Old World silverside

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Old World silverside
Temporal range: 38–0  Ma [1]
Atherina hepsetus Stefano Guerrieri.jpg
Atherina hepsetus
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Atheriniformes
Suborder: Atherinoidei
Family: Atherinidae
Risso, 1827
Sub-families [2] [3]

see text

The Old World silversides are a family, Atherinidae, of fish in the order Atheriniformes. Atherinidae are abundant and considered bony fish (teleost) that are widespread globally, living in rivers, estuaries, and coastal waters. [4] They occur worldwide in tropical and temperate waters. About two-thirds of the species are marine, and the remainder live in fresh water. The 74 species are in 13 genera. The genus Craterocephalus is the most diverse with 25 species. Four genera are monotypic.

Contents

Silversides are relatively small [1] with most being less than 20 cm (7.9 in) in length, with several not attaining lengths of more than 5 cm (2.0 in). The body is generally elongated. Distinctive characters include two dorsal fins widely separated, with the first consisting of flexible spines and the second having one spine followed by soft rays, while the anal fin has one spine on the leading edge followed by soft rays. The pectoral fins tend to be high, and there is no lateral line. On the flanks is a broad, silvery band. The scales are relatively large.

They feed on zooplankton. Some species, such as the hardyhead silverside, Atherinomorus lacunosus, are commercially fished.

The family Atherinopsidae (Neotropical silversides) is closely related, while the genus Atherion has been given family status in the Atherionidae by some authorities. [5]

Subfamilies and genera

With reference to the 5th edition of Fishes of the World and the 2020 introduction of the genus Doboatherina, the family should be classified as follows: [5] [6]

Subfamily Craterocephalinae

Origin and characteristics of genus Craterocephalus

In the silverside family Atherinidae, the genus Craterocephalus is the only one containing primarily freshwater species and is the most speciose. It is also the only genus that experienced high levels of radiation in freshwater ecosystems. Overall, there are twenty-five species, of which twenty are freshwater organisms and five are marine fish found only in Australian coastal waters. Within the genus, numerous species live in Australia’s freshwater ecosystems, specifically, 18 species live in Australia, 6 in New Guinea, and 1 in East Timor. How Craterocephalus diverged from being marine water organisms is linked to the ancestors of Craterocephalinae and Atherininae, where both subfamilies lived in similar environments but were separated by a North-South disjunction around Australia. The separation caused one lineage to remain in Northern Australia, forming the genus Craterocephalus, which developed distinct characteristics from the other subfamily Atherininae. Since all of Atherinidae are primarily marine, Craterocephalus is most likely also of marine origin.

Freshwater fish in the genus Craterocephalus are found in various ecosystems, such as rivers, rainforest streams, creeks, and hot desert springs. Characteristics of the fish include having short life spans that are 2–3 years long, and their body length ranges from 5–10 cm. Maturity is reached when fish are 3–5 cm in length, and most species spawn shortly after one year of being born. Spawning rates increase in the spring and continue to be high in the summer — typically, one fish releases 85 eggs daily. Species in this genus are tolerant of environments differing in salt concentrations and temperature, especially C. eyresii and C. cuneiceps. Both these species can tolerate 70–100 ppm of salt, while C. dalhousiensis can withstand high water temperatures up to 42 °C.

The genus is split into five groups: "eyresii", "stercusmuscarum", "new honoriae", "capreoli", and "stramineus". Two groups, "eyresii" and "stercusmuscarum", are mainly found in Australian freshwaters. The majority of the fish in the "new honoriae" are marine organisms found in the Northern area of Australia, and their habitat slightly overlaps with the habitat of fish in the subfamily Atherininae. After the formation of the Craterocephalus, the "new honoriae" group established itself in Northern Australia’s marine environments, while the other groups invaded freshwater habitats.  

[9]

Species within Craterocephalus

Craterocephalus stercusmuscarum is an Australian freshwater fish of marine origin that has moderate dispersal potential. The species is abundant in the Wet Tropics of Northern Australia and travels long distances upland to areas near waterfalls. [10]

Subfamily Atherininae

Origin of Atherininae

The separation between the ancestors of Craterocephalinae and Atherininae caused Atherininae lineage to form in Southern Australia, which has cooler habitats than Northern Australia. The subfamily Atherininae has five genera. One is Atherina, which is found near the Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean oceans; however, the remaining four are restricted to Australia’s southern coastal waters. Since Atherina’s biogeographic location is significantly different, it is likely that Atherina and the four genera are not monophyletic or do not descend from a common ancestor. Instead, Atherina is hypothesized to have a sister lineage with the ancestors of Atherininae and the Craterocephalinae.

[9]

Species within genus Atherina

Atherina boyeri is found in estuaries, coastal waters, lagoons, salt marshes, and brackish water ecosystems; therefore, this species is euryhaline or can tolerate different levels of salinity. The fish is typically located in the Mediterranean seas but is also found in the northeast and northwest Atlantic. A. boyeri is a commercial fish in Greece, where the fishing period begins in February but only lasts a few weeks. In Greece, this species is found in the Mesolongi and Etolikon lagoons. The maximum length observed for females and males that were three years old was 103 mm and 83.1 mm, respectively. Rapid growth is seen during the first year of life, specifically, fish reach about 66% of their adult size after one year. However, the fish experience a 20% decrease in length after one year, and a 15% decrease in length in their third year. Their lifespan typically ranges from 1-to 3 years. Both males and females have a single gland for their gonads. Young females have white ovaries, but as they mature, their ovaries are covered with peritoneum and darken to black. Males testis do not experience any changes and are white. Sexual maturity is reached two or three months after their birth, and the GSI value of the fish begins to increase early in the year and reaches its maximum ratio in May, indicating that the reproductive period begins in March and ends in June. Females have larger GSI values than males. The reproductive period is extensive and lasts about five months. In terms of the sex ratio, there are slightly more females than males in the population. The sex ratio between males and females is approximately 1:1.2. [11]

Atherina hepsetus is found in marine and brackish waters across the Eastern Atlantic coasts and can swim between 5 and 20 meters in depth. Their diet includes zooplankton and benthic crustaceans. In the Mediterranean, this species is an important commercial fish that is also a food source for other commercial fish. The approximate length for females males is 12.07 cm and 11.83 cm, respectively. The average weight of both sexes is 6 grams, while the maximum age is about four years. Additionally, the ratio between females and males is about 1.3:1. In terms of growth, the fish significantly increase in length and weight during their first year of life, with females reaching a length of 11.3 cm and males reaching 11.15 cm. Maturation also begins after one year; however, after sexual maturation, both sexes' growth rate decreases. Spawning rates increase in March and fall down after April. During the spawning season, the GSI value of males is larger than females, but the mass of the female gonads is slightly greater than their male counterparts. [12]

Species within genus Atherinosoma

Atherinosoma elongata is found in Australia’s south-western estuaries and ranges from 40 to 78 mm in length. Fish are usually bigger in size during the summer months than winter months. The lifespan of this species is about one year, so the fish grow significantly during their first months of life. When sexual maturity is reached, females are about 68.9 mm in length while males are 54 mm. The gonadosomatic index (GSI) for both males and females increases after August and remains high until December, indicating their breeding period is around these months.

Species within genus Leptatherina

Two species of Leptatherina (L. presbyteroides and L. wallacei) are located in South-Western Australia. L. presbyteroides is a primarily marine species that can also live in estuaries and L. wallacei is found in both estuary and inland waters.

Leptatherina presbyteroides have a lifespan of one year, and its length ranges from 25 to 75 mm. Specifically, females are about 69.1 mm while males are 59.1 mm in length when they reach sexual maturity. Smaller fish are present throughout the year, which means that breeding occurs over a long period of time. This species primarily lives in estuaries, so their breeding occurs there, but as the fish mature, they travel to the ocean and spawn there. Spawning begins from August to November due to the GSI of the fish being significantly high in both males and females. However, younger fish have their GSI relatively high during April and May, indicating that spawning may occur in the Spring.

Leptatherina wallacei has a lifespan of one year, and its length ranges from 25 to 50 mm; females are longer than males. When sexual maturity is reached, females have an average length of 54.8 mm, and males have an approximate length of 44.7 mm. Additionally, the number of larger fish decreases during November and December while the number of smaller fish increases, indicating that the spawning period of this species begins in the Spring and mortality begins later in the year.

[4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atheriniformes</span> Order of fishes

The Atheriniformes, also known as the silversides, are an order of ray-finned fishes that includes the Old World silversides and several less-familiar families, including the unusual Phallostethidae. The order includes at least 354 species. They are found worldwide in tropical and temperate marine and freshwater environments.

<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 ray-finned 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">Atlantic silverside</span> Species of fish

The Atlantic silverside, also known as spearing in the northeastern United States, is a small species of fish that is one of the most abundant fish species present in estuarine habitats along the Atlantic coast of North America. It is a common subject of scientific research because of its sensitivity to environmental changes. According to the IUCN Red List, this species is stable and has no major threats to its populations, so it is marked Least Concern. Despite being an extremely common species, most individuals die after one year once they migrate offshore, but a few will make it to two years. The fish is mostly translucent, with white coloring on the anterior end of the body and brown speckling on the top of the head, posterior scales on the back, and near the jaw. A distinctive silver band runs the length of the fish, next to the lateral line. Their mouths are large compared to other Menidia species, and their first dorsal fin are placed more posteriorly than other silversides.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hardyhead silverside</span> Species of fish

The hardyhead silverside, also known as the broad-banded hardyhead, broad-banded silverside, Capricorn hardyhead, pitted hardyhead, robust hardyhead, robust silverside, slender hardyhead and wide-banded hardyhead silverside, is a silverside of the family Atherinidae. It occurs in the Indo-Pacific near the surface as well as in the Mediterranean, having invaded as a Lessepsian migrant through the Suez Canal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Big-scale sand smelt</span> Species of fish

The big-scale sand smelt is a species of fish in the family Atherinidae. It is a euryhaline amphidromous fish, up to 20 cm in length.

<i>Atherina</i> Genus of fish

Atherina is a genus of fish of silverside family Atherinidae, found in the temperate and tropic zones. Up to 15 cm long, they are widespread in the Mediterranean, Black Sea, Sea of Azov in lagoons and estuaries. It comes to the low stream of the Dnieper, Southern Bug, Dniester and Danube Rivers.

<i>Craterocephalus</i> Genus of fishes

Craterocephalus is a genus of small and slender brackish or freshwater silversides from Australia and New Guinea. It is the most diverse genus in the family Atherinidae, containing 25 of the 71 species.

The Dalhousie hardyhead is a species of silverside in the family Atherinidae. It is endemic to the warm waters of Dalhousie Springs in the Lake Eyre basin, Australia, along with the similar Craterocephalus gloveri. It inhabits shady areas in tropical freshwater streams at 20-39 °C, but has been recorded at 41.8 °C. Its food consists of gastropods, aquatic plants, green filamentous algae, detritus and small invertebrates; food is mainly taken from the substrate.

Kailola's hardyhead is a species of fish in the family Atherinidae endemic to Papua New Guinea. It reaches a maximum length of 6 cm. It inhabits shallow, clear creeks with gravel substrate. This species was described by Walter Ivantsoff, Lucy Crowley and Gerald R. Allen in 1987 with a type locality of a still backwater of Foasi Creek 3 kilometers west of Safia airstrip in Papua New Guinea. The specific name honours the Patricia J. Kailola, for her contribution to the knowledge of the ichthyology of Papua New Guinea.

Craterocephalus lentiginosus, the freckled hardyhead is a species of fish in the family Atherinidae endemic to the Kimberley region in the northwest of Australia. It is also called the Prince Regent hardyhead.

<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.

<i>Alepidomus</i> Genus of fishes

Alepidomus evermanni is a freshwater species of silverside endemic to western Cuba. This species grows to 3.3 cm (1.3 in) in standard length. It is the only known member of its genus. This species was described as Atherina evermanni by Carl H. Eigenmann in 1903 with a type locality of San Cristobal, Cuba. The specific name honours the American ichthyologist Barton Warren Evermann (1853-1932).

Bleheratherina pierucciae is a species of freshwater silverside endemic to New Caledonia. This species grows to 4.7 cm (1.9 in) in standard length. It is the only known species in its genus and subfamily. This species was described by Aarn and Walter Ivantsoff in 2009 with the type locality of the Tontouta River, New Caledonia,. The type was collected by Heiko Bleher and Paola Pierucci and Aarn and Ivantsoff named this species after both of them, the suffix -ae indicating Ms Pierucci's gender.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pacific blue-eye</span> Species of fish

The Pacific blue-eye is a species of fish in the subfamily Pseudomugilinae native to eastern Australia. Described by Austrian naturalist Rudolf Kner in 1866, it comprises two subspecies that have been regarded as separate species in the past and may be once again with further study. It is a common fish of rivers and estuaries along the eastern seaboard from Cape York in North Queensland to southern New South Wales, the Burdekin Gap in central-north Queensland dividing the ranges of the two subspecies.

<i>Craterocephalus marjoriae</i> Species of fish

Craterocephalus marjoriae, commonly known as Marjorie's hardyhead or silverstreak hardyhead, is a species of fish in the family Atherinidae that is native to eastern Australia, namely central Queensland to northeastern New South Wales. Here it inhabits clear flowing streams and it is common among the vegetation in their margins. It prefers shallow water over streambeds consisting of sand or gravel. It forms shoals. They spawn on multiple occasions between September and January, although this peaks earlier in the season. They form pairs for spawning, the eggs being deposited on aquatic vegetation to which they adhere. The eggs are large measuring 1.15-1.25 mm in diameter and have adhesive filaments. The eggs hatch after around a week and the larvae measure about 5.7 mm standard length. Their diet consist mostly of aquatic insects and their larvae, small crustaceans, algae and fish eggs. This species was described by Gilbert P. Whitley in 1948 with the type locality given as Eidsvold on the Burnett River in Queensland. Whitley may have named this species in honour of his sister Marjorie Frewer.

The panatela silverside is a species of reef-dwelling silverside from the subfamily Atherinomorinae which is found in the southwest Pacific Ocean. This species grows to 11 cm (4.3 in) in total length and is of minor importance to commercial fisheries. This species is the only species in the genus Stenatherina, although some authorities place it in the genus Hypoatherina. This species was described by David Starr Jordan and Robert Earl Richardson as Atherina panatela with the type locality given as Calayan Island in the Philippines. The specific name is the Spanish word for a long, thin cigar and is presumed to be a reference to the elongated, slender body of this fish.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atherinoidei</span> Suborder of fishes

Atherinoidei is a suborder of the order Atheriniformes comprising six families, with a mainly Old World distribution, although a few species are found in the western Atlantic Ocean.

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

Atherinomorinae is a subfamily of silversides from the family, Atherinidae, the Old World silversides.

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

Craterocephalinae is a subfamily of silversides from the family, Atherinidae, the Old World silversides. The majority of the species in this subfamily are freshwater fish, although some occur in brackish water. They are found in Australia and New Guinea.

References

  1. 1 2 Allen, G.R. (1998). Paxton, J.R.; Eschmeyer, W.N. (eds.). Encyclopedia of Fishes. San Diego: Academic Press. pp. 153–154. ISBN   0-12-547665-5.
  2. ↑ Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Family Atherinidae". FishBase . February 2015 version.
  3. ↑ Ivantsoff, I. & Allen, G.R. (2011). "A new species and genus of a large and unusual freshwater hardyhead, Sashatherina giganteus (Pisces: Atherinidae) from West Papua, Indonesia and a comparison with its closest relatives of the genus Craterocephalus". Aqua, International Journal of Ichthyology. 17 (1): 43–57.
  4. 1 2 Prince, J. D.; Potter, I. C. (1983). "Life-cycle duration, growth and spawning times of five species of atherinidae (Teleostei) found in a Western Australian estuary". Marine and Freshwater Research. 34 (2): 287–301. doi:10.1071/mf9830287. ISSN   1448-6059.
  5. 1 2 Nelson, Joseph S.; Grande, Terry C.; Wilson, Mark V. H. (2016). Fishes of the World (5th ed.). Hoboken: John Wiley and Sons. doi:10.1002/9781119174844. ISBN   978-1-118-34233-6.
  6. ↑ Richard van der Laan; William N. Eschmeyer & Ronald Fricke (2014). "Family-group names of Recent fishes". Zootaxa. 3882 (2): 001–230. doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.3882.1.1 . PMID   25543675.
  7. ↑ Sasaki, Daichi; Kimura, Seishi (April 2020). "A new atherinomorine genus Doboatherina (Atheriniformes: Atherinidae) with a review of included species". Ichthyological Research. 67 (2): 225–261. doi:10.1007/s10228-019-00718-5 . Retrieved 2023-10-20.
  8. ↑ Sasaki D.; Kimura S. (2014). "Taxonomic review of the genus Hypoatherina Schultz 1948 (Atheriniformes: Atherinidae)". Ichthyological Research. 61 (3): 207–241. doi:10.1007/s10228-014-0391-1. S2CID   1793886.
  9. 1 2 Unmack, Peter J.; Dowling, Thomas E. (2010). "Biogeography of the genus Craterocephalus (Teleostei: Atherinidae) in Australia". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 55 (3): 968–984. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2010.02.019. ISSN   1055-7903. PMID   20172031.
  10. ↑ Mcglashan, D. J.; Hughes, J. M. (November 2000). "Reconciling patterns of genetic variation with stream structure, earth history and biology in the Australian freshwater fish Craterocephalus stercusmuscarum (Atherinidae)". Molecular Ecology. 9 (11): 1737–1751. doi:10.1046/j.1365-294x.2000.01054.x. PMID   11091310. S2CID   25296648.
  11. ↑ Leonardos, Ioannis; Sinis, Apostolos (2000-02-01). "Age, growth and mortality of Atherina boyeri Risso, 1810 (Pisces: Atherinidae) in the Mesolongi and Etolikon lagoons (W. Greece)". Fisheries Research. 45 (1): 81–91. doi:10.1016/S0165-7836(99)00097-1. ISSN   0165-7836.
  12. ↑ "Regional Studies in Marine Science | Vol 52, In progress (May 2022) | ScienceDirect.com by Elsevier". www.sciencedirect.com. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
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