Acapoeta
genus of fishes
Acapoeta tanganicae, or the mbaraga, is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Cyprinidae. The genus Acopoeta is monotypic and is currently classified in the subfamily Torinae within the Cyprinidae.
Acapoeta tanganicae is endemic to Lake Tanganyika and the Rusizi River and occurs in Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, and Zambia. In 2012, this species was caught in the Lake Rukwa catchment, and it has been suggested that this is indicative that the catchments of Lake Tanganyika and Lake Rukwa were connected at some point in the past. It was considered that the most parsimonious explanation for its presence was that its low abundance meant it had been previously overlooked as a member of the Lake Rukwa ichthyofauna rather than deliberate introduction.
Its natural habitats are rivers, freshwater lakes, and inland deltas over rock substrates. It feeds on aufwuchs as well as a variety of food collected from rocky river or lake beds including insects, ostracods, diatoms and worms.
It is threatened by habitat loss caused by increased turbidity of the water due to deforestation increasing sediment runoff in the catchments of the lake's tributary rivers. Overfishing may also be a threat, although the species is still common and can be present in large shoals, and there is no data to support a decline in the stock.
It can grow up to 60 centimetres (24 in) in total length.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Acapoeta” is genus of fishes. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Acapoeta, genus and fishes, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “genus of fishes” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Stable identifiers, scientific names and standards terminology offer the best bridge between this overview and specialist evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Mar 24, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q11904060. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2012.
A general summary may omit uncertainty, sample limits or methodological disagreement that is explicit in the technical record. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Check terminology, classification and the date of the cited evidence. Scientific names and technical consensus can change while older records retain historical value.
- Current terminology
- Classification context
- Finding cited technical literature
Primary datasets, specimen catalogues, standards bodies and the most recent peer-reviewed literature.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Acapoeta”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Acapoeta primary sources, Acapoeta archive and Acapoeta research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Acapoeta”?
- Is the terminology current, historical or disputed?
- Which observation, specimen, dataset or publication supports the account?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Acapoeta” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.