Cynotilapia afra (Günther, 1894)

Open encyclopedia reference

Cynotilapia afra, the afra cichlid or dogtooth cichlid, is a small species of cichlid fish from Lake Malawi in East Africa, where found in rocky habitats. The genus name roughly translates as dogtooth cichlid (hence its common name) which describes the sharp, conical unicuspid teeth unique to this genus within the Lake Malawi species flock. This mbuna prefers a pH range of 7.5–8.5 and a temperature range of 23–27 °C. The afra cichlid has an elongate body with vertical blue and black bars. However, there are many different coloration patterns depending on the region the fish is from, for example, the male fish from Cobue (usually seen spelled either Kobwe or Cobwe) is shown in the adjacent picture. The population from Jalo Reef show no yellow in the body but have a solid yellow dorsal fin. Other populations have no yellow highlights at all. Males can grow up to 10 cm., females usually somewhat smaller. Like most other cichlids from Lake Malawi, afras are mouthbrooders.

Wikipedia contributors, Cynotilapia afra; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T19:28:15.846076+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Cynotilapia afra (Günther, 1894)

Name authority

(Günther, 1894)

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Teleostei

Order

Cichliformes

Family

Cichlidae

Genus

Cynotilapia

Extinction status

Not supplied by this source

Source habitat flags: Marine: no · Freshwater: yes · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. gigaclassActinopterygii
8. superclassActinopteri
9. classTeleostei
10. orderCichliformes
11. familyCichlidae Bonaparte, 1835
12. subfamilyPseudocrenilabrinae Fowler, 1934
13. genusCynotilapia Regan, 1922
14. speciesCynotilapia afra (Günther, 1894)

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Cynotilapia. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 1,355 records assigned to Cichlidae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

1. https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=1019401 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:33B48. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.