Anablepidae
Anablepidae | |
---|---|
Four-eyed fish, Anableps sp. | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Order: | Cyprinodontiformes |
Family: | Anablepidae Garman, 1895 |
Subfamilies | |
Anablepinae Oxyzygonectinae |
Anablepidae is a family of freshwater and brackish water fishes living in brackish and freshwater habitats from southern Mexico to southern South America.[1] There are three genera with sixteen species: the four-eyed fishes (genus Anableps), the onesided livebearers (genus Jenynsia) and the white-eye, Oxyzygonectes dovii. Fish of this family eat mostly insects and other invertebrates.
Reproduction
Fish in the subfamily Oxyzygonectinae are ovoviviparous. The Anablepinae are livebearers. Curiously, they mate on one side only, right-"handed" males with left-"handed" females and vice versa.[2] The male has specialized anal rays which are greatly elongated and fused into a tube called a gonopodium associated with the sperm duct which he uses as an intromittent organ to deliver sperm to the female.
References
- Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2012). "Anablepidae" in FishBase. August 2012 version.
- ↑ Nelson, Joseph, S. (2006). Fishes of the World. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. ISBN 0-471-25031-7.
- ↑ "Four Eyes and More, the Family Anablepidae". WetWebMedia.com. Retrieved 2007-03-30.
Other References
- Berra, Tim M. (2001). Freshwater Fish Distribution. San Diego: Academic Press. ISBN 0-12-093156-7