Perissodus microlepis

Boulenger, 1898 · species

image placeholder — illustration coming later

Animalia/Chordata/Perciformes/Cichlidae/Perissodus

At a glance

Occurrence records238

Data sources10

Biological traits5

DNA specimens5

eDNA detections0

Sources10 archives

Databases and archives Perissodus microlepis's data was compiled from.

WikipediaWikimedia Foundation6 languages↗

BioWikiNetmultilingual Wikipediamultilingual↗

GBIFGlobal Biodiversity Information Facility238 records↗

BOLD SystemsCentre for Biodiversity Genomics5 specimens↗

Open Tree of LifeOpenTreephylogeny backbone↗

GoaTGenomes on a Tree · Sangergenome & karyotype↗

NCBIUS National Library of Medicinegenome & karyotype↗

WikidataWikimedia Foundationstructured facts↗

Catalogue of LifeCOLtaxonomy↗

GLoBIGlobal Biotic Interactionsbiotic interactions↗

On this page5 sections

Every layer below draws on the sources above — open one to explore it, or use ← → to move between tabs.

NarrativeWikipediaarticle

Traits & measurements1 literature sources5 traits

Occurrence & distributionGBIF238 records

DNA & barcodingBOLD5 specimens

Genome at a glanceGoaT · NCBI≈853 Mbp

01Narrative

Perissodus microlepis is a species of cichlid endemic to Lake Tanganyika. This species reaches a length of 11 cm TL. This species can also be found in the aquarium trade. It is a scale-eating 'parasite' on other fish species. It occurs in two distinct morphological forms. One morph has mouth parts twisted to the left, enabling it to eat scales off its victim's right flank. In contrast, the other morph, whose mouth is twisted to the right, eats scales off its victim's left flank. The relative abundance of the two morphs in populations is regulated by frequency-dependent selection.Hori, M. 1993. Frequency-dependent natural selection in the handedness of scale-eating cichlid fish. Science 260: 216–219.Stewart, T. A. and Albertson, R. C. (2010) "Evolution of a unique predatory feeding apparatus: functional anatomy, development and a genetic locus for jaw laterality in Lake Tanganyika scale-eating cichlids" BMC Biology, 8 (1): 8.Lee, Hyuk Je; Kusche, Henrik; Meyer, Axel (2012) Handed foraging behavior in scale-eating cichlid fish : Its potential role in shaping morphological asymmetry. PLoS ONE 7: e44670.Takeuchi Y, Hori M, Oda Y. (2012) Lateralized kinematics of predation behavior in a Lake Tanganyika scale-eating cichlid fish. PLoS ONE 7: e29272. Dorsal view of right-bending (left) and left-bending (right) mouth morphs<ref name=Lee2012 /> Predation behaviour of a right-bending mouth morph<ref name=Take2012 />

No narrative description available for this taxon yet.

02Traits & measurements

SourcesFishBase

Size & morphology1

Body length11 cm

Habitat & environment2

Habitat freshwateryes

Habitat zonedemersal

Uses & economy1

Commercial importancecommercial

Other traits1

Vulnerability10

05DNA & barcoding5 specimens

A DNA barcode is a short, standardised stretch of genes that works like a fingerprint — enough to tell one species from another. Below is the molecular trace Perissodus microlepis has left across the world's sequence archives.

At a glance

DNA specimens5

BINs3

Marker genes1

Countries2

The DNA barcodethe species' typical barcode, built from every sequenced specimen

COI-5P656 bp consensus5 specimens

ACGT

▸ drag or hover over the strip to read any position — letter and how much it varies

Violet ticks below the strip = positions where individuals differ; flat = the species' unchanging signature. 87% of positions are identical in every specimen.

Diversity (π)7.2%

Haplotypes2

BINs3

Most divergent pair8.4%

Where individuals differ — all 87 variable positions, in barcode order

5Cvariable

19Gmostly conserved

26Amostly conserved

35Avariable

44Cvariable

50Tvariable

62Tmostly conserved

77Cvariable

80Gvariable

87Gvariable

122Tmostly conserved

140Tvariable

164Gvariable

170Tvariable

173Amostly conserved

176Tmostly conserved

179Avariable

182Cvariable

188Avariable

197Avariable

200Cvariable

203Avariable

206Tvariable

218Amostly conserved

227Gvariable

242Amostly conserved

245Tvariable

251Avariable

257Cvariable

260Amostly conserved

272Cvariable

278Cvariable

296Cvariable

299Cmostly conserved

302Amostly conserved

317Cvariable

320Cvariable

323Avariable

326Avariable

329Amostly conserved

348Tvariable

353Cmostly conserved

356Cvariable

368Gvariable

371Gvariable

374Tvariable

380Tmostly conserved

383Tmostly conserved

384Tmostly conserved

401Tvariable

407Gvariable

413Gvariable

416Avariable

422Tvariable

426Cvariable

428Avariable

431Cmostly conserved

434Amostly conserved

443Tmostly conserved

446Tmostly conserved

449Avariable

452Avariable

461Cmostly conserved

476Cmostly conserved

479Cmostly conserved

482Tmostly conserved

485Amostly conserved

488Cvariable

491Amostly conserved

497Tvariable

498Cmostly conserved

500Cmostly conserved

506Gmostly conserved

509Amostly conserved

512Cmostly conserved

515Cvariable

524Tvariable

533Avariable

536Tvariable

539Gvariable

554Gvariable

581Cvariable

587Cvariable

596Avariable

614Cmostly conserved

635Avariable

641Avariable

CCCTCTATCTAGTATTTGGTGCTTGAGCCGGAATAGTAGGAACCGCACTTAGCCTCCTAATTCGGGCAGAACTAAGCCAGCCCGGCGCTC …

Closest relatives by DNA barcode

The species whose COI barcode is most similar to this one — a quick “who is this most like”. The percentage is how much the barcode differs; it approximates, but is not, the full evolutionary tree.

Ophthalmotilapia ventralissame family4.0%Oreochromis tanganicaesame family4.1%Ophthalmotilapia nasutasame family4.6%Cyathopharynx furcifersame family4.7%Chalinochromis brichardisame family5.3%

Marker genes sequenced

★ the standard DNA barcode for this group — the short region actually read to tell this species apart. The rest are extra genes sequenced along the way.

★COI-5P

animal barcode

06Genome at a glanceGoaT · NCBI

The complete instruction manual Perissodus microlepis carries — its genome. We read it from three angles — how big it is, how the DNA is packed into chromosomes, and how completely it has been sequenced — and explain how to read each value as you go.

Genome sizehow big the whole instruction manual is

Genome size≈853 313 261 bp assembly estimate

Measured in base pairs (bp) — the individual letters of DNA (human ≈ 3.2 Gb, a bacterium a few million). The chart places this genome on a logarithmic scale — each step to the right is ten times bigger — among reference organisms. Across species a bigger genome loosely tracks with larger cells, slower growth and lower-energy lifestyles (powered flight favours small genomes) — yet it does not imply more genes or a more advanced organism (the long-standing C-value paradox).

BACTERIUM Carsonella ruddii0.00016 Gb

FUNGUS0.04 Gb

INSECT0.25 Gb

THIS GENOME Perissodus microlepis0.85 Gb

HUMAN3.2 Gb

WHEAT17 Gb

FERN Tmesipteris160.45 Gb

Sequencing statusassembly quality — how far to trust these numbers

Assembly level tells you how finished the sequence is — from fragmented contigs, through scaffolds, up to a full chromosome-level assembly. BUSCO % estimates completeness: the share of genes expected to be present that were actually found. These describe the data quality, not the organism.

Assembly levelChromosome

Completeness76.8% BUSCO

07Deep time~2.27 Ma lineage

How far back this lineage goes — and how we know. Everything here is measured in Ma, short for “mega-annum”: millions of years ago. The chart reads left to right like a calendar of the Earth, from the deep past on the left to today at the right edgetop to bottom like a core drilled through the Earth, from the deep past at the top down to today at the bottom.

At a glance

DNA clock origin2.27 Ma TimeTree

When this lineage existed

How to read this: the coloured strip along the bottomdown the left is the geological calendar — the standard epochs (Pliocene, Pleistocene…) every museum uses, shown so you can see which chapter of Earth's history this lineage lived in. This lineage is a young one, so the strip is zoomed in to epochs — the finer subdivisions inside a period. The orange marker is the DNA clock: DNA accumulates mutations at a roughly steady rate, so comparing this species' DNA with its relatives estimates when the lineage split off — independently of any fossil.

DNA clock origin

08Occurrence & distribution

Record type238 records

Wild obs. + sensor21

Museum / vouchered217

Range

Area of Occupancy AOO380 km²

Wildobservation + sensor

Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.

Coordinate accuracy95% within 1 km

≤100 m 15≤1 km 4≤10 km 1

20 georeferenced · 1 without coordinates

Open the mapobservation + sensor21

Museum / Voucheredphysical evidence

Backed by a physical specimen — a herbarium sheet, sample or voucher held in a collection. “Vouchered” means supported by material evidence, not just an observation.

Coordinate accuracy20% within 1 km

≤100 m 1≤10 km 1>10 km 3

5 georeferenced · 212 without coordinates

Open the institutions mapphysical evidence217

Wildobservation + sensor

Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.

10Collections & institutions

Holding institutions6 of 9 geolocated

Institutions and collections holding physical, vouchered specimens of this species — click a row to fly to it on the map.

Institution	Specimens
Royal Museum for Central Africalocation not on record	90
FishBaselocation not on record	87
South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversitylocation not on record	20
Stockholm, SE	9
Ann Arbor, US	5
Cambridge, US	3
New Haven, US	1
Berkeley, US	1
South Kensington, GB	1

9 institutions · 217 of 217 vouchered records shown

←→tabs

The Life Data · species page · narrative wired to read_model image placeholder · 3D tilt requires an http server (WebGL)