Glossolepis

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Glossolepis
Salmon red rainbow fish (Glossolepis incisus)

Salmon red rainbow fish ( Glossolepis incisus )

Systematics
Perch relatives (Percomorphaceae)
Ovalentaria
Superordinate : Earfish relatives (Atherinomorphae)
Order : Earfish (Atheriniformes)
Family : Rainbow fish (Melanotaeniidae)
Genre : Glossolepis
Scientific name
Glossolepis
Weber , 1907
Wanam rainbow fish ( Glossolepis wanamensis )
Ramu rainbow fish ( Glossolepis ramuensis )
Spotted rainbow fish ( Glossolepis maculosus )

The genus Glossolepis ( gr. Glossa = tongue; lepis = scale; refers to the characteristic tongue-shaped scales) with 9 species described today was established by Weber in 1907 . It belongs to the rainbow fish family and is endemic to the island of New Guinea .

features

The genus is considered to be an evolution of the genus Melanotaenia . The distinctive features are the perforation of the scaly edges, the higher number of gill traps on the upper gill arch, longer pectoral fins (in relation to body length), enlarged teeth in the lateral part of the upper jaw that are visible when the mouth is closed and a stronger first fin ray of the second dorsal fin compared to the first Dorsal fin.

Most species of the genus are about 12 cm tall and relatively high back with age. Exceptions are the Ramu rainbow fish and the spotted rainbow fish from northeast New Guinea, which stay smaller and are more reminiscent of Melanotaenia species. Genetically, they also differ significantly from the other Glossolepis species.

Occurrence

Glossolepis occurs exclusively north of the central chain mountains that run from west to east on the island of New Guinea. There the species live in isolated lakes or in stagnant or weakly flowing waters of the large river systems Mamberamo , Sepik and Ramu .

The most prominent representative of the genus is the salmon-red rainbow fish, which has been known in aquaristics since the early 1970s . The other species, on the other hand, are only kept and reproduced by a few specialized aquarists (except Glossolepis leggetti ). The fish grow slowly and show the first signs of color after half a year; They are not completely colored until one or two years old.

Systematics

The genus Glossolepis traditionally comprises 9 species, which can be divided into the following kin groups ( clades ):

However, the spotted and Ramu rainbow fish do not meet all of the morphological criteria typical of the species for Glossolepis . Genetically, they also belong to the genus Melanotaenia with Melanotaenia affinis and Melanotaenia iris as closest relatives. On the other hand, all other Glossolepis species are genetically more closely related to the species Melanotaenia japenensis , Melanotaenia vanheurni , Melanotaenia rubripinnis and Chilatherina lorentzi , which also occur in northern New Guinea , than to all other rainbow fish .

The genus Pelangia ( ind. Pelangi = rainbow fish ) established by Allen in 1998 with only one described species from the vicinity of Etna Bay south of the Massif Central is closely related to Glossolepis .

Web links

Commons : Glossolepis  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Max Weber: Freshwater fish from New Guinea, a contribution to the question of the earlier connection between New Guinea and Australia . In: Nova Guinea. Results de l'expédition scientifique Néerlandaise à la Nouvelle-Guinée . tape 5 , no. 2 , 1907, p. 201-267 .
  2. ^ Johannes Graf: The genus Glossolepis . In: Aquaristik Fachmagazin . tape 41 , no. 4 , 2009, ISSN  1437-4854 , p. 4-10 .
  3. ^ Unmack, Allen, Johnson: Phylogeny and biogeography of rainbowfishes (Melanotaeniidae) from Australia and New Guinea . In: Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution . tape 67 , 2013, p. 15-27 .
  4. ↑ Gerald R. Allen: A new genus and species of Rainbowfish (Melanotaeniidae) from fresh waters of Irian Jaya, Indonesia . In: Revue française Aquariologie . tape 25 , no. 1-2 , 1998, pp. 11-16 .