Red arowana
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Red Arowana ( Scleropages legendrei ) |
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| Scleropages legendary | ||||||||||||
| Pouyaud , Sudarto & Teugels , 2003 |
The red arowana ( Scleropages legendrei ) is a predatory fish from the family of osteoglossids (Osteoglossidae). The species was named in honor of Marc Legendre, a scientist from the French Institut de recherche pour le développement .
description
The red arowana has an elongated and slender, laterally flattened body. The paratypes examined during the initial description were 11.5 to 62 cm long. Older specimens become higher back over time. The body height of younger fish is about a quarter of the standard length , of older fish a third. The head is as long as it is high, the width is ¾ of the head length. The mouth is slanted, the maxillary is short and only extends below the center of the eye. At the tip of the lower jaw there are two short, thick barbels that can reach the length of the diameter of the eyes. The number of gill trap rays on the first gill arch varies between 15 and 20. The pectoral fins are long (28.3–30.6% of the standard length), but in many cases do not reach the base of the pelvic fins, which are less than half as long as the pectoral fins. The anal fin is short and measures less than 28% of the standard length. The dorsal fin is even shorter, reaching only ½ to ¾ the length of the anal fin.
The red arowana is dark brown in color on the back. The sides, the gill cover and the fins vary in different shades of gold and red. The lips are red. In adult specimens the reddish color is less clear and the ventral side becomes whitish.
- Fin formula : dorsal 17–19, anal 25–27, pectoral 7, ventral 5.
- Dandruff formula SL 23-25.
distribution
The red arowana occurs in small rainforest streams and small lakes (less than 1 km² in size) around the Sentarumsee in the upper river basin of the Kapuas on the Indonesian island of Kalimantan . The streams carry tannin- colored black water with a pH value of less than 5.5.
Reproduction
Like all bones, the red arowana is a mouthbrooder .
Systematics
The Red Arowana was originally considered color morph of the Asian Fork Barts ( Scleropages formosus separated until 2003 on the basis of morphological characteristics and genetic differences and as a separate species) described was. Its sister species and thus the closest relative is the Golden Arowana ( Scleropages aureus ) from Sumatra .
use
The red arowana is a popular aquarium fish and symbolizes luck, wealth, prosperity and strength in China. A 30 cm long specimen costs US $ 1000 to 2000 in Indonesia.
Danger
The scientists who wrote the first description consider the species to be critically endangered , especially since the water values of its home waters change as a result of the deforestation of the surrounding forests (increasing pH value). It has already disappeared in the southern area of Lake Sentarum. In the IUCN Red List of IUCN it is not yet listed.
literature
- Pouyaud, Laurent; Sudarto & Guy Teugels (December 2003): The Different Color Varieties of the Asian Arowana Scleropages formosus (Osteoglossidae) are distinct species: Morphologic and genetic evidences. Cybium 27 (4): 287-305. PDF
Web links
- Red Arowana on Fishbase.org (English)