White-eye
White-eye | ||||||||||||
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Systematics | ||||||||||||
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Scientific name of the subfamily | ||||||||||||
Oxyzygonectinae | ||||||||||||
Parenti , 1981 | ||||||||||||
Scientific name of the genus | ||||||||||||
Oxyzygonectes | ||||||||||||
Fowler , 1916 | ||||||||||||
Scientific name of the species | ||||||||||||
Oxyzygonectes dovii | ||||||||||||
( Günther , 1866) |
The white-eye ( Oxyzygonectes dovii ) is a brackish water fish that is found on the Pacific side of southern Central America. Its distribution area extends from Poneloya in Nicaragua to the Río Salado on the Azuero Peninsula in Panama.
features
The white-eye has an elongated pike shape with a flat back and head and, according to various sources, reaches a length of 15 to 24, possibly even 34 cm. Seen from the side, the head tapers to a point, the gap in the mouth is long, the mouth spatially flat. Seen from above, it is rounded in a semicircle. In juvenile fish the lower jaw is longer than the upper jaw, in adult animals it is the other way around. In both jaws the teeth are arranged in broad bands, the teeth in the inner rows are three-pointed. The eyes are located on the side in the middle of the head and have a striking bright white iris .
The sexes can be differentiated on the sexual papilla in front of the anal fin, which in the male is pointed and curved to the side, while the female has a sexual pouch. In contrast to the other species of the Anablepidae family , the males of the white eyes do not have a gonopodium and the fertilization of the eggs is external.
- Fin formula : dorsal 8, anal 14.
- Scale formula : mLR 29–31.
The dorsal fin, which sits far back, begins behind the attachment of the longer anal fin above the 23rd scale of a central longitudinal row. The pelvic fins reach to the base of the anal fin, the caudal fin is rounded. The number of vertebrae is 28.
The white eye is silvery to bluish in color. The sides of the body of the males have a copper-colored to yellowish sheen, while the fins are yellowish. There are vertical dark stripes on the back of the body. The fins of the females are transparent.
Way of life
The white-eye lives, syntopically with the viviparous toothcarps Poecilia gillii and Poeciliopsis elongata , near the surface in lagoons , mangroves , river mouths and the lower reaches of rivers up to a height of 15 m above sea level. It feeds on debris , algae, and insects. Reproduction only occurs in freshwater. The fish attach their relatively large eggs (2.5–4 mm) to aquatic plants, roots and reeds. The eggs are initially clear and later become cloudy. The fry hatch after 14 to 18 days at a water temperature of 24 ° C.
literature
- Günther Sterba : The world's freshwater fish. 2nd Edition. Urania, Leipzig / Jena / Berlin 1990, ISBN 3-332-00109-4 .
- Joseph S. Nelson : Fishes of the World . John Wiley & Sons, 2006, ISBN 0-471-25031-7 .
Web links
- White eye on Fishbase.org (English)
- Photo: [1]