| Ophichthys desilvai | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Synbranchiformes |
| Family: | Synbranchidae |
| Genus: | Ophichthys |
| Species: | O. desilvai |
| Binomial name | |
| Ophichthys desilvai | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Ophichthys desilvai (lesser swamp eel or Desilvai's blind eel) is a commercially important, air-breathing species of fish in the family Synbranchidae. It is endemic to Sri Lanka and is the only endemic synbranchid from there. [3]
The specific name honours the Sri Lankan herpetologist Pilippu Hewa Don Hemasiri de Silva (b. 1927), who has been director of the National Museums of Ceylon, in recognition to the help and advice he gave to Carl Gans when he was conducting fieldwork in Sri Lanka. [4] [2]
It was formerly classified in the genus Monopterus but a 2020 study reclassified it into the resurrected genus Ophichthys along with several other former Monopterus species. [5] [6]
It is known from swamp areas and paddy fields from the west side of Sri Lanka. Some have been recovered from the Bolgoda swamp, an estuary southwest of Colombo. A 2020 study found specimens in the lowland coastal floodplain on the west side of the island as well as leafy vegetable plots cultivated within the Bolgoda swamp. [6]
During reproduction, the male guards and builds a nest or burrow. [7] They go to the surface of the water to breathe air and can stay submerged for up to 1–2 minutes before returning to the surface. During the dry season, they burrow underground and stay in the soil. [6]
It has become critically endangered due to its restricted range combined with overfishing of mature individuals and runoff from paddy fields. [1] A 2020 study found the species to be resilient and not require pristine habitat for survival, but that human activities such as landfills were destroying their habitats. [6]
Synbranchiformes, often called swamp eels, is an order of ray-finned fishes that are eel-like but have spiny rays, indicating that they belong to the superorder Acanthopterygii.
The swamp eels are a family (Synbranchidae) of freshwater eel-like fishes of the tropics and subtropics. Most species are able to breathe air and typically live in marshes, ponds and damp places, sometimes burying themselves in the mud if the water source dries up. They have various adaptations to suit this lifestyle; they are long and slender, they lack pectoral and pelvic fins, and their dorsal and anal fins are vestigial, making them limbless vertebrates. They lack scales and a swimbladder, and their gills open on the throat in a slit or pore. Oxygen can be absorbed through the lining of the mouth and pharynx, which is rich in blood vessels and acts as a "lung".
Ambassis fontoynonti, commonly known as the dusky glass perch, is a species of fish in the family Ambassidae. It is endemic to rivers in eastern Madagascar. Its natural habitat is rivers. It is threatened by habitat loss. The specific name honours the pathologist Maurice Fontoynont (1869-1948) who was president of the Malagasy Academy.
Aulonocara gertrudae is a species of haplochromine cichlid which is endemic to Lake Malawi, being found in Malawi, Mozambique, and Tanzania. The habitat varies between populations, those south of the Ruhuhu River are sand dwellers which exploit the sandy muddy substrates found near river mouths, while those to the north of the Ruhuhu will occupy rocky habitats too. This is thought to be cause there are fewer rock inhabiting congeners north of the Ruhuhu. The territorial males of this species excavate a burrow in the sand or they may use a cavity formed in a rocky area, especially in the northern populations. The females are found in small foraging groups in the vicinity of the males. The specific name honours Konings' wife, Gertrude Dubin.
The ornate paradisefish or spotted gourami, is a species of gourami endemic to Sri Lanka. It is the only recognized species in its genus.
Mastacembelus cunningtoni is a species of fish in the family Mastacembelidae. It is endemic to the Lake Tanganyika basin, including the Lakes outflow, the Lukuga River as far as the Kisimba-Kilia rapids. It occurs in Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, and Zambia. The specific name of this fish honours the British zoologist and anthropologist William Alfred Cunnington (1877-1958), leader of the expedition to Lake Tanganyika which collected the type.
The Liberian swamp eel is a species of fish in the family Synbranchidae. It is indigenous to Liberia. It has also been found in Sierra Leone, with an unconfirmed report from Côte d'Ivoire. It was first described by Jacques Pellegrin in 1922 as Typhlosynbranchus boueti, but was later moved to Monopterus. However, a 2020 study revived Typhlosynbranchus. Due to the deficiency in data, the species has not been classified with respect to endangerment.
Monopterus is a genus of swamp eels native to Asia. They live in various freshwater habitats and some have a fossorial lifestyle.
The Bombay swamp eel, also known as the paytop in Marathi, is a species of fish in the family Synbranchidae. It is endemic to the state of Maharashtra in India.
The blind swamp eel is a species of fish in the family Synbranchidae. It is endemic to Mexico where it lives in cave systems and is known in Spanish as the anguila ciega. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated this cavefish as "endangered".
Teramulus waterloti is a species of silverside from the subfamily Atherinomorinae which is endemic to Madagascar. This species occurs in rivers, creeks, and streams in north western Madagascar from the Mananjeba River south to the Anjingo River. The IUCN classify this species as Endangered and it is threatened by deforestation which degrades its habitat through sedimentation and by the introduction of invasive fish species such as Channa maculata. This fish was described in 1932 as the subspecies waterloti of Atherina duodecimalis by Jacques Pellegrin who named it after Georges Waterlot (1877-1939), a collector of specimens in Africa and Madagascar for Muséum national d'histoire naturelle, including the type of this species, which he collected from Antikotazo Creek, District d'Ambilobé, Diégo Suarez Province.
The Asian swamp eel, also known as rice eel, ricefield eel, or rice paddy eel, is a commercially important, air-breathing species of fish in the family Synbranchidae. It occurs in East and Southeast Asia, where it is a very common foodstuff sold throughout the region. It has been introduced to two areas near the Everglades in Florida and near Atlanta in Georgia.
Ophisternon bengalense the Bengal eel, Bengal mudeel or onegill eel, is a species of fish in the family Synbranchidae. It is endemic to freshwater and brackish water rivers and swamps in Oceania and South Asia. It is normally 100 cm in maximum length.
Rakthamichthys rongsaw is a species of swamp eel discovered in the Khasi Hills in northeast India. The researchers were searching for caecilians, when they uncovered the eel in soil.
Aplocheilus blockii or the green panchax is a species of fish native to waters around India, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan.
Synbranchinae is a subfamily of swamp eel, consisting of six of the ten genera in the family Synbranchidae. The remaining genus, the monotypic Macrotrema is the only one in the other subfamily Macrotreminae. The subfamily occurs in the Neotropics, Afrotropics and Asia.
Rakthamichthys is a genus of swamp eels that are endemic to India. Three species are known from the Western Ghats and one is known from Northeast India.
The Malabar swamp eel is a species of troglobitic swamp eel endemic to subterranean springs in Kottayam in the Indian state of Kerala.
Ophichthys is a genus of swamp eels native to South Asia. They live in freshwater or subterranean habitats, and some have a fossorial lifestyle.
Donn Eric Rosen (1929-1986) was a member of the staff of the American Museum of Natural History. He was a Distinguished Fellow of the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists.
