Callopanchax
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Golden pheasant ( Callopanchax occidentalis ), male |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Callopanchax | ||||||||||||
| Myers , 1933 |
The fish of the genus Callopanchax (from the Greek kallos "beautiful" and " Panchax ") are West African toothfish from the family Nothobranchiidae and are counted among the killifish . Due to their blaze of color, they are on the one hand well-known aquarium fish , but are rarely kept because of their short life expectancy and their specialized requirements. The term " Prachtkärpflinge " also offers the potential for confusion with the genus Aphyosemion .
Occurrence
The distribution area of the genus Callopanchax is limited to the West African coastal areas in the area of Guinea , Sierra Leone and Liberia . The animals live there mainly in small swamps and other pools of water. Due to their specialized type of reproduction , the populations are also able to survive in regularly drying waters.
Appearance
The fish have a slim, spindle-shaped to club-shaped body, the mouth is above . The total length is up to eight centimeters, depending on the species. The dorsal fin and anal fin are elongated like a ribbon, the caudal fin is elongated oval. The genus shows a clear sexual dimorphism : the males are more colorful and significantly larger. Their anal fin is also pointed, while that of the female is rounded.
Due to the rapid generation change and the closed habitats, numerous local variants have emerged despite the small distribution area, which can differ significantly in terms of color.
Way of life
The animals live solitary or in loose groups in the muddy or herbaceous bank areas of the waters. They mainly feed on small invertebrates and insects that have fallen into the water.
Reproduction
The genus Callopanchax belongs to the group of so-called seasonal fish . In order to adapt to water that regularly dries out, the eggs are laid in the muddy ground where they go through a resting phase that can last for several weeks or even months. When the rainy season sets in, the young fish hatch. Due to the short life cycles, the animals are sexually mature at eight to ten weeks, but only reach an age of a maximum of two years (even in captivity).
species
- Callopanchax huwaldi ( Berkenkamp & Etzel , 1980)
- Monrovia Killie ( callopanchax monroviae ( Roloff & Ladiges , 1972) )
- Golden pheasant ( Callopanchax occidentalis ( Clausen , 1966) )
- Callopanchax sidibei Sonnenberg & Busch , 2010
- Callopanchax toddi ( Clausen , 1966)
(Classification according to FishBase)
swell
literature
- Rüdiger Riehl , Hans A. Baensch : Aquarien Atlas, Volume 1 , 15th edition, Mergus Verlag, Melle 2007, ISBN 978-3-88244-227-4
- Rüdiger Riehl, Hans A. Baensch: Aquarien Atlas, Volume 3 , 6th edition, Mergus Verlag, Melle 2004, ISBN 978-388244-114-7
- Lothar Seegers: Killifische - egg-laying tooth carps in the aquarium , Ulmer Verlag, Stuttgart 1980, ISBN 978-3-80017-055-5
- Werner Neumann: Callopanchax. In: Claus Schaefer, Torsten Schröer (Hrsg.): The large lexicon of aquaristics. Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart 2004, ISBN 3-8001-7497-9 , pp. 190 f.
Web links
- Callopanchax on Fishbase.org (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ R. Froese, D. Pauly: Scientific Names where Genus Equals Callopanchax ( English ) FishBase. June 23, 2010. Retrieved February 6, 2019.