Taxonomy & naming
Aulonocara sp. "Chitande Type North" is not a formally described species. It has no binomial scientific name, no describing author, no year of publication, and no entry in Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes, because no taxonomist has yet published a description of it. It is an informal taxon recognised in the field and aquarium literature, principally through the work of Ad Konings in his Malawi cichlid books and on the Cichlid Room Companion, and catalogued on the malawi.si species database. The placeholder name follows the standard convention for undescribed Malawi cichlids: the genus Aulonocara, the abbreviation "sp.", and an informal collective-and-locality tag in quotation marks. "Chitande Type" denotes a cluster of closely similar sand-dwelling peacocks distinguished mainly by male breeding dress and collection locality, while "North" marks this form's range across the northern lake. Konings places it firmly within Aulonocara, since it carries the genus's diagnostic enlarged cephalic sensory pores. Of all the Chitande Type forms it is the most easily separated, thanks to the unique black dorsal-fin margin of its breeding males; its nearest relatives within the group are the other Chitande Type peacocks, which lack that mark. Until a formal revision is published, no authority or date should ever be attached to it.
Morphology
This is a medium-sized peacock built on the genus's standard plan: a moderately deep, laterally compressed haplochromine body and a head carrying the enlarged sensory pores that define all Aulonocara. Males reach about 4 in and females about 3 in. Sexual dichromatism is strong and, unusually for the Chitande Type group, makes this form reliably identifiable. Breeding males display a distinctive black marginal band in the dorsal fin — a feature found in no other Aulonocara — which alone allows confident identification. Populations across most of the range show very similar male breeding coloration, although males from Nkhata Bay are reported to have an especially bright orange head. Females resemble those of the other Chitande Type forms and are difficult to distinguish; as across the whole group, it is the colored male that carries the diagnostic signal, while the drab females cannot be assigned to a form on appearance alone.
Habitat
Aulonocara sp. "Chitande Type North" is the most widely distributed of the Chitande Type forms. It occurs around Likoma Island and Chizumulu Island, along the northwestern shoreline between the South Rukuru River and Nkhata Bay, and along the Mozambique coast near Mala (Mara) Point. Its biotope is intermediate habitat; depending on locality, breeding males may be found over open sand or closer to rocks, while females typically gather in groups and forage over sandy areas. On the northwestern coast, males have been reported defending caves at greater depths, a flexibility in spawning-site choice not always seen in the group. Individuals have been trawled from around 105 ft depth near Chintheche — shallow enough to be caught for the aquarium trade. The water is the warm, hard, strongly alkaline medium typical of Lake Malawi's upper and middle water column. Its broad range across the northern lake makes it far less narrowly endemic than the single-reef Chitande Type forms.
Feeding
Aulonocara sp. "Chitande Type North" is a sand-sifting invertivore, the foraging mode that defines the peacock radiation. It feeds on small invertebrates living in the sand, locating them by detecting the faint movements of buried prey through the enlarged sensory pores on its head; the characteristic feeding behaviour is to hover motionless just above the substrate and detect prey movements, then dart down, take a mouthful of sand, sift out the edible items and expel the spent grains. The diet is the genus-typical menu of small benthic invertebrates worked out of the sandy areas the females forage over. In captivity this means a fine sand bed over which the sifting behaviour is readily displayed, together with a varied diet of fine prepared foods plus small live or frozen invertebrates.
Mating
Like all Lake Malawi haplochromines, this form is polygynous and lek-like, with no pair bond. Males defend shallow depressions in the sand as spawning territories, usually near rocks, and on the northwestern coast may also defend caves at greater depths. Territorial behaviour is mainly directed toward other males of their own kind, and overall aggression is low to moderate — slightly more assertive than some of its quieter relatives but still far from the combative leks of certain shallow peacocks. Females forage in groups a few metres away and visit male territories only when ready to spawn. Notably, breeding males continue to feed and can be found in colour throughout the year, so the lek is effectively always active rather than strictly seasonal.
Breeding
Aulonocara sp. "Chitande Type North" is a maternal mouthbrooder, as are all members of the genus. The male leads a willing female to the shallow spawning depression he defends in the sand near rocks — or, on the northwestern coast, to a defended cave at depth; she lays a small batch of eggs and immediately takes them into her mouth, then is drawn to the egg-spot markings on the male's anal fin and, in attempting to gather these "eggs," takes in milt that fertilises the clutch already in her buccal cavity. She then broods the developing eggs and fry in her mouth, fasting for most of the period, before releasing free-swimming young; there is no male or post-release parental care. Clutch size and brooding duration are not specifically documented for this form, but a clutch of a few dozen eggs and a brooding period of roughly three to four weeks would be typical for a peacock of its size.
In the aquarium
Aulonocara sp. "Chitande Type North" reaches the hobby more often than most of its relatives, since it occurs over a broad range and is trawled at depths shallow enough to be caught for the trade. The vividly coloured males, with their unique black dorsal margin and — in Nkhata Bay fish — bright orange heads, make it an attractive subject for keepers of wild Malawi peacocks. Its husbandry follows the general Chitande Type template.
The tank should provide a fine sand substrate of at least 2 in together with a few scattered rocks where a male can establish a territory, and ample open sand where a group of females can forage. A footprint of at least 49 in (around 80 US gal) is a sensible minimum. Water chemistry should mirror Lake Malawi's upper and middle 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.
The fish is low to moderate in aggression and weakly territorial, so it mixes well with other peaceable haps and peacocks, but no more than one male of this form should be kept per tank, and it should not be housed with visually similar Chitande Type peacocks, since mixing risks hybridisation. A single male with several females is the natural and recommended arrangement, and because males hold colour and breed year-round, an unreceptive female should always have room to retreat. Diet should be the standard varied peacock menu — a quality cichlid pellet or flake supplemented with small frozen or live invertebrates such as chironomid larvae and brine shrimp — with fatty foods avoided, as they predispose Malawi cichlids to bloat.
Conservation
Aulonocara sp. "Chitande Type North" has not been evaluated by the IUCN, and as an undescribed form without a formal scientific name it has no Red List assessment of any kind — no status, no category, no published criteria. Of all the Chitande Type peacocks it is the most secure: its range spans a broad sweep of the northern lake, from Likoma and Chizumulu Islands along the northwestern shore to the Mozambique coast, and there are currently no indications that the form is threatened. Its wide distribution gives it a resilience the single-reef forms lack. None of this constitutes a formal status, however; the honest position is simply that it is unassessed and apparently not threatened, and that no fabricated conservation category should ever be attached to it.