Oxylapia polli

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

Oxylapia polli, known locally as the songatana, is a critically endangered species of fish in the cichlid family, and the only member of its genus. It is 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 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]

References

  1. 1 2 Loiselle, P. & participants of the CBSG/ANGAP CAMP "Faune de Madagascar" workshop, Mantasoa, Madagascar 2001 2004. Oxylapia polli. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 11 May 2013.
  2. 1 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. Version 2011.1. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 14 July 2011.
  4. 1 2 Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust (20 September 2010). Nosivolo is designated as Madagascar's first riverine Ramsar site. Accessed 14 July 2011
  5. 1 2 de Rham, P. (1996). Oxylapia polli, the enigmatic cichlid of the Nosivolo River. Accessed 14 July 2011


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