A new species of the South American genus Apistogramma has been described by Uwe Römer and Ingo Hahn in a recent issue of the journal Vertebrate Zoology. The new species is named Apistogramma barlowi in honour of George W. Barlow, one of the most productive and notably leading behavioural ichthyologists of the last decades.

Apistogramma barlowi is distinguished from all other Apistogramma species by a combination of an overproportionally large head and enormously enlarged mouth with massive jaws and hypertrophic lips, unique within the genus. Males also show a lyrate caudal fin horizontally divided in two colour zones (a yellow lower lobe and a bluish upper lob with spots) and extended first membranes of the dorsal fin. Females show a distinct breast band in the basal part of the second vertical bar and a posterior lateral spot.

Most importantly, Apistogramma barlowi is a facultative biparental mouthbrooder, which today is unique in the genus. The authors give the following description of the breeding behaviour: “In frontal threat behaviour, males are digging and building up little sand piles possibly demonstrating the size of their mouth to opponents as well as their capacity to carry larvae or fry to females selecting their partner for reproduction. Females take their larvae into the mouths and, unique within the genus, keep them inside almost constantly during their further development to the free-swimming stage. The larvae are usually put down only to permit feeding.”

"According to our laboratory observation the degree of male participation, as well as the number of females carrying out mouth-breeding behaviour, may be dependent from maintenance conditions, especially the strength of current and the type of bottom substrate in the tank. We observed a significantly higher number of mouth-breeding females on fine sand and in strong current, mouth-breeding males exclusively under such conditions.”

The species is known only from around the “Tierra típica” northwest of Pebas in northern Peru. Apistogramma barlowi appears to be limited to forest streams (igarapés), with a preference for fast-flowing, cooler, and crystal-clear, acid to neutral water. with a typical habitat consisting of “…a small clearwater igarapé, about one metre wide and approximately 30 cm deep, with fine white sand as bottom substrate, no submerged vegetation, rocks or pebbles, a pH of 4.8, electrical conductivity of 26 uS/cm at a temperature close to 29°C.” This species was initially knows an Apistogramma sp. “breast-band” and/or Apistogramma sp. “Maulbrüter”. It was imported alive to Europe in autumn of the year 1999.

For more information, see the paper: Römer, U., Hahn, I., 2008. Apistogramma barlowi sp. n.: Description of a new facultative mouth-breeding cichlid species (Teleostei: Perciformes: Geophaginae) from Northern Peru. Vertebrate Zoology, 58, 49-66.