Tebera rainbow fish
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Tebera rainbow fish ( Melanotaenia herbertaxelrodi ) |
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| Melanotaenia herbertaxelrodi | ||||||||||||
| Allen , 1981 |
The Tebera rainbow fish ( Melanotaenia herbertaxelrodi ), also called Lake Tebera rainbow fish , is a species of freshwater fish from the rainbow fish family (Melanotaeniidae) found in the Lake Tebera system in the north of the Gulf Province in Papua New Guinea . The species was named after the former editor of the aquarium trade journal "Tropical Fish Hobbyist" Herbert Axelrod and is therefore also called Axelrod's rainbow fish . However, this can lead to confusion with Chilatherina axelrodi , which is also known as Axelrods rainbow fish.
features
The Tebera rainbow fish has a relatively high-backed body, is strongly flattened on the sides and is usually 9 to 11 cm long. The basic color is golden yellow to greenish, a strong bluish to black side stripe is more or less visible depending on the mood. The unpaired fins are bright red in color behind the middle of the body. Females are paler in color, but the sexual dimorphism in terms of coloration in the Tebera rainbow fish is less pronounced than in other Melanotaenia species. From a length of 4.5 to 5 cm, males are significantly higher back than the females.
- Fins formula : dorsal 1 IV – VI, dorsal 2 I / 10–16, anal I / 17–25.
habitat
The Tebera rainbow fish habitat is in the rugged, southern highlands of Papua New Guinea. Lake Tebera is located in the Purari catchment , about 410 km northwest of Port Moresby , the capital of Papua New Guinea, and consists of numerous interconnected ponds, springs and swamps. The entire area is about ten kilometers long and two kilometers wide and lies at an altitude of 790 to 800 m above sea level. A single specimen was caught at Karamui 38 km north of the lake. In the lakes, the Tebera rainbow fish can be found near the banks between the vegetation, between the roots of the trees growing on the bank and between branches that have fallen into the water. At the type locality , a small stream 4 km east of Lake Tebera, the temperature at the time the type specimens were taken was 21 ° C and the pH was 7.8.
Systematics
The Tebera Rainbow Fish in 1981 by the Australian ichthyologists Gerald Allen described and belongs to a group of closely related rainbow fish of the southern mountain region, which includes the Aquamarine Rainbow Fish ( Melanotaenia lacustris ) and the mountain Rainbow Fish ( Melanotaenia monticola include).
literature
- Peter Schubert: Rainbow fish. Urania-Verlag, 1991, ISBN 3-332-00469-7 .
- Günther Sterba : The world's freshwater fish. 2nd Edition. Urania, Leipzig / Jena / Berlin 1990, ISBN 3-332-00109-4 .
- Adrian R. Tappin: Rainbowfishes. 2011, Art Publications, page 339.
Web links
- Melanotaenia herbertaxelrodi on Fishbase.org (English)