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The Cichlid Fishes: Nature's Grand Experiment In Evolution
Cichlid fishes are amazing creatures. In terms of sheer number of species, they are the most successful of all families of vertebrate animals, and the extent and speed with which they have evolved in some African lakes has made them the darlings of evolutionary biologists. But what truly captivates biologists like George Barlow -- not to mention thousands of aquarists the world over -- is the complexity of their social lives and their devotion to family (most species of cichlids are monogamous and many pairs share the responsibility of raising offspring). In this wonderful book, Barlow describes the unusually high intelligence of these fishes, their complex mating and parenting rituals, their bizarre feeding and fighting habits, and the unusual adaptations and explosive rate of speciation that have enabled them to proliferate and flourish. A celebration of their diversity, The Cichlid Fishes is also a marvelous exploration of how these unique animals might help resolve the age-old puzzle of how species arise and evolve.
- GenresNonfictionScienceBiology
352 pages, Paperback
First published March 5, 2002
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
October 31, 2017
Very good book on the science of evolutionary biology and the amazing lake fishes of Africa. So much has been altered by humans since its publication and my own initial reading 10 to 15 years ago. This article reminded me of this today: http://e360.yale.edu/features/how-aqu...
January 8, 2012
If I could have given it 3.5 stars I would have. It's extremely informative and well written but he does have some annoying cutesy writing habits that come across as, "hang in there and I will dumb this down for you". They are few and far between but it was grating every time it happened. Otherwise a fantastic exploration of evolution using one of my favorite subjects.
January 27, 2017
Much more on the research of Cichlids and evolution, not what I was expecting. Took me a while to slug through it.
June 6, 2019
The sections of this book on feeding and breeding behaviors were very interesting— but the last section on evolution was a complete drag, and I’m trained as a fisheries scientist, so it’s a naturally interesting topic for me. Still, good information for the serious cichlids hobbyist in this book.
July 4, 2026
Many interesting things mentioned such as:
P 4 entire cichlid fauna of Lake Victoria may have evolved within the past 12,400 years; prior to that it was dry... the few species in Lake Malawi originated in the past 200-300 years
P 5 various lines of cichlids have evolved the same adaptions independently a number of times
P 6 Cichlids can handle varied foodstuffs because they have a distinctive arrangement of muscles and jaws in their throats
P 9 fishes have produced spectacular bursts of radiations many times. The first vertebrates were placoderms and ostracoderms
P 10 to think that modern fishes are precursors to four legged animals is a mistake; they have their own distinctive radiations; if anything they evolved away from tertrapods
About 90% of all living fishes are teleosts, modern bony fishes that arose around the time the dinosaurs became extinct
P 13 some advanced fishes seem to have reversed evolution to become primitive appearing; some have changed their scales from ctenoid to cycloid
P 19 the genes in mtDNA evolved five to ten times faster than those in nuclear DNA
P 20 Cichlids are now placed in a suborder Labroidei, which account for 15 % of all teleosts
P 21 Features that set cichlids apart include: having only one nostril on each side of their snout; some have a single uninterrupted lateral line
P 23 another distinctive feature is found in their ears, called otoliths, which rest on a bed of sensory hair cells
P 24 one side of the otolith has a deep furrow, function unknowo
P 26 the origin of cichlids is controversial due to lack of a fossil record
P 28 Cichlid have inner jaws that sets them apart from other fishes
P 31 Cichlid vegetarians are not purely herbivore as they ingest tiny animals on the algae such as diatoms, bryozoans and tiny crustaceans
P 32 some are adapted to running down prey, other evolved ambushing
P 33 several species depend on larger species to stir up prey; they are opportunistic kleptoparasites
P 35 the line between cleaning a host and attacking ona is a thin one; ripping scales and fin membranes off other fishes behaviour is called lepidophagy
P 37 some pretend to be dead (mimicry corpse) to bait prey
P 38 Cichlids eat the eggs of others. One female drops a few eggs in a male's nest, where the male fertilizes them, then the female swims off with them in her mouth. The developing eggs remain in her mouth for weeks
On average predators consume one tn three eggs per hour
P 39 females protect their young after birth, when threatened by calling/signalling them to enter her mouth
P 41 often the gut changes during development as the diet shifts toward herbivory, the intestines become longer and coil in the body
P 44 the skull is surrounded by an intricate cage of loosely connected delicate bones, which is needed because of the absence of prehensile limbs, serves for capturing and handling food and pumping water across gills
P 47 the outer jaws take on the properties of a simple hand; the tongue and other parts play a role in situating food
P 49 Pharyngeal teeth are in three types: delicate long hook-shaped; slender pointed knife like (papilliform) ; and eraser like, squat, rounded like a cobblestone street (molariform).
P 79 females can compare males when they gather in leks, offering a market for female shoppers. The number of males varies from 5,000 to 50,000! along four km of shore. Each male builds a volcano like nest. The male fertilizes the eggs of several females and the females distribute their favours among four to twelve males. They are polygynandrous (many-female-male). That's just one combination.
P 90 typical fish that feel the urge to reproduce start setting up house; to the aquarist they are the tenants from hell: like a bulldozer they start digging in the bottom, piling up gravel in the wrong places, shoving rocks around and ripping out plants
P 4 entire cichlid fauna of Lake Victoria may have evolved within the past 12,400 years; prior to that it was dry... the few species in Lake Malawi originated in the past 200-300 years
P 5 various lines of cichlids have evolved the same adaptions independently a number of times
P 6 Cichlids can handle varied foodstuffs because they have a distinctive arrangement of muscles and jaws in their throats
P 9 fishes have produced spectacular bursts of radiations many times. The first vertebrates were placoderms and ostracoderms
P 10 to think that modern fishes are precursors to four legged animals is a mistake; they have their own distinctive radiations; if anything they evolved away from tertrapods
About 90% of all living fishes are teleosts, modern bony fishes that arose around the time the dinosaurs became extinct
P 13 some advanced fishes seem to have reversed evolution to become primitive appearing; some have changed their scales from ctenoid to cycloid
P 19 the genes in mtDNA evolved five to ten times faster than those in nuclear DNA
P 20 Cichlids are now placed in a suborder Labroidei, which account for 15 % of all teleosts
P 21 Features that set cichlids apart include: having only one nostril on each side of their snout; some have a single uninterrupted lateral line
P 23 another distinctive feature is found in their ears, called otoliths, which rest on a bed of sensory hair cells
P 24 one side of the otolith has a deep furrow, function unknowo
P 26 the origin of cichlids is controversial due to lack of a fossil record
P 28 Cichlid have inner jaws that sets them apart from other fishes
P 31 Cichlid vegetarians are not purely herbivore as they ingest tiny animals on the algae such as diatoms, bryozoans and tiny crustaceans
P 32 some are adapted to running down prey, other evolved ambushing
P 33 several species depend on larger species to stir up prey; they are opportunistic kleptoparasites
P 35 the line between cleaning a host and attacking ona is a thin one; ripping scales and fin membranes off other fishes behaviour is called lepidophagy
P 37 some pretend to be dead (mimicry corpse) to bait prey
P 38 Cichlids eat the eggs of others. One female drops a few eggs in a male's nest, where the male fertilizes them, then the female swims off with them in her mouth. The developing eggs remain in her mouth for weeks
On average predators consume one tn three eggs per hour
P 39 females protect their young after birth, when threatened by calling/signalling them to enter her mouth
P 41 often the gut changes during development as the diet shifts toward herbivory, the intestines become longer and coil in the body
P 44 the skull is surrounded by an intricate cage of loosely connected delicate bones, which is needed because of the absence of prehensile limbs, serves for capturing and handling food and pumping water across gills
P 47 the outer jaws take on the properties of a simple hand; the tongue and other parts play a role in situating food
P 49 Pharyngeal teeth are in three types: delicate long hook-shaped; slender pointed knife like (papilliform) ; and eraser like, squat, rounded like a cobblestone street (molariform).
P 79 females can compare males when they gather in leks, offering a market for female shoppers. The number of males varies from 5,000 to 50,000! along four km of shore. Each male builds a volcano like nest. The male fertilizes the eggs of several females and the females distribute their favours among four to twelve males. They are polygynandrous (many-female-male). That's just one combination.
P 90 typical fish that feel the urge to reproduce start setting up house; to the aquarist they are the tenants from hell: like a bulldozer they start digging in the bottom, piling up gravel in the wrong places, shoving rocks around and ripping out plants
April 24, 2020
Very interesting read.
July 7, 2022
Did not care too much for the evolution parts, but being a cichlid hobbyist myself, this book was very informative. I learned many things that I may have never learned about my fish if I had not read this book. Surprisingly, the book even made me laugh a couple of times.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews