OVERLAPPING TERRITORY OF THE BENTHOPHAGOUS CICHLID FISH, LOBOCHILOTESLABIATUS, IN LAKE-TANGANYIKA

Feeding territories do not usually overlap in the same fish species. W e studied overlapping territories and feeding behaviours of a benthoph agous cichlid fish Lobochilotes labiatus Boulenger in a coastal area o f Lake Tanganyika. Forty-four individuals of both sexes, 6-31 cm in to tal length, maintained territories in a 21 m x 25 m area. These could be regarded as feeding territories. The territories of similar-sized o wners (usually different by less than 5 cm) did not overlap each other , but those of different-sized owners overlapped widely. Aggressive in teractions were rarely observed between fish distinctly different in b ody size. Both large and small fish took benthic animals of the same k inds and of similar size. In contrast, the size of foraging sites (cre vices) was different between them: the large fish foraged at large cre vices and small fish at small crevices. This partitioning of foraging sites may enable the overlap of territories in this benthivore.