Trematochromis benthicola

Trematochromis benthicola
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Cichliformes
Family:	Cichlidae
Genus:	Ctenochromis
Species:	C. benthicola
Binomial name
Ctenochromis benthicola (Matthes, 1962)
Synonyms
Haplochromis benthicola Matthes, 1962 Trematochromis benthicola (Matthes, 1962) (but see text) Trematochromis schreyeni Poll, 1987

Ctenochromis benthicola is a ray-finned fish species in the cichlid family (Cichlidae). It is found throughout Lake Tanganyika in the Burundian, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzanian, and Zambian shoreline. Its preferred habitat are the hidden recesses of caves in shallow water.

This species was described in 1962. At the time of its discovery placed in Haplochromis – then a "wastebin genus" for Haplochromini cichlids –, it was subsequently moved to Ctenochromis, but differs somewhat from the fishes otherwise placed there. Consequently, it has been proposed for separation in a monotypic genus Trematochromis, which was established in 1987 when "C." benthicola was mistakenly described a second time.

References

• Bigirimana, C. 2005. Ctenochromis benthicola. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 4 August 2007.