Preying on cyprinid snout warts (pearl organs) as a novel and peculiar habit in the Lake Malawi cichlid Docimodus evelynae
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Abstract
Cichlid fishes in the African Great Lakes have undergone explosive speciation, acquiring markedly varying ecologies and diets. There are multiple lineages of scale-eating cichlids, and their natural history and evolutionary ecology is only partially understood. We examined the feeding habit of Docimodus evelynae, a known scale eater, in Lake Malawi. The stomach contents of young individuals mainly consisted of unknown 1 mm hard, white warts (> 30%). To clarify the origin of these warts, we conducted….
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Article Information:
Takeuchi, Y., Hata, H., Sasaki, M. et al. Preying on cyprinid snout warts (pearl organs) as a novel and peculiar habit in the Lake Malawi cichlid Docimodus evelynae. Sci Rep 14, 19300 (2024).
DOI:10.1038/s41598-024-69755-z