Data from: A complex mode of aggressive mimicry in a scale-eating cichlid fish

Aggressive mimicry is an adaptive tactic of parasitic or predatory species
that closely resemble inoffensive models in order to increase fitness via
predatory gains. Although similarity of distantly related species is often
intuitively implicated with mimicry, the exact mechanisms and evolutionary
causes remain elusive in many cases. Here, we report a complex aggressive
mimicry strategy in Plecodus straeleni, a scale-eating cichlid fish from
Lake Tanganyika, which imitates two other cichlid species. Employing
targeted sequencing on ingested scales, we show that P. straeleni does not
preferentially parasitize its models but —contrary to prevailing
assumptions — targets a variety of co-occurring dissimilar looking fish
species. Combined with tests for visual resemblance and visual modelling
from a prey perspective, our results suggest that complex interactions
among different cichlid species are involved in this mimicry system.