| Cardinal brachy | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Male (top) and female (bottom) | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Cyprinodontiformes |
| Family: | Poeciliidae |
| Genus: | Brachyrhaphis |
| Species: | B. roseni |
| Binomial name | |
| Brachyrhaphis roseni Bussing, 1988 | |
Brachyrhaphis roseni, commonly known as the cardinal brachy, is a poeciliid fish from Central America. [2]
Brachyrhaphis roseni was scientifically described by William Bussing in 1988, but was known to livebearers enthusiasts from the 1960s. [3] It grows to 6 cm. The fish have a slightly arched body and twelve dark vertical stripes, which are normally more prominent in males. The dorsal fin is half orange with a dark margin. The caudal fin has an orange edge; in males there is also a dark band before the edge. There are commonly dark stripes near the base of the fin. The anal fin is yellowish with a dark blotch. B. roseni is similar to the related species B. rhabdophora . [2]
Brachyrhaphis roseni is distributed along the Pacific slope of Central America, from the drainage of the Coto Colorado River in Costa Rica to the Santa María River in western Panama. [2] The species is common throughout much of its range, [1] but rare in the south of Costa Rica. [2] It is frequently found together with B. terrabensis , but the latter species tends to replace it in headwaters. [4] [5] In the north it is replaced by B. rhabdophora and in the south by other Brachyrhaphis species. [2]
Brachyrhaphis roseni lives in stagnant and slow to moderately fast flowing waters. It may be found on the surface or in the midwaters. [2] Its habitats are between 10 and 651 m above sea level, [6] and the water temperature ranges from 22 to 30 °C. [2] At lower elevations the temperature is higher, the flow is slower, and the substrate consists of sand, gravel, and mud, whereas at higher elevations the water is cooler and faster and runs over small stones and medium to large boulders. [6] [1]
B. roseni frequently occurs with a variety of predatory fish species. [7] One habitat, a creek by the Pan-American Highway near the border with Costa Rica–Panama border, is composed of large boulders, and there B. roseni stays in the shallow waters along with Rivulus hildebrandi ; the deeper waters are inhabited by Poecilia gillii , a Curimata species, an Astyanax species, and certain cichlids, which are larger and dominate B. roseni. [3] An evolutionarily distinct population inhabits a sulphide-rich spring in the David River drainage. [8]
Brachyrhaphis roseni feeds chiefly on insects. [2] It gives birth to live young, [3] and reproduces throughout the year. [2]
Brachyrhaphis roseni may be kept in a home aquarium, but is known to be aggressive. [3] Captive breeding is challenging because the adults voraciously prey on their own young. [9] The species is fairly common in the ornamental fish trade. Most of the fish traded in Europe come from aquaculture. [10]
Ancistrus is a genus of nocturnal freshwater fish in the family Loricariidae of order Siluriformes, native to freshwater habitats in South America and Panama. Fish of this genus are common in the aquarium trade where they are known as bushynose or bristlenose catfish. In the aquarium hobby they are often referred to as bushynose or bristlenose plecos instead, but this may lead to confusion as "pleco" usually is used for Hypostomus plecostomus and its allies and is often used as a catchall term for any loricariids remotely resembling that species.
Xiphophorus is a genus of euryhaline and freshwater fishes in the family Poeciliidae of order Cyprinodontiformes, native to Mexico and northern Central America. Xiphophorus species can be divided into 3 groups based on their evolutionary relationships: platyfish, northern swordtails, and southern swordtails. Platyfish formerly were classified in another genus, Platypoecilus, which is now obsolete. The type species is X. hellerii, the green swordtail. Like most other new world Poeciliids, platies and swordtails are live-bearers that use internal fertilization and give birth to live young instead of laying eggs like the bulk of the world's fishes. The name Xiphophorus derives from the Greek words ξίφος (dagger) and φόρος (bearer), referring to the gonopodium on the males. All are relatively small fishes, which reach a maximum length of 3.5–16 cm (1.4–6.3 in) depending on the exact species involved.
Goodeidae is a family of teleost fish endemic to Mexico and some areas of the United States. Many species are known as splitfins. This family contains about 50 species within 18 genera. The family is named after ichthyologist George Brown Goode (1851–1896).
Loricariidae is the largest family of catfish, with over 90 genera and just over 680 species. Loricariids originate from freshwater habitats of Costa Rica, Panama, and tropical and subtropical South America. These fish are noted for the bony plates covering their bodies and their suckermouths. Several genera are sold as "plecos", notably the suckermouth catfish, Hypostomus plecostomus, and are popular as aquarium fish.
Corydoras is a genus of freshwater catfish in the family Callichthyidae and subfamily Corydoradinae. The species usually have more restricted areas of endemism than other callichthyids, but the area of distribution of the entire genus almost equals the area of distribution of the family, except for Panama where Corydoras is not present. Corydoras species are distributed in South America where they can be found from the east of the Andes to the Atlantic coast, from Trinidad to the Río de la Plata drainage in northern Argentina.
Parachromis managuensis is a large species of cichlid native to freshwater habitats in Central America, where it is found from Honduras to Costa Rica. The binomial name refers to Lake Managua in Nicaragua, from which the holotype was obtained. It is a food fish and is also found in the aquarium trade where it is variously known as the jaguar cichlid, managuense cichlid, managua cichlid, guapote tigre, Aztec cichlid, spotted guapote and jaguar guapote. In Costa Rica, it is known as the guapote tigre.
Poecilia sphenops, called the Mexican molly or simply the molly, is a species of poeciliid fish from Central America. It was once understood as a widespread species with numerous local variants ranging from Mexico to Venezuela, but these variants are today considered distinct species belonging to the P. sphenops complex and P. sphenops itself as being native to Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras. Due in part to its popularity as an aquarium fish, the species has been introduced outside of its native range, but many records may in fact refer to P. mexicana or other species from the complex. P. sphenops has been crossbred with other mollies, notably P. latipinna and P. velifera, to produce fancy mollies for the ornamental fish trade.
Geophagus is a genus of cichlids that mainly live in South America as far south as Argentina and Uruguay, but a single species, G. crassilabris is from Panama. They are found in a wide range of freshwater habitats. They are part of a group popularly known as eartheaters and mostly feed by picking up mouthfuls of sediment to sift out food items such as invertebrates, plant material and detritus. The largest species reach up to 28 cm (11 in) in standard length. They are mostly kept in aquariums.
The convict cichlid is a fish species from the family Cichlidae, native to Central America, also known as the zebra cichlid. Convict cichlids are popular aquarium fish and have also been the subject of numerous studies on fish behaviour.
Amatitlania sajica, the T-bar cichlid or Sajica cichlid, is a Central American species of cichlid found in freshwater streams and lakes on the Pacific slope of Costa Rica. The fish is tan colored with seven indistinct bars on the body. The third bar is usually prominent and coupled with a dark lateral stripe running from the gill cover results in a horizontal T-shaped mark, hence the common name of T-bar cichlid.
Rineloricaria is a genus of freshwater tropical catfish belonging to the family Loricariidae. They are commonly called whiptail catfish because of the long filament that grows out of the tip of the caudal fin that is characteristic of the genus. With the exception of R. altipinnis from Panama, they are native to the rivers of northern and central South America. Some species are regularly seen in the aquarium trade.
The red-bellied piranha, also known as the red piranha, is a type of piranha native to South America, found in the Amazon, Paraguay, Paraná and Essequibo basins, as well as coastal rivers of northeastern Brazil. This fish is locally abundant in its freshwater habitat. They are omnivorous foragers and feed on insects, worms, crustaceans, and fish. They are not a migratory species but do travel to seek out conditions conducive to breeding and spawning during periods of increased rainfall. Red-bellied piranhas often travel in shoals as a predatory defense but rarely exhibit group hunting behavior. Acoustic communication is common and is sometimes exhibited along with aggressive behaviors. They are a popular aquarium fish.
Brachyplatystoma is a genus of catfish from the family Pimelodidae. As the occasionally used common name goliath catfishes indicates, this genus includes some of the largest species of catfish, including the piraíba, B. filamentosum, which reaches up to 3.6 metres (12 ft) in length; though the other species don't reach this length. Brachyplatystoma are found in the Amazon and Orinoco basins, and other tropical freshwater and brackish habitats in South America. Many species are migratory. These fish are important as food fish and, to some extent, aquarium fish.
Heterandria formosa is a species of livebearing fish within the family Poeciliidae. This is the same family that includes familiar aquarium fishes such as guppies and mollies. Heterandria formosa is not as commonly kept in aquaria as these species. Despite the common name "least killifish", it belongs to the family Poeciliidae and not to one of the killifish families. H. formosa is one of the smallest fish species; the 1991 Baensch Aquarium Atlas listed it as the 7th smallest fish in the world, and as of 2006 it remains the smallest fish species found in North America.
The redtail splitfin or redtail goodeid is a species of goodeid fish from the family Goodeidae and subfamily Goodeinae. Like other members of Goodeinae, the redtail splitfin is native to Mexico and a livebearer. However, the goodeid mating system differs in several ways from the more common livebearing fish from the family Poeciliidae that includes guppies and swordtails. While no goodeid species is a very popular aquarium fish, the redtail splitfin is one of the most popular. Only the male has the red-orange tail for which it is named. Its specific name honours the collector of the type, Gustav Eisen (1847–1940) who was Curator of Marine Invertebrates at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, California.
Brachyrhaphis is a genus of poeciliids native to freshwater habitats in Central America. Most are restricted to Panama and Costa Rica, but B. holdridgei also occurs in Nicaragua and B. hartwegi is from Mexico and Guatemala. A phylogenetic analysis published in 2015 suggested that Brachyrhaphis may not be of a monophyletic group.
William Albert Bussing, known as Don William, was an American ichthyologist who spent most of his career on the faculty of the Universidad de Costa Rica, working there from 1966 to 1991. He was appointed professor in 1978 and when he retired he became emeritus professor.
Limia sulphurophila, also known as sulphur limia, is a livebearing fish in the family Poeciliidae. It is endemic to the Dominican Republic in the island of Hispaniola.
Astyanax anai is a small freshwater fish native to Central America. It has a restricted range, inhabiting a handful of Atlantic drainages in Costa Rica and Panama, and is known from locales only up to 100 meters elevation. As an endangered species, A. anai is a point of interest for conservation biologists studying the region. It can be found living sympatrically with other species of Astyanax, but is less common than its relatives.
Brachyrhaphis rhabdophora, commonly known as the lace brachy, is a poeciliid fish from Costa Rica.
