Aphaniops stoliczkanus

Fuente: Zenodo
Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Freyhof, Jörg, Yoğurtçuoğlu, Baran, Jouladeh-Roudbar, Arash, Kaya, Cüneyt
Format: Recurso digital
Published: Zenodo 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866901843652640768
author Freyhof, Jörg
Yoğurtçuoğlu, Baran
Jouladeh-Roudbar, Arash
Kaya, Cüneyt
author_facet Freyhof, Jörg
Yoğurtçuoğlu, Baran
Jouladeh-Roudbar, Arash
Kaya, Cüneyt
contents <p><b><i>Aphaniops stoliczkanus</i></b></p><p><b>Common name</b>. Rajasthan killifish.</p><p><b>Diagnosis</b>. Distinguished from other species of <i><i>Aphaniops</i> in West Asia by: ● male usually with wide grey or brown bars at caudal peduncle, often anterior to dorsal base, with roundish or ovoid silvery spots or blotches on flank anterior to dorsal base or caudal peduncle / ● tip of dorsal reaching to end of hypural complex in nuptial male larger than 40 mm SL / ● female with a midlateral series of narrow bars, not much wider in upper part / ○ female with a narrow and long bar at caudal base / ○ male with 2–3 bold, crescent-shaped black bars on caudal / ○ male without black dorsal margin / ○ body covered by overlapping scales / ○ caudal truncate or slightly rounded / ○ 6–8½ branched dorsal rays. Size up to 53 mm SL.</i></p><p><b>Distribution</b>. Shatt al Arab/Arvand and its tributaries, recorded from Hammar Marsh, Fallujah, Lake Razzazah and Badrah on Iran / Iraq border east of Baghdad. Also along coasts of Persian Gulf basin in Kuwait, Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Oman, except coast of Hormuzgan, and east along Indian Ocean coast to Rajasthan (north-west India). <i>Aphaniops</i> found as far inland as south of Riyadh in Saudi Arabia may belong to this species.</p><p><b>Habitat.</b> Euryhaline; widespread in lagoons and estuaries, lower parts of rivers, streams, and all types of inland waters, especially when brackish or saline. In and around Hajar Mountains, very common in freshwater habitats, natural and artificial (including water tanks and cisterns), with or without significant vegetation.</p><p><b>Biology.</b> May mature within five months, depending on temperature and food availability. Females mature at about 25 mm SL, males smaller. Males grow larger than females. Live up to 3 years. Males territorial during spawning season defending spawning sites against other males. Spawns in pairs. In Oman and UAE, spawning occurs at all times of day and throughout the year. In southern Iraq, spawning peaks April–July. Several eggs are laid in each spawning event, and several spawning events occur daily. Eggs are attached to the spawning substrate by sticky filaments. Larvae hatch after about 14 days (25°C). Females, juveniles, and non-reproductive males form schools in open water. Salinities up to 14.5 % are tolerated, and salinities up to 25.0 % are briefly survived. Feeds on a wide variety of aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates, algae, and detritus are usually main components.</p><p><b>Conservation status</b>. LC.</p><p><b>Remarks</b>. <i>Aphaniops teimorii</i>, <i>A. kruppi,</i> and <i>A. ginaonis</i> are other superficially similar species. <i>Aphaniops <i>stoliczkanus</i> has been widely introduced for mosquito control in UAE and Oman, and many, if not all, inland populations may be non-native. In northern Oman, inland populations sometimes show colour patterns similar to <i>A. kruppi,</i> and hybridisation between the two species cannot be excluded.</i></p><p><b>Further reading.</b> Haas 1982 (biology); Teimori et al. 2012 (diversity in Persian Gulf basin); Freyhof et al. 2017b (molecular data, distribution).</p>
format Recurso digital
id zenodo_https___doi_org_10_5281_zenodo_17978736
institution Zenodo
language
publishDate 2025
publisher Zenodo
record_format zenodo
spellingShingle Aphaniops stoliczkanus
Freyhof, Jörg
Yoğurtçuoğlu, Baran
Jouladeh-Roudbar, Arash
Kaya, Cüneyt
Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Cyprinodontiformes
Cyprinodontidae
Aphaniops
Aphaniops stoliczkanus
<p><b><i>Aphaniops stoliczkanus</i></b></p><p><b>Common name</b>. Rajasthan killifish.</p><p><b>Diagnosis</b>. Distinguished from other species of <i><i>Aphaniops</i> in West Asia by: ● male usually with wide grey or brown bars at caudal peduncle, often anterior to dorsal base, with roundish or ovoid silvery spots or blotches on flank anterior to dorsal base or caudal peduncle / ● tip of dorsal reaching to end of hypural complex in nuptial male larger than 40 mm SL / ● female with a midlateral series of narrow bars, not much wider in upper part / ○ female with a narrow and long bar at caudal base / ○ male with 2–3 bold, crescent-shaped black bars on caudal / ○ male without black dorsal margin / ○ body covered by overlapping scales / ○ caudal truncate or slightly rounded / ○ 6–8½ branched dorsal rays. Size up to 53 mm SL.</i></p><p><b>Distribution</b>. Shatt al Arab/Arvand and its tributaries, recorded from Hammar Marsh, Fallujah, Lake Razzazah and Badrah on Iran / Iraq border east of Baghdad. Also along coasts of Persian Gulf basin in Kuwait, Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Oman, except coast of Hormuzgan, and east along Indian Ocean coast to Rajasthan (north-west India). <i>Aphaniops</i> found as far inland as south of Riyadh in Saudi Arabia may belong to this species.</p><p><b>Habitat.</b> Euryhaline; widespread in lagoons and estuaries, lower parts of rivers, streams, and all types of inland waters, especially when brackish or saline. In and around Hajar Mountains, very common in freshwater habitats, natural and artificial (including water tanks and cisterns), with or without significant vegetation.</p><p><b>Biology.</b> May mature within five months, depending on temperature and food availability. Females mature at about 25 mm SL, males smaller. Males grow larger than females. Live up to 3 years. Males territorial during spawning season defending spawning sites against other males. Spawns in pairs. In Oman and UAE, spawning occurs at all times of day and throughout the year. In southern Iraq, spawning peaks April–July. Several eggs are laid in each spawning event, and several spawning events occur daily. Eggs are attached to the spawning substrate by sticky filaments. Larvae hatch after about 14 days (25°C). Females, juveniles, and non-reproductive males form schools in open water. Salinities up to 14.5 % are tolerated, and salinities up to 25.0 % are briefly survived. Feeds on a wide variety of aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates, algae, and detritus are usually main components.</p><p><b>Conservation status</b>. LC.</p><p><b>Remarks</b>. <i>Aphaniops teimorii</i>, <i>A. kruppi,</i> and <i>A. ginaonis</i> are other superficially similar species. <i>Aphaniops <i>stoliczkanus</i> has been widely introduced for mosquito control in UAE and Oman, and many, if not all, inland populations may be non-native. In northern Oman, inland populations sometimes show colour patterns similar to <i>A. kruppi,</i> and hybridisation between the two species cannot be excluded.</i></p><p><b>Further reading.</b> Haas 1982 (biology); Teimori et al. 2012 (diversity in Persian Gulf basin); Freyhof et al. 2017b (molecular data, distribution).</p>
title Aphaniops stoliczkanus
topic Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Cyprinodontiformes
Cyprinodontidae
Aphaniops
Aphaniops stoliczkanus
url https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17978736