Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 22, 2026

Ectodus

Ectodus descampsii is a species of cichlid fish endemic to Lake Tanganyika in East Africa where it prefers areas with substrates of coarse sand. It feeds on micro-organisms, algae and diatoms. This species reaches a length of 10.4 centimetres (4.1 in) TL. It is also found in the aquarium trade. It is currently the only known member of its genus. The specific name honours Capitaine Georges Descamps (1855-1938), a Belgian officer in the anti-slavery movement at Lake Tanganyika.

Last revised
Jun 22, 2026
Read time
≈ 1 min
Length
178 w
Citations
3
Source
Wikipedia ↗
Ectodus
Specimen from Ndole Bay, Zambia
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Cichliformes
Family: Cichlidae
Subfamily: Pseudocrenilabrinae
Tribe: Ectodini
Genus: Ectodus
Boulenger, 1898
Species:
E. descampsii
Binomial name
Ectodus descampsii
Boulenger, 1898

Ectodus descampsii is a species of cichlid fish endemic to Lake Tanganyika in East Africa where it prefers areas with substrates of coarse sand. It feeds on micro-organisms, algae and diatoms. This species reaches a length of 10.4 centimetres (4.1 in) TL. It is also found in the aquarium trade. It is currently the only known member of its genus.2 The specific name honours Capitaine Georges Descamps (1855-1938), a Belgian officer in the anti-slavery movement at Lake Tanganyika.3

References

References

  1. Sibomana, C. (2025). "Ectodus descampsii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2025 e.T60489A47192956. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2025-2.RLTS.T60489A47192956.en. Retrieved 23 January 2026.
  2. Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Ectodus descampsii". FishBase. June 2018 version.
  3. Scharpf, Christopher; Lazara, Kenneth J. (22 July 2018). "Order CICHLIFORMES: Family CICHLIDAE: Subfamily PSEUDOCRENILABRINAE (a-g)". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 25 November 2018.