Ad Konings - Wikipedia

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Adrianus Franciscus Johannes Marinus Maria"Ad"Konings^[1](born 11 January 1956 inRoosendaal,Netherlands) is anichthyologistoriginally trained inmedicineandbiology.Konings is best known for his research onAfrican rift lake cichlids.After studies inAmsterdam,he has spent most of his life inRotterdam.

Early life

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Konings started keeping cichlids when he was 14 years old in 1970. Soon he was breeding rare African cichlids and working as an assistant to the largest tropical fish dealer in the Netherlands.

Academic studies and early career

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From 1974-1980 he studied medical biology at theUniversity of Amsterdamand was awarded his Ph.D. in 1980. He chose this field despite his love of ichthyology due to a fear that if he chose the latter field he would be unemployable. From 1980-1986. he did research onlysosomal enzymesat theErasmus Universityin Rotterdam. Most of this wasDNA-related work (molecular biology).

In 1986, Konings moved toSt. Leon-Rot,Germany(nearHeidelberg), where he started to write books and breedLake Tanganyikacichlids. He also worked for 18 months at theUniversity of Heidelberg ParasitologyDepartment.

As publisher and photographer

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Konings and his future wife started their own publishing company,Cichlid Press,in 1991. Its first book was titled theCichlids Yearbook,vol. 1. The business grew and now publishes a number of cichlid guidebooks by Konings and other authors; its publications are often regarded as the standard reference works on various classes of African cichlids. Amazon booksellers list 36 different books or publications under his name.

He is also a prolificphotographer,and a recent Google image search under his name yielded 6,900 images.

Late in her career famed ichthyologistEthelwynn Trewavasmentored Konings, providing feedback and suggestions for his research. When her eyesight failed late in her life she asked him to accept herstereo microscopeas a gift from the prominent African cichlid expert of the mid-20th century to the man who succeeded her in describing a multitude of new cichlid species.

Konings also was mentored by prominent fish explorer and exporterStuart Grantearly in his career, and when Konings married his wife Gertrud (nḗe Dudin), also a biologist, in 1996 inMalawiGrant and his wife Esther were best man and maid of honor.

Konings moved toEl Paso, Texas,in 1996, relocating Cichlid Press along with his family. In interviews he has described a love of the area's climate and landscape as the reason for the move. The Konings have taken up the study ofcactisince their move, photographing every species and variety of cactus native to Texas.^[2]

He occasionally leads expeditions toLake Malawiand lectures extensively around the world.

Publications

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This list isincomplete;you can help byadding missing items.(July 2014)

Back To Nature Guide to Malawi Cichlidsby Ad Konings; Hardcover; Cichlid Press; 2nd edition (November 20,2003);ISBN 0-9668255-9-4;ISBN 978-0-9668255-9-6
Malawi Cichlids in Their Natural Habitatby Ad Konings; Hardcover; Cichlid Press; 3rd edition (July 31, 2001);ISBN 0-9668255-3-5;ISBN 978-0-9668255-3-4
Enjoying Cichlidsby Kjell Fohrman, Mary Bailey, Ad Konings; Hardcover; Cichlid Press (November 30, 2002);ISBN 0-9668255-7-8;ISBN 978-0-9668255-7-2
Celebrating Cichlids from Lakes Malawi and Tanganyikaby Ad Konings; Hardcover; Cichlid Press (August 31, 2005);ISBN 1-932892-02-8;ISBN 978-1-932892-02-4
Tanganyika Cichlids in Their Natural Habitatby Ad Konings; Hardcover; Cichlid Press;ISBN 0-9668255-0-0;ISBN 978-0-9668255-0-3
Guide to Malawi Cichlidsby Ad Konings; Hardcover;Aqualog VerlagGmbH (January 1997);ISBN 3-9805605-3-8;ISBN 978-3-9805605-3-5
Guide to Tanganyika Cichlidsby Ad Konings; Hardcover; Aqualog Verlag GmbH (January 1996);ISBN 3-928457-37-3;ISBN 978-3-928457-37-8
Konings' Book of Cichlids and All the Other Fishes of Lake Malawiby Ad Konings; Hardcover;TFH Publications(July 1991);ISBN 0-86622-527-7;ISBN 978-0-86622-527-4
Cichlids from Central Americaby Ad Konings; Hardcover; Tropical Fish Hobbyist (February 1989);ISBN 0-86622-700-8;ISBN 978-0-86622-700-1
The Cichlid Diversity of Lake Malawi/Nyasa/Niassa: Identification, Distribution and Taxonomyby Jos Snoeks and Ad Konings; Hardcover; Cichlid Press (November, 2004);ISBN 0-9668255-8-6;ISBN 978-0-9668255-8-9
Cacti of Texas: in their natural habitatby Gertrud & Ad Konings; Cichlid Press (2009);ISBN 978-1-932892-08-6
Featherfins in their natural habitat;ISBN 978-1-932892-17-8

Tribute

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Two Lake Malawi cichlids have been named after him, namelyAulonocara koningsiby Patrick Tawil in 2003, andPlacidochromis koningsiby Hanssens in 2004.

References

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^Chin, Pam (2003):Ode to Ad.Cichlid Room Companion
^Cactus and Succulent Society of America ArchivedFebruary 9, 2013, at theWayback Machine

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Early life

Academic studies and early career

As publisher and photographer

Publications

Tribute

See also

References