Neosiluroides cooperensis
| Neosiluroides cooperensis | ||||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name of the genus | ||||||||||||
| Neosiluroides | ||||||||||||
| Allen & Feinberg, 1998 | ||||||||||||
| Scientific name of the species | ||||||||||||
| Neosiluroides cooperensis | ||||||||||||
| Allen & Feinberg , 1998 |
Neosiluroides cooperensis (Engl. Cooper Creek Catfish ) is an inside Australia's occurring freshwater -Wels from the family of coral catfish .
features
This species of coral catfish is usually about 20 to 25 centimeters long (up to 46 centimeters). The back is pale gray to cream brown, typically with dark speckles, sometimes marbled on the sides and whitish below. The fins are often yellowish. The front dorsal fin is narrow and short and has a hard, sharp fin ray and five to six soft rays. The second, very short dorsal fin (25–33 soft rays) is fused with the caudal fin (10–12 soft rays) and the anal fin (73–87 soft rays), the pectoral fins have a sharp hard ray and eleven to thirteen soft rays. The eyes are relatively small.
Neosiluroides cooperensis is the only member of the genus Neosiluroides . The genus was established because of the unusually internal nostrils, which are covered with a thick layer of skin that forms an outer antechamber. There are also small papillae on the body and scalp.
Distribution and way of life
The species is endemic to the Cooper Creek river system, which is part of the Lake Eyre catchment area in central Australia. There it is often found in the larger, permanent waterholes of the periodically flowing waters. The fish live on the often muddy bottom of the mostly murky waters.
The diet of these coral catfish consists of snails and crustaceans. With a diameter of three to four millimeters, the eggs are the largest among the Australian coral catfish; the number of eggs is around one thousand per spawning process. The species is said to be very aggressive towards other fish.
literature
- G. Allen, S. Midgley, M. Allen: Field Guide to the Freshwater Fishes of Australia . 2nd Edition. Western Australian Museum, Perth 2003, ISBN 0-7307-5486-3 , pp. 77 .
Web links
- Neosiluroides cooperensis on Fishbase.org (English)