Danionella dracula

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Danionella dracula
Systematics
without rank: Otophysa
Order : Carp-like (Cypriniformes)
Subordination : Carp fish-like (Cyprinoidei)
Family : Bärblings (Danionidae)
Genre : Danionella
Type : Danionella dracula
Scientific name
Danionella dracula
Britz , Conway & Rüber , 2009

Danionella dracula is a species from the family of carp fish (Cyprinidae). The species was described in 2009. The specific epithet dracula indicates significantly enlarged canine-like outgrowths on the jawbones of the animals.

features

The body of Danionella dracula is scaleless and elongated, with an almost round cross-section of the abdomen and laterally flattened behind the anal fin . The animals are largely colorless and translucent and only show dark pigments in five rows of melanocytes along the flanks and a yellowish line along the neural tube . The pigmented front and rear swim bladders are visible through gaps in the core muscles. The side line has no channels or pores. The dorsal fin is short and stands over the rear half of the elongated anal fin. The caudal fin sits on a long caudal stalk and is forked. The anus and genitals are clearly in front of the male and directly in front of the anal fin in the female. The total length is a maximum of about 17 millimeters.

The large head has large eyes and well-developed nostrils. The mouth is below, the jaws of the males are clearly enlarged and therefore strongly protruding.

Danionella dracula differs from the other species of the genus in :

  • only one, instead of two bones in the upper jaw,
  • a single row of teeth in the upper and lower jaw with 6 to 13 tooth-like outgrowths each, the foremost of which are greatly enlarged and shaped like canines and protrude clearly from the mouth,
  • the lack of jaw cartilage,
  • the smaller number of fin rays.

The species also has a reduced skeleton, which has 44 fewer bones than that of the closely related zebrafish ( Danio rerio ).

Occurrence and way of life

The species is only known from a small river near Sha Du Zup in northern Myanmar . Nothing worth mentioning has been published about their way of life in their natural habitat. Molecular biological studies indicate that the species split off from the rest of the genus about 30 million years ago . Animals kept in captivity have a lifespan of about a year.

swell

  • Ralf Britz, Kevin W Conway, Lukas Rüber: Spectacular morphological novelty in a miniature cyprinid fish, Danionella dracula n. Sp. In: Proceedings of the Royal Society B . 2009, doi : 10.1098 / rspb.2009.0141 (English, full text [PDF]).

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