Melanotaenia duboulayi

Last updated

Melanotaenia duboulayi
Melanotaenia duboulayi 238169871.jpg
In Queensland
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Atheriniformes
Family: Melanotaeniidae
Genus: Melanotaenia
Species:
M. duboulayi
Binomial name
Melanotaenia duboulayi
(Castelnau, 1878)
Synonyms [1]

Atherinichthys duboulayiCastelnau, 1878

Melanotaenia duboulayi, the crimson-spotted rainbowfish, less commonly known as the Duboulay's rainbowfish, [2] is a species of freshwater fish endemic to coastal eastern Australia, although M. duboulayi has also been kept as an aquarium fish since the early 20th century, and is the original "Australian rainbowfish".

Contents

Taxonomy

Melanotaenia duboulayi was initially collected by Duboulay (du Boulay), probably the naturalist and illustrator Francis Houssemayne du Boulay (1837–1914), [3] in the 1870s from the Richmond River in northeastern New South Wales, although he is best known for Coleoptera . It was scientifically described as Atherinichthys duboulayi by Francis de Castelnau in 1878. [4] It was later known as Nematocentris fluviatilis and Melanotaenia fluviatilis . It was reclassified as Melanotaenia splendida fluviatilis following a review of the rainbowfish group by Allen in 1980. The current scientific name, Melanotaenia duboulayi, given by Crowley, et al. in 1986, is a result of the study of early stages of life. [5] This study separated M. splendida fluviatilis into two species, M. duboulayi from the coastal river systems east of the Great Dividing Range in northeastern New South Wales and southeastern Queensland, and M. fluviatilis from the inland Murray-Darling basin system west of the Great Dividing Range. [6]

Description

In Queensland Melanotaenia duboulayi 248544554 (cropped).jpg
In Queensland

Male M. duboulayi reach maximum body lengths of 12 cm (4.7 in), but are usually less than 10 cm (3.9 in), while the females are usually smaller. They have a slender and compressed body shape, and have two dorsal fins very close together, with the first much smaller than the second. Their fin colours vary from clear to yellowish to red, with red flecks and dark margins which become intensely black in males during spawning activities. The larger males are distinguished from females by their brighter colours and can be identified from the elongation of posterior rays in the second dorsal and anal fins. Females have rounded dorsal and anal fins, which are smaller and lack the dark edges. A prominent spot of crimson red is seen on the operculum. Generally, the body is silvery-blue or green ranging through deep bluish or yellow tones. The scale rows are marked with narrow yellow lines and overlaid with orange to brilliant red. They exhibit considerable colour variations over a wide geographical range.

Behaviour

M. duboulayi is omnivorous, and their diet comprises all kinds of foods, especially invertebrates and algae, and in captivity they eat flake food. They like open water and may form small groups around submerged logs and subsurface vegetation.

Spawning occurs prior to summer rains, and the eggs adhere to filamentous subsurface vegetation and floating plant roots.

A controlled study comparing six native fish species with the introduced (and invasive) eastern mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki) on consuming larvae of the common banded mosquito (Culex annulirostris) in Brisbane found that the crimson-spotted rainbowfish ate more mosquito larvae than all other species tested and is a good candidate for mosquito control. [7]

Domestication

Crimson-spotted rainbowfish were favorably described by Castelnau in his initial description: "...He says the colours during life were most beautiful; that a broad stripe of magnificent blue ran along the sides, and two transverse bands of rich scarlet extended on the upper part of the fish towards the middle of the body." [4]

Male and female in captivity M duboulayi.jpg
Male and female in captivity

Amandus Rudel introduced the species to international aquarium hobbyists when he sent specimens to Germany in 1927, and it went from there to North America. In 1930, it was found as an escapee in the Mississippi River.

Crimson-spotted rainbowfish are still very popular with aquarists internationally. Australian breeders place greater emphasis of preserving the local variants. In their native range, they are also released into Australian dams to control mosquitoes using local wild stock to prevent endemic variants of M.duboulayi from being lost by genetic contamination from non-local forms. [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Threadfin rainbowfish</span> Species of fish

The threadfin rainbowfish or featherfin rainbowfish is a rainbowfish, the only species in the genus Iriatherina. It is characterized by long beautiful fins, and is among the most attractive of the rainbowfishes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rainbowfish</span> Family of fishes

Rainbowfishes are small, colourful freshwater fishes belonging to the family Melanotaeniidae, found in northern and eastern Australia, New Guinea, Sulawesi and Madagascar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern mosquitofish</span> Species of fish

The eastern mosquitofish is a species of freshwater fish, closely related to the western mosquitofish, Gambusia affinis. It is a member of the family Poeciliidae of order Cyprinodontiformes. The eastern mosquitofish is native to the eastern and southern United States from Florida to Pennsylvania and inland to Alabama and Tennessee, while the western mosquitofish has a larger distribution throughout the United States.

Cairnsichthys is a genus of rainbowfishes from the subfamily Melanotaeniinae. The genus is endemic to freshwater streams in eastern Queensland in north eastern Australia. The genus was designated as a monotypic genus in 1928 by John T. Nichols and Henry C. Raven but in 2018 a second species was assigned to the genus.

Axelrod's rainbowfish is a species of rainbowfish in the subfamily Melanotaeniinae. It is found in Papua New Guinea in the Yungkiri stream in the north western part of that nation. Typically its preferred habitat is a narrow stream with gentle moving, cloudy water surrounded by lush rainforest.

<i>Melanotaenia</i> Genus of fishes

Melanotaenia is a genus of rainbowfish from Australia, Indonesia, New Guinea, and nearby smaller islands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake Eacham rainbowfish</span> Species of fish

The Lake Eacham rainbowfish is a species of rainbowfish in the subfamily Melanotaeniidae which was thought to be endemic to Yidyam, Queensland, Australia but has proven to have a wider range.

Ogilby's rainbowfish is a species of rainbowfish in the subfamily Melanotaeniinae. It is endemic to West Papua in Indonesia in the Lorentz River system. This species was described in 1910 by Max C.W. Weber from types collected in the Noord-Fluss, now renamed the Lorentz River, by the Dutch explorer Hendrikus Albertus Lorentz in 1907, it was not recorded again until Gerald R. Allen collected more specimens in 1995 and the species was later introduced to the aquarium hobby. Its specific name honours the ichthyologist James Douglas Ogilby (1853-1925).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dwarf rainbowfish</span> Species of fish

The dwarf rainbowfish is a species of rainbowfish in the subfamily Melanotaeniinae. It is known under a number of common names including diamond rainbowfish, neon rainbowfish, Praecox rainbowfish, dwarf neon rainbowfish, peacock rainbowfish, and Teczanka neonowa. It is endemic to the Mamberamo River basin in West Papua in Indonesia and common in the aquarium trade.

The honey blue-eye is an endangered species of fish in the subfamily Pseudomugilinae. It is endemic to southeastern Queensland, Australia, where it is found in mildly acidic, often tannin-stained, ponds and streams in wallum habitat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Celebes rainbowfish</span> Species of fish

The Celebes rainbowfish is a species of sailfin silverside endemic to Sulawesi in Indonesia. It is the only known member of its genus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern rainbowfish</span> Subspecies of fish

Melanotaenia splendida splendida, also known as the eastern rainbowfish, is a subspecies of fish in the family Melanotaeniidae endemic to Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murray River rainbowfish</span> Species of fish

The Murray River rainbowfish, known less commonly as the Australian rainbowfish, is a species of freshwater fish endemic to southeastern Australia. The southernmost species of all rainbowfishes, these fish are very colourful, hence the name; and there is sexual dimorphism with the males being larger and more colourful than females. Murray River rainbowfish are schooling fish and will congregate near logs or riverbanks, and are a popular aquarium fish.

<i>Chaetodontoplus duboulayi</i> Species of fish

Chaetodontoplus duboulayi, the scribbled angelfish, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a marine angelfish belonging to the family Pomacanthidae. This species is from the southwestern Pacific Ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ornate rainbowfish</span> Species of fish

The ornate rainbowfish is a species of rainbowfish endemic to an area in eastern Australia, where it is native to coastal regions and sandy offshore islands in southern Queensland and northern New South Wales. It is the only known member of its genus. It is a popular aquarium fish.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black-banded rainbowfish</span> Species of fish

The black-banded rainbowfish is a species of rainbowfish belonging to the subfamily Melanotaeniidae. The species is endemic to Australia. Importantly, the species is the type species of the genus Melanotaenia.

<i>Hypseleotris compressa</i> Species of fish

Hypseleotris compressa, the empire gudgeon, is a species of Gobiiform fish in the family Eleotridae endemic to Australia and south-central New Guinea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melanotaeniinae</span> Subfamily of fishes

Melanotaeniinae the Australian rainbowfishes is a subfamily of the rainbowfishes of the family Melanotaeniidae. They are a group of small, colourful, freshwater fish found in northern and eastern Australia, New Guinea, islands in Cenderawasih Bay the Raja Ampat Islands in Indonesia and in Madagascar.

<i>Melanotaenia splendida</i> Species of fish

Melanotaenia splendida, the Eastern rainbowfish, is a species of rainbowfish from the subfamily Melanotaeniinae which is found in Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Banded rainbowfish</span> Species of fish

The banded rainbowfish, also known as the Jewel rainbowfish,Goyder River rainbowfish,three-striped sunfish or regal rainbowfish, is a species of rainbowfish found in the northerly regions of North Australia and Queensland. An adult banded rainbowfish can reach a standard length of 12-15 cm with a deep body usually exceeding 1/3 of their body length. Like most other rainbowfish, this species varies in color depending on where they were collected, but all varieties have a distinct dark mid-lateral band and bright red/yellow dorsal, anal, and caudal fins.

References

  1. Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Melanotaenia duboulayi". FishBase . April 2019 version.
  2. Crimsonspotted Rainbowfish, Melanotaenia duboulayi (Castelnau, 1878), Australian Museum
  3. Christopher Scharpf & Kenneth J. Lazara (14 March 2019). "Order ATHERINIFORMES: Families BEDOTIIDAE, MELANOTAENIIDAE, PSEUDOMUGILIDAE, TELMATHERINIDAE, ISONIDAE, DENTATHERINIDAE and PHALLOSTETHIDAE". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
  4. 1 2 De Castelnau,F.L., "On Several New Australian (chiefly) Fresh-Water Fishes", Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 3-pp140-144, 1878.
  5. Crowley L.E.L.M., W. Ivantsoff and G. R. Allen, "Taxonomic Position of Two Crimson-spotted Rainbowfish, Melanotaenia duboulayi and Melanotaenia fluviatilis (Pisces: Melanotaeniidae), from Eastern Australia, with Special Reference to Their Early Life-history Stages," Australian Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research, 1986, 37: 385–98.
  6. Melanotaenia duboulayi, Rainbowfish
  7. Hurst, Timothy P.; Brown, Michael D.; Kay, Brian H. (2004). "Laboratory evaluation of the predation efficacy of native Australian fish on Culex annulirostris (Diptera: Culicidae)" (PDF). Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association. 20 (3): 286–91. PMID   15532929.
  8. Native fish for mosquito control, Queensland Department of Primary Industry "Native fish for mosquito control | Primary industries & fisheries | Queensland Government". Archived from the original on 2011-03-15. Retrieved 2011-02-24.