Neolamprologus multifasciatus (Boulenger, 1906)
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
Neolamprologus multifasciatus (also known as Multies, Multi., or Shellies) are one of the small shell-dwelling cichlids endemic to Lake Tanganyika in east Africa. The male reaches 5 cm (2 in) in length, and the female only 2.5 cm (1 in) in the aquarium. In the wild, they reach only 3 centimetres (1.2 in) in standard length of male and female reaches less than 2.2 centimetres (0.87 in) in standard length. This makes them one of the smallest species within the Cichlidae family. Adults are often a light brown to beige and exhibit a characteristic dark vertical banding pattern with a bright white or blue iris and black pupil. The body is fusiform and slightly laterally compressed. Caudal fins are rounded with a single light band across the peripheral. Anal fins are also rounded and solitary, lacking a second fin. Unlike other species of African cichlids which have egg spots on the caudal fin to distract predators (such as Synodontis catfish), N. multifasciatus lay eggs within the protected interior of gastropod shells and subsequently lack egg spots.
Wikipedia contributors, Neolamprologus multifasciatus; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T23:19:11.624760+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Neolamprologus multifasciatus (Boulenger, 1906)
- Name authority
- (Boulenger, 1906)
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Cichliformes
- Family
- Cichlidae
- Genus
- Neolamprologus
- 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.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderCichliformes
- familyCichlidae Bonaparte, 1835
- subfamilyPseudocrenilabrinae Fowler, 1934
- genusNeolamprologus Colombé & Allgayer, 1985
- speciesNeolamprologus multifasciatus (Boulenger, 1906)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Neolamprologus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Neolamprologus brevis (Boulenger, 1899) | CichlidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Neolamprologus brichardi (Poll, 1974) | CichlidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Neolamprologus buescheri (Staeck, 1983) | CichlidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Neolamprologus cancellatus Aibara, Takahashi & Nakaya, 2005 | CichlidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Neolamprologus christyi (Trewavas & Poll, 1952) | CichlidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Neolamprologus cylindricus Staeck & Seegers, 1986 | CichlidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Neolamprologus furcifer (Boulenger, 1898) | CichlidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Neolamprologus helianthus Büscher, 1997 | CichlidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Neolamprologus modestus (Boulenger, 1898) | CichlidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Neolamprologus mustax (Poll, 1978) | CichlidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Neolamprologus olivaceous (Brichard, 1989) | CichlidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Neolamprologus pectoralis Büscher, 1991 | CichlidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Lamprologus multifasciatus Boulenger, 1906 Boulenger, 1906 | synonym |
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.
- https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=1018460 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:46K3G. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.