![\"Pseudotropheus](\"https:\/\/aquainfo.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Pseudotropheus_Elongatus_Metangula-300x193.jpg\")
<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t![\"Dive](\"https:\/\/aquainfo.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/duikplaats_bij_Chiloelo-300x193.jpg\")
<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\tA few kilometres to the south, at Mara Point, we again find Pseudotropheus socolofi<\/a>, but here with the black submarginal band in the dorsal fin, which is absent at Cobu\u00e9. Cynotilapia afra is also present here, but is completely different from the one at the previous location. A light blue body colour with dark vertical bars is the colour pattern here, with a white edging on the dorsal fin. A few hundred metres from here we find a similar variant, but with an orange-red edging on the dorsal fin. When we stopped halfway at Chanjati on our way back to Cobu\u00e9 during our last visit there, at the end of October 1998, we also found the species that Ad Konings calls Metriaclima spec. “Aurora Blue”. I do not immediately see a resemblance to Metriaclima aurora, but I do not want to start a discussion about it. In any case, the “real” Metriaclima aurora also occurs in the same biotope. In terms of colour, this species most closely resembles Metriaclima hajomaylandi.<\/p>\n However, the real Mozambique adventure was yet to begin. During our last stay in Malawi, we had conceived the plan of searching for a number of popular species in Mozambique. Together with Stuart Grant, we mapped out a four-day trip aboard the “Lady Louise” along the coasts of Mozambique. From Kambiri, we would cross Lake Malawi diagonally northeastwards, landing at Meponda, where the immigration formalities had to be completed. From there, we would set a course several kilometres north to spend the first night on the beach at Chiloelo. Before our departure, we first had to visit the immigration office in Salima to obtain an exit stamp in our passports.<\/p>\n On Wednesday, 4 November, the three of us and a three-man crew set off towards the east coast at around half past eleven. Henderson and Dennis were our boatmen, and Assima was the cook on duty. About five hours later, the boat reached the beach at Meponda. Henderson went with us a few hundred metres inland in search of the immigration officer. We handed him a prepared document with our names and other personal details, and this proved sufficient for the official. We said goodbye to the densely populated beach and continued northwards under diesel power for another two hours, reaching the beach at Chiloelo at around 7 p.m.\u2014it had long been dark by then. When our boat anchored several dozen metres offshore and we came ashore in the small dinghy, the beach was packed with children and adults, who did not have “Mzungus” (white people) visiting every week. Three small tents were put up while Assima prepared dinner. The local curious onlookers stayed near us during the meal and for the following hours as well. Once we finally crawled into the tents for the night, things became quiet and they all returned to their own huts.<\/p>\n When we crawled out of the tents at around 5:30 the next morning, the beach was soon filled again with black fans. Two hours later, we said goodbye to them and went a few hundred metres farther on, near the rocky coast, to make our first dive. The water was very clear and the range of species was adequate. Philippe filmed, Gilles took slides with the Nikon underwater camera, and I also took slides with the Nikon in an underwater housing.<\/p>\n Here we saw, among others, Melanochromis dialeptos (formerly known as “Dwarf Auratus”), Pseudotropheus johannii<\/a>, Melanochromis simulans, Metriaclima sp. “Aurora Blacktail”, Metriaclima zebra, Labidochromis spec. “Textilis Cobalt”, Ctenopharynx pictus, Serranochromis robustus and Protomelas fenestratus. The identification of “Aurora Blacktail” is somewhat uncertain because the fish I photographed does not fully correspond to the one published by Ad Konings in his books. What did strike me was that the males of Melanochromis dialeptos at Chiloelo are coloured differently from those we saw on Malawi’s east coast. Here, the males have a cobalt-blue body colour and dark horizontal stripes, whereas the males in Malawi display a colour pattern more resembling that of Melanochromis auratus.<\/p>\n After each of us had collected enough material, we continued the journey to Chinuni. We could not find this place name on any map, but it must be somewhere near Lumessi. There too, plenty of time was taken for another dive and for photographing the cichlids in their biotope. Here we were able to photograph the following species: Tropheops sp. “Gold”, Tropheops sp. “Yellow Gular”<\/a>, Melanochromis dialeptos, Melanochromis johannii<\/a>, Cynotilapia spec. “Black Eastern”, Genyochromis mento, Metriaclima zebra, Sciaenochromis fryeri<\/a>, Lethrinops microstoma, Placidochromis electra<\/a>, Copadichromis borleyi<\/a>, Aulonocara stuartgranti and Buccochromis heterotaenia.<\/p>\n In the afternoon, we continued sailing north and moored at the beach at Meluluca, where we once again attracted a number of fans for the evening and the following morning. On Friday, 6 November, we were already on our way to the first dive site, N’kolongwe, shortly after seven in the morning. We had come this far north specifically to photograph Metriaclima sp. “Black Dorsal N’kolongwe”. Our disappointment was considerable when, after half an hour of diving and an entire slide film, we had not seen a single individual of the aforementioned species. In the meantime, however, we had made several discoveries of which apparently no one had reported yet. First, here is a list of the species we photographed at the site: Tropheops sp. “Gold”, Metriaclima aurora, Pseudotropheus spec. “Socolofi Nkolongwe”, Cynotilapia afra, Melanochromis spec. “Auratus Elongate”, Melanochromis johannii, Aulonocara stuartgranti and Mylochromis subocularis.<\/p>\n The first of the discoveries just mentioned was the presence of Metriaclima aurora at this location. No Malawi book or article mentions this species from this site. It is normally stated that the species can be found around Likoma Island and along the Mozambican coast between Cobu\u00e9 and Tumbi Point. N’kolongwe lies approximately 40 km south of Tumbi Point. We do not know whether Metriaclima aurora also occurs between the two locations, but it is not inconceivable.<\/p>\n The second discovery may be even more interesting. As far as we know, the species we encountered here is not yet known or described. At first glance, it resembles Pseudotropheus socolofi, but there are several differences. For example, this species lacks the black submarginal band in the dorsal fin, and its pelvic fins are yellow. In fact, I should return to N’kolongwe to investigate everything more thoroughly on site.<\/p>\n I would have to collect live (and dead) specimens in order to establish a more reliable diagnosis with some certainty. I want to know for certain what the males and females look like and how far their distribution extends. Unfortunately, I will have to wait until autumn 2000 for this, because I cannot obtain an exit visa from my wife beforehand. For the time being, I will call the new species Pseudotropheus “Socolofi Nkolongwe”.<\/p>\n So much for this “failed” dive in search of Metriaclima sp. “Black Dorsal Nkolongwe”, which unexpectedly led to new discoveries. We returned to the boat and asked Henderson to go about a hundred metres farther out on the lake, in the faint hope of having better luck there. At a reef lying just over 5 metres below the surface, it was “bingo”. Dozens of male Metriaclima sp. “Black Dorsal N’kolongwe” were trying to outdo one another in beauty, and it seemed as though each was coloured slightly differently. We also encountered Pseudotropheus spec. “Elongatus Metangula”, Metriaclima zebra, Melanochromis spec. “Auratus elongate”, Melanochromis melanopterus, Cynotilapia afra, Placidochromis electra<\/a>, Nimbochromis linni<\/a>, Nimbochromis polystigma<\/a> and Taeniolethrinops praeorbitalis.<\/p>\n At the end of the morning, we returned towards Meluluca and searched for Minos Reef, where the most beautiful females of Metriaclima estherae were said to occur. The reef lies several kilometres offshore and is not easy to find, as it is only a few metres below the water’s surface. But our boatmen had little trouble locating it, and we immediately began searching for the “red zebra” with its blue partner.<\/p>\n They were present in huge numbers, and a beautiful variant of Cynotilapia afra could also be seen at Minos Reef, somewhat resembling the form from Cobu\u00e9. At Minos Reef we also saw Melanochromis spec. “Auratus Elongate”, Melanochromis johannii, Tropheops sp. “Gold”, Metriaclima zebra, Labeotropheus fuelleborni<\/a> and Nimbochromis polystigma<\/a>.<\/p>\n In the afternoon, we made another dive at Nkhungu Point, where we were highly surprised by the beautiful males of Metriaclima sp. “Black Dorsal Nkhungu”. In addition, we photographed Metriaclima zebra, Metriaclima livingstonii, Labeotropheus trewavasae, Melanochromis johannii, Cynotilapia afra, Protomelas fenestratus, Aulonocara stuartgranti and Otopharynx spec. “Auromarginatus Goldhead”.<\/p>\n That evening, we camped once again on the beach at Chiloelo, where we were still just as popular with the local population, but could nevertheless enjoy a peaceful night’s sleep. The next morning, we headed back towards Meponda, where we received our list of names in exchange for a few kwacha. While we waited on the beach for a while for another local official, an entire slide film was filled with the village’s lovely children, as well as some female beauty happy to be admired.<\/p>\n![\"Melanochromis](\"https:\/\/aquainfo.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Melanochromis_dialeptos_vrouwtje-300x197.jpg\")
<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t![\"Warm](\"https:\/\/aquainfo.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/warme_ontvangst_op_het_strand_van_Chiloelo-300x196.jpg\")
<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t![\"Melanochromis](\"https:\/\/aquainfo.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Melanochromis_dialeptos_mannetje-300x200.jpg\")
<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t![\"Tropheops](\"https:\/\/aquainfo.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Tropheops_sp._Yellow_Gular-300x195.jpg\")
<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t![\"Our](\"https:\/\/aquainfo.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/onze_eerste_duikplaats_bij_Nkolongwe-300x191.jpg\")
<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t![\"Placidochromis](\"https:\/\/aquainfo.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Placidochromis_electra_bij_Chinuni-300x197.jpg\")
<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t![\"Mylochromis](\"https:\/\/aquainfo.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Mylochromis_subocularis-300x196.jpg\")
<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t![\"Metriaclima](\"https:\/\/aquainfo.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Metriaclima_Black_Dorsal_Nkolongwe-300x227.jpg\")
<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t![\"Pseudotropheus](\"https:\/\/aquainfo.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Pseudotropheus_Socolofi_Nkolongwe-300x198.jpg\")
<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t![\"Pseudotropheus](\"https:\/\/aquainfo.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Pseudotropheus_Socolofi_Nkolongwe2-300x197.jpg\")
<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t![\"Metriaclima](\"https:\/\/aquainfo.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Metriaclima_estherae_vrouwtje-300x198.jpg\")
<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t![\"Metriaclima](\"https:\/\/aquainfo.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Metriaclima_estherae_mannetje-300x196.jpg\")
<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t![\"Melanochromis](\"https:\/\/aquainfo.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Melanochromis_simulans_vrouwtje-300x200.jpg\")
<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t![\"Metriaclima](\"https:\/\/aquainfo.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Metriaclima_sp._Black_Dorsal_Nkhungu-300x199.jpg\")
<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t![\"Green](\"https:\/\/aquainfo.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/groene_kusten_langs_het_meer-300x192.jpg\")
<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
![\"Female](\"https:\/\/aquainfo.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/vrouwelijk_moois_in_het_meer-300x195.jpg\")
<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t