Nape

SS : Red-top Aristochromis or Gold-stripe Haplo ( Otopharynx lithobates ), Yellow Nape Haplo( Copadichromis chrysonotus )
HAB : Eastern Africa; found in between rocky and sandy zones, Lake Malawi.
S : bottom, middle ...

are madtoms with even more drab coloration and those of striking beauty), the margined madtom is similar to the slender madtom (N. exilis) in having a black margin to the caudal fin, but can be distinguished from it in lacking pale spots on the nape ...

" "brown on the nape and on the posterior part of the body. The cheeks are blue, the gill folds reddish, ?-brown spot lies above the upper edge of the eye and the iris is dark. The dorsal fin and the upper part of the caudal fin are bordered dark.

Sides are marked with four Black transverse bars, the first running in a curve from the nape through the eye to the start of the Ventral fin, the second from the Dorsal to the anus, ...

Male generally greenish with silvery reflections on back, nape, and side of head; dull orange or bronze stripe between each scale row of upper half of body; red-orange stripe between each scale row of lower half of body, ...

Finally, the blue lacks the crown on the nape, the feature that is responsible for the queen's common name (the queen's crown is black with a blue margin and blue flecks). The juveniles of the two species can be more difficult to tell apart.

Symphysodon aequifasciatus has all vertical bars similar in width and intensity; horizontal stripes do not show in preserved specimens except occasionally on the nape and on the anal fin base [Kullander].

in its wild form is generally dull olive-grey in appearance, with a dusky stripe extending along the back and side, and a lighter belly. There is a dusky blotch midway on the dorsal fin. Breeding males acquire a large, grey fleshy growth on the nape, ...

In this context, it is very interesting to note that the males of some of the undescribed Bedotia species show a nape-flash when mating, just as many Australian and New-Guinean rainbows do.

See also: Species, Dorsal, Fish, Dorsal Fin, Anal