| 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]
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.
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.
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.
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.
Trichomycteridae is a family of catfishes commonly known as pencil catfishes or parasitic catfishes. This family includes the candiru fish, feared by some people for its alleged habit of entering into the urethra of humans. They are one of the few parasitic chordates. Another species is the life monsefuano which was important to the Moche culture and still an important part of Peruvian cuisine.
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.
Hemiancistrus is a genus of suckermouth armored catfishes. These species are native to South America. The taxonomy of this genus is complex and unclear, and major work has to be done. Many of these fish are popular aquarium fish.
The white-eye is a species of killifish of the family Anablepidae. This species is the only member of its genus, Oxyzygonectes, and the subfamily Oxyzygonectinae.
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.
Brachyhypopomus is a genus of fish in the family Hypopomidae native primarily to tropical and subtropical South America, although a single species, B. occidentalis, also occurs in Panama and Costa Rica. They are found in a wide range of static or slow-flowing freshwater habitats such as edges of rivers, streams, floodplains and swamps, but they are absent from deep river channels. There are both species in well-oxygenated waters and poorly oxygenated waters; those in the latter have adaptions that allow them to survive this like larger gills or the capability of gulping up mouthfuls of air from the water surface. Brachyhypopomus feed during the night on small invertebrates.
Hoplias malabaricus, also known as the wolf fish, tiger fish, guabine or trahira, is a predatory Central and South American freshwater ray-finned fish of the characiform family Erythrinidae.
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 recent phylogenetic analysis has suggested that Brachyrhaphis may not be of a monophyletic group.
Alfaro cultratus, the knife livebearer, is a species of tropical freshwater fish from the family Poeciliidae. It hails from Central America and is often kept in home aquaria.
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.
Phallichthys amates, the merry widow or merry widow livebearer, is a livebearer fish from Central America, the largest and most widespread in its genus. Two subspecies range from Guatemala to Panama. Distinguishing features include the dark dorsal fin edge, a stripe through the eye, and an oversized male copulatory organ (gonopodium).
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.
