Creatures in Crisis
Photograph of Alcolapia alcalica (Oreochromis alcalicus), recorded as Endangered
Alcolapia alcalica (Oreochromis alcalicus). Image via Wikimedia Commons.

Endangered

Alcolapia alcalica

Oreochromis alcalicus

Alcolapia alcalica is a cichlid in the family Cichlidae (order Perciformes) — Oreochromis alcalicus, recorded as Endangered.

Status
Endangered
Scientific name
Oreochromis alcalicus
Taxonomy
Perciformes · Cichlidae · Alcolapia

Appearance

Territorial males of A. Alcalica have extensive blue-white spotting, and their underparts and throat can be yellow or white. Females and non-territorial males are overall sandy in colour.

A. Alcalica reaches up to 11.6 cm (4.6 in) in total length.

Range and habitat

It is endemic to the hypersaline, warm Lake Natron in Ngorongoro District of Arusha Region, its drainage and the Shombole Swamps in Kenya and Tanzania. This species typically has an essentially terminal (straight) mouth, but a morph with an upturned mouth is found locally in eastern Lake Natron, where it co-occurs with the normal morph. A. Latilabris and A. Ndalalani, the two other species in Lake Natron, both have a clearly downturned mouth.

Pins are Wikidata “endemic to” fields. Orange dots, when present, are GBIF occurrence tiles — survey bias included.

Diet

Cichlids defend a territory or a brood. Diet in the family runs from algae scrapers to piscivores; this page does not invent a menu for one species.

In crisis

Alcolapia alcalica is Endangered on this catalog because that is the IUCN category stored on Wikidata. Confirm the official criteria and any later count on iucnredlist.org.

Sources

Written for this catalog from the English Wikipedia article on Alcolapia alcalica, Wikidata item Q116179096. Family and order context is original field-guide writing about the group, not a copied assessment of this one species. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA. Not an IUCN assessment. Counts, when quoted, can change — confirm them on the recovery programme and on iucnredlist.org.

Photograph via Wikimedia Commons. Wikipedia · Wikidata · IUCN Red List.

Same genus

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Photograph of Oreochromis mortimeri (Oreochromis mortimeri), recorded as Critically EndangeredCR

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Quick answers

What is Alcolapia alcalica?
Alcolapia alcalica is a cichlid in the family Cichlidae (order Perciformes) — Oreochromis alcalicus.
What is the conservation status of Alcolapia alcalica?
Endangered, as the IUCN category stored on Wikidata for Oreochromis alcalicus. Confirm the official assessment on iucnredlist.org.
Where does Alcolapia alcalica live?
This species typically has an essentially terminal (straight) mouth, but a morph with an upturned mouth is found locally in eastern Lake Natron, where it co-occurs with the normal morph.
Why is Alcolapia alcalica in crisis?
It is Endangered on Wikidata. Read the official Red List assessment for the criteria.
Is this the IUCN Red List page for Oreochromis alcalicus?
No. This is a researched catalog account. The Red List is the assessment.
Is Alcolapia alcalica a pet?
An animal on this catalog is in crisis in the wild. Keeping one is usually the wrong question.