/59576 | hdl-access=free }} How many other genera that are included varies, with some defining the group relatively narrowly and others broadly. Genetic evidence indicates that several genera in this group, including Serranochromis, are not monophyletic.

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category|Serranochromis}}

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Category:Haplochromini

Category:Cichlid fish of Africa

Category:Cichlid genera

Category:Taxa named by Charles Tate Regan

Category:Taxonomy articles created by Polbot