Taxonomy & naming
Aulonocara sp. "cf. macrochir" is not a formally described species. It has no scientific name of its own, no describing author, no year of publication, and no entry in Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes, because no taxonomist has published a description establishing it. It is an informal taxon recognised in the aquarium and field literature, principally through the work of Ad Konings in his Malawi cichlid books and on the Cichlid Room Companion. The placeholder name follows the usual convention for undescribed cichlids — the genus Aulonocara, the abbreviation "sp." (species), and a descriptive name in quotation marks. Here that name carries a particular meaning: "cf. macrochir" is shorthand for "compare with macrochir," signalling that the form is allied to, and closely resembles, the deep-water blue peacock historically circulated under the name Aulonocara macrochir and later widely treated as Aulonocara nyassae. The honest statement of affinity is precisely that — an affinity, a likeness close enough to invite comparison but not close enough to assert identity. Konings places the fish firmly within Aulonocara on anatomical grounds, since it carries the genus's diagnostic enlarged cephalic sensory pores, the widened lateral-line canals of the head that define the peacocks. Until a formal revision is published it should be regarded strictly as a Konings-recognised undescribed form allied to the nyassae/macrochir group, and no authority or date should be attached to it.
Morphology
This is a medium-sized peacock built on the standard Aulonocara plan: a moderately deep, laterally compressed haplochromine body with the genus's signature head, in which the lateral-line canals of the face are widened into conspicuous sensory pits. Field references following Konings place mature males at roughly 4.5–5 in and females somewhat smaller, the usual peacock arrangement in which males run a little larger. Sexual dichromatism is present and pronounced. Dominant, sexually active males of this allied form carry the blue-dominated nuptial dress characteristic of the deep-water nyassae/macrochir peacocks — iridescent metallic blue across the head and flanks, with the darker vertical barring that runs through that group — while females and subordinate males are far plainer, silvery-brown and cryptically marked. Because the form is undescribed, no single diagnostic character has been formally published to separate it cleanly from the true nyassae-type fish; the working distinction rests on collection locality and on the close-but-not-identical colour and proportions that earned it the cautious "cf." tag in the first place.
Habitat
Aulonocara sp. "cf. macrochir" occurs in the southern part of Lake Malawi, documented from the Cape Maclear / Chembe area at the southern end of the lake. Its biotope is the classic deep-water peacock setting: the intermediate and deeper sandy zones where scattered rock gives way to open sand, the habitat over which the nyassae/macrochir peacocks hover while sensing for buried prey. The water there is the warm, hard, strongly alkaline medium typical of Lake Malawi's open water — temperatures broadly in the mid-20s Celsius, pH on the alkaline side of neutral, and moderately hard to hard general hardness. Like the deep-water peacocks it resembles, this form is associated with the lower, dimmer reaches of the sandy zone rather than the bright shallows, though the exact depth band for the Cape Maclear population has not been precisely documented in the field literature. As an undescribed, locality-based form its full distribution remains uncertain.
Feeding
Aulonocara sp. "cf. macrochir" is a sand-sifting micro-invertivore, feeding in the manner that defines the entire peacock radiation. It hovers just above open sand and holds still, the enlarged sensory pores on its head — part of the ampullary lateral-line system — registering the faint vibrations of small invertebrates moving within the substrate. When prey is detected the fish darts down, takes a mouthful of sand, sifts out the edible items, and expels the spent grains through the gills and mouth. The diet is the genus-typical menu of small benthic invertebrates: insect larvae, micro-crustaceans, and other soft-bodied animals living in the sediment. This sensory, bottom-oriented hunting mode ties the fish to clean, invertebrate-rich sand, and it is the foraging signature shared with the deep-water nyassae/macrochir peacocks to which the form is allied.
Mating
Like all Lake Malawi peacocks, Aulonocara sp. "cf. macrochir" is understood to be polygynous and lek-like in its social organisation, with no pair bond between the sexes. Males in nuptial colour establish and defend small territories on or near the sandy floor, each typically centred on an excavated pit or a sheltered spot among scattered rocks, and they display from these sites to passing females. Females are not territorial; they move across the substrate singly or in loose groups and visit the displaying males. A ripe female approaches a colour-holding male at his site, and courtship follows the conventional haplochromine pattern of lateral display and quivering that leads the female to spawn. The specific details of this form's wild reproduction — territory spacing, display repertoire, seasonal timing — have not been separately documented, since it is an undescribed population studied chiefly by analogy with its better-known relatives.
Breeding
Aulonocara sp. "cf. macrochir" is a maternal mouthbrooder, as are all Lake Malawi peacocks. After a male's courtship draws a willing female to his spawning site, she deposits a small batch of eggs and immediately takes them into her mouth; she is then drawn to the egg-spot markings on the male's anal fin and, in attempting to gather these false "eggs," takes in milt that fertilises the clutch already held in her buccal cavity. The female broods the eggs and larvae in her mouth for roughly three to four weeks, ceasing to feed for most of that period, before releasing free-swimming fry; there is no biparental care and no further parental investment once the young are released. Clutch size has not been documented specifically for this form, but by analogy with similarly sized peacocks it is expected to be modest, on the order of a few dozen eggs. The form is uncommon in captivity, so detailed aquarium breeding accounts are scarce.
In the aquarium
Aulonocara sp. "cf. macrochir" is an uncommon fish in the hobby, collected only sporadically from the southern lake and seen far less often than the popular line-bred peacocks. When it is kept, its requirements follow the general template for an open-sand Lake Malawi peacock.
The tank should provide a fine sand substrate — at least 2 in deep — over a generous open footprint, since this is a sand-sifting fish that needs room to hover and forage; coarse gravel inhibits the sifting behaviour and can damage the gills. A footprint of at least 47 in is a sensible minimum, with a background of stacked rock providing broken sightlines and a few bolt-holes, while leaving most of the floor open. Water chemistry should mirror Lake Malawi's water column: temperature in the mid-20s Celsius, pH on the alkaline side of neutral (roughly 7.7 to 8.6), and moderately hard to hard general hardness. Prolonged exposure to soft or acidic water causes chronic problems in Malawi cichlids and should be avoided.
Because males are permanently in nuptial colour and perpetually willing to spawn, a single male with several females is the standard, lowest-stress arrangement; in a bare or crowded tank a lone male will harass unreceptive females relentlessly, so generous space and broken lines of sight matter. Diet should be the usual varied peacock menu — a quality cichlid pellet or flake as a staple, supplemented with small frozen or live invertebrates such as chironomid larvae, brine shrimp, and daphnia. Fatty foods should be avoided, as they predispose Malawi cichlids to bloat, and regular partial water changes are important to keep nitrate low in the closed Malawi-style system. As with any locality form allied to a common species, keepers should avoid mixing it with look-alike peacocks if they intend to breed it, to prevent hybridisation.
Conservation
Aulonocara sp. "cf. macrochir" has not been evaluated by the IUCN, and because it is an undescribed form without a formal scientific name it has no Red List assessment of any kind — no status, no category, no published criteria. That absence is a statement about taxonomy, not about safety. The form is a locality-based population in the southern lake, and like all narrowly known Lake Malawi cichlids it is exposed to the general pressures on the lake's fish communities: ornamental collection, habitat disturbance in the inshore zones, and the broader stresses of sedimentation and fishing across the basin. No fabricated conservation status should ever be attached to it. The honest statement is simply that it is unassessed and that, as an informally recognised local form allied to the nyassae/macrochir peacocks, its true range and status remain to be established by formal study.