Alfaro (genus)
| Alfaro | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Messerschwanzkärpfling ( Alfaro cultratus ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name of the tribe | ||||||||||||
| Alfarini | ||||||||||||
| Hubbs , 1924 | ||||||||||||
| Scientific name of the genus | ||||||||||||
| Alfaro | ||||||||||||
| Meek , 1912 |
Alfaro is a genus of viviparous toothcarps (Poeciliinae). The fish are found in Central America from Honduras to Costa Rica to western Panama. They live exclusively in rivers and streams that flow into the Atlantic. The genus was named after A. Alfaro, director of the National Museum of Costa Rica at the time. There are two types, the Messerschwanzkärpfling ( Alfaro cultratus ) and Netzkärpfling ( Alfaro huberi ).
features
Alfaro species reach lengths between 3.5 cm and 6 cm (males) and between 5 cm and 8 cm (females). They are elongated, laterally strongly flattened fish with a grayish to brownish color. The fins are translucent and yellowish. Characteristic for the genus is the knife-like keel edge consisting of two rows of scales between the anal and caudal fin. The edge of the keel is more pronounced in the razor tailed fish than in the net fish.
The male reproductive organ, the gonopodium , has a simple structure, which is why Alfaro is regarded as a very original type of viviparous toothcarp.
species
- Messerschwanzkärpfling ( Alfaro cultratus )
- Netfish ( Alfaro huberi )
literature
- Günther Sterba (Ed.), Gert Brückner: Encyclopedia of Aquaristics and Special Ichthyology. Neumann-Neudamm, Melsungen u. a. 1978, ISBN 3-7888-0252-9 .
- Helmut Stallknecht : Live-bearing toothcarps . Neumann Verlag, 1989, ISBN 3-7402-0055-3 .
- Dieter Gentzsch: Alfaro. In: Claus Schaefer, Torsten Schröer (Hrsg.): The large lexicon of aquaristics. Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart 2004, ISBN 3-8001-7497-9 , pp. 31-33.
Web links
- Alfaro on Fishbase.org (English)