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Pseudotropheus saulosi "Coral Red"

Why it should not be called "Chindongo saulosi"

One of the species of m'buna of Lake Malawi most coveted by aquarists around the world,
Is the Chindongo saulosi (Konings, 1990).

 

Chindongo saulosi is a small m'buna endemic to Lake Malawi, just Taiwanee Reef, about 7 km northwest of Chizumulu island.

It is not a visible location, and currently, this reef that is not emerged, Is marked with a buoy.

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Buoy marking the exact location of Taiwan Reef on Lake Malawi - PHOTO: PETE BARNES
Chindongo saulosi  -  FOTO: BARRY HOLT

Ad. Konings discovered this species in 1988 thanks to the advice of fishermen of the zone.
The name of the species was given by Konings, in honor to Saulos Mwale, one of the divers of Stuart Grant.
Adult males have dark blue bars, as well as head and fins. The females and the juveniles are of a very marked yellow color.

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Today, because it is a species much sought after by hobbyists, it is in danger of extinction and marked VU (vulnerable), by the IUCN. Http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/61175/0

Thanks to the work of breeding that is taking place in the facilities of Stuart Grant ltd., And to the re-insertion of the species in the lake carried out by Larry Johnson in his safaris with referring aquarists like Pete Barnes, Marc Boulton , Dave Hale among others, are being seen in the more and more exemplary dives.
 

Release of Chindongo saulosi in Taiwan Reef, 2015 - VIDEO: PETE BARNES
 
Pseudotropheus saulosi “Coral red” - Male
Pseudotropheus saulosi “Coral red” - Female

In the year 2015, enter in our country, a cichlid called Pseudotropheus saulosi "Coral red" by means of importation.

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Some time later they began to see in the network and several local groups, people that erroneously (either by ignorance),

he began to name them under the genus "Chindongo", this perhaps due to the reclassification of gender that C. Saulosi in the year 2016, taking it out of the genus Pseudotropheus.

Call it Chindongo is not correct, non should it be named saulosi as a species, since P. saulosi "Coral red" is neither a species non an endemic variant of Lake Malawi, it is the product of a hybridization to draw a commercial line.

In a talk with Barry Holt, creator of "Saulosi Project" and a specialist in this species, he told me that thanks to information he could gather, it is believed that the initial hybridizations were used Pseudotropheus sp. "Ndumbi gold", and more an influence of Metriaclima sp. "Msobo", to be able to obtain a more intense orange coloration in the females, and by the type of horizontal barred that can be seen in some males of Pseudotropheus saulosi "Coral Red". There are also versions that name Pseudotropheus interruptus and Pseudotropheus Johanni, for this last feature, but are the least taken into account.

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The truth is that the original crosses are kept secret, so unless a person working on a farm where these hybrids are produced reveals it, it will all be speculation.
 

In summary:

 

In no way is it appropriate to include this commercial hybrid within the genus "Chindongo", since it is not a genus or species described or cataloged, but must be called as its commercial name indicates; Pseudotropheus saulosi “Coral Red”.

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Pseudotropheus saulosi “Coral red”

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Chindongo saulosi  - Spawning         
#THESAULOSIPROJECT                        
PHOTO: BARRY HOLT

Autor del artículo: Walter Vázquez

 

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