Lip-toothed gobies

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Lip-toothed gobies
Sicyopterus fasciatus

Sicyopterus fasciatus

Systematics
Acanthomorphata
Spinefish (Acanthopterygii)
Perch relatives (Percomorphaceae)
Order : Gobies (Gobiiformes)
Family : Oxudercidae
Subfamily : Lip-toothed gobies
Scientific name
Sicydiinae
Gill , 1860

Sicydiinae (Sicydiinae) are a sub-family of Grundelartigen (Gobiiformes). They live worldwide in fresh and brackish waters on tropical islands and in fast-flowing rivers and streams in coastal mountain regions up to heights of 1000 meters, in West Africa, South and Southeast Asia, Australia and in tropical America. Some species are adapted to life in fast flowing streams and rapids. The fish are therefore also called climbing gobies. The larvae often develop in the sea.

Lip-toothed gobies feed on growth, diatoms , green algae , blue-green algae and bacteria. Sicyopus species feed on small invertebrates.

features

The fish have a cylindrical body that is often incompletely scaled. Some species have scales only on the tail stalk. The mouth is terminal or below , the lower jaw shorter than the upper jaw. The eyes are wide apart on the top of the head. In the hard-edged first dorsal fin , the middle of the mostly 6 fin rays are higher and are often drawn out like filaments. The pelvic fins have grown together to form a suction funnel and are supported by thick, highly branched fin rays. Except for the genera Sicyopus and Stiphodon , they are fused with the abdominal wall. The species Sicyopterus stimpsoni can generate negative pressure in two places (belly and mouth) and thus stick to the ground even when moving. In contrast, other lip-toothed gobies have to briefly give up the firm surface adhesion in order to move.

Male lip-toothed gobies are often more colorful than the plainly colored females and have larger backs and anal fins . Especially during courtship the territorial males shimmer red and / or metallic.

Reproduction

The fish spawn hidden under stones and in crevices, often after rainfall, so that the larvae are washed into the sea. The clutches are very large, a 10 cm long female can lay up to 200,000 eggs. Late larval stages migrate back into the rivers, often during the new or full moon to take advantage of the spring tide. The contact with fresh water triggers the metamorphosis to the young fish.

Species and genera

Cotylopus acutipinnis
Sicyopterus japonicus
Sicyopterus laticeps
Sicydium plumieri
Sicydium stimpsoni

There are over 120 species from 9 genera.

literature

  • Joseph S. Nelson : Fishes of the World. 4th edition. John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken NJ 2006, ISBN 0-471-25031-7 .
  • Hans Horsthemke: Sicydiinae. In: Claus Schaefer, Torsten Schröer (Hrsg.): The large lexicon of aquaristics. Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart 2004, ISBN 3-8001-7497-9 , pp. 888 f.

Web links

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

proof

  1. ↑ Michael Stang : Diverse fish mouths - gobies on Hawaii use their mouths for climbing. In: Deutschlandfunk . Retrieved January 7, 2013 .