A new cichlid species, Paretroplus risengi, has been described by John S. Sparks and Emily E. Sparks in Miscellaneous Publications, Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan (209(4):1–22). This species, first documented by Sparks in 2003 as P. damii, was later found through genetic studies to be different enough to deserve its own name.
The species was named in honor of limnologist Karen J. Riseng, who joined the first author in collecting it during their graduate student expedition to Madagascar in 1994. Paretroplus risengi lives only in the middle and lower parts of the Anjingo and Ankofia River systems and their tributaries, including Lake Andrapongy, in northwestern Madagascar.
Although closely related to P. damii and P. loisellei, its body shows a distinctive dark head, followed by a broad pale band along the front part of the body and a darker rear half, often giving it a blotchy, mottled appearance. Adults stay smaller than P. damii, reaching about 17 cm in standard length (versus 30 cm), and they have fewer gill rakers on the first gill arch and finer teeth along the front of the upper jaw. In life, their colors can be striking—gray to nearly black with irregular lighter patches, and during breeding, the front part of the body glows with warm tones of yellow, orange, or even brick red.
This description raises the number of known Paretroplus species to 14, underscoring Madagascar’s exceptional diversity of endemic cichlids. The authors note that while P. risengi still maintains healthy populations in parts of its range, most Paretroplus species have suffered serious declines due to habitat loss, overfishing, and invasive species.
Sparks, John S & Emily E. Sparks. 2025. "A new species of Paretroplus (Teleostei: Cichlidae: Etroplinae) from northwestern Madagascar, with a discussion of its relationships within the P. damii clade". Miscellaneous Publications, Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan. 209(4):1-22
