Altolamprologus compressiceps

Altolamprologus compressiceps is a species of fish in the family Cichlidae. It is endemic to the shallow rocky areas of Lake Tanganyika. It is not considered threatened by the IUCN.^[1]

Altolamprologus compressiceps
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Cichliformes
Family:	Cichlidae
Genus:	Altolamprologus
Species:	A. compressiceps
Binomial name
Altolamprologus compressiceps (Boulenger, 1898)
Synonyms[2]
Lamprologus compressiceps Boulenger, 1898 Haplochromis compressiceps (Boulenger, 1898) Neolamprologus compressiceps (Boulenger, 1898)

Description

A. compressiceps are close relatives to A. calvus and can be distinguished by their shorter jaws and turned up snout. Calvus have a long sloping face, less distinct bars, and more distinct spots.^[3]

Several local variants exist, and some may prove to be distinct species or subspecies. Some examples include:

• 'Fire Fin'
• 'Gold'
• 'Gold Head Kasanga'
• 'Kigoma'
• 'Mutondwe'
• 'Red Fin'
• 'Yellow Chaitika'
• 'Zaire Gold'

Evolutionary biology

Lake Tanganyika holds at least 250 species of cichlid fish^[4] and there are still undescribed species in the lake.^[5] Almost all (98%) of the Tanganyika cichlids are endemic to the lake and it is thus an important biological resource for the study of speciation in evolution.^[6][7]