The Arabian toothcarp was reassigned from the genus Aphanius in 2020 in the course of a reclassification of several species in that genus.[3]
Descriptionedit
A. dispar is a chubby and robust fish in both sexes with a similar body plan lacking any spines, but here is where their similarities end. This species expresses extreme sexual dimorphism in both appearance and behaviour. The larger males are very brightly coloured with long fins that may reach the end of the tail when lowered. He is a lustrous greyish blue with bright silver spots spread across his body, with a relatively sharp snout. The fins are light yellow with thick black bands running across his tail fin and spots on his dorsal and ventral fins. The smaller females are brownish-silver with distinctive brown marks running down her sides, with a smoother snout. Her fins are smaller and her tail is distinctly shaped like a square. This fish is coated with a pearly lustre, giving rise to one of their names, the “Mother-of-Pearl fish” The males are solitary and less commonly encountered, while females and younger males are gregarious, forming small shoals. The size is about 8 cm for males and 6 cmfor females. [4]
Habitatedit
The Arabian pupfish inhabits a wide variety of water bodies, though it prefers hard alkaline. It is an extremely euryhaline fish, capable of tolerating salinities from below 1 ppt (pure freshwater) to hypersaline conditions of almost 140 ppt.[5] For reference, seawater has an average salinity of 35 ppt. Throughout its range, the Arabian pupfish can be seen in several aquatic habitats. It is commonly encountered in coastal zones and estuaries,[6] with the greatest number observed being in mangrove forests where they hide amongst the roots and leaves of the plants in groups of hundreds. They can also be found in freshwater environments such as oases and lakes through Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Oman
Dietedit
This fish is an omnivore, feeding on any organic debris such as algae, freshwater crustaceans and small insects. In freshwater habitats, their main source of food is the larvae of mosquitoes, whilst smaller aquatic worms are often targeted by groups of fish. Its prolific feeding on mosquito larvae had led to it being used as a method of pest control in several countries.[7]
Conservation and threatsedit
The Arabian pupfish is listed as a species of least concern by the IUCN with a stable population in 2013. Owing to the outdated status, this fish has faced several threats in recent days especially with freshwater populations.[citation needed] These fish are threatened by water pollution, lack of food, and habitat degradation which led to noticeable declines in population densities throughout their range. The introduction of the mosquitofish, a widespread invasive species has proven detrimental to the fish, as it outcompetes A. dispar. The status of this fish is only believed to worsen with time as there is a dire lack of conservation efforts.[8]
Referencesedit
^Freyhof, J. (2014). "Aphanius dispar". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2014: e.T183159A1730991. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-1.RLTS.T183159A1730991.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
^Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2019). "Aphaniops dispar" in FishBase. August 2019 version.
^Freyhof, J.; Yoğurtçuoğlu, B. (2020). "A proposal for a new generic structure of the killifish family Aphaniidae, with the description of Aphaniops teimorii (Teleostei: Cyprinodontiformes)". Zootaxa. 4810 (3): 421–451. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4810.3.2. PMID 33055730. S2CID 222842275.
^Plaut, Itai (September 2000). "Resting Metabolic Rate, Critical Swimming Speed, and Routine Activity of the Euryhaline Cyprinodontid, Aphanius dispar , Acclimated to a Wide Range of Salinities". Physiological and Biochemical Zoology. 73 (5): 590–596. doi:10.1086/317746. PMID 11073794. S2CID 10868634.
^Haq, Sarfarazul; Yadav, Rajpal S. (1 December 2011). "Geographical distribution and evaluation of mosquito larvivorous potential of Aphanius dispar (Ruppell), a native fish of Gujarat, India". Journal of Vector Borne Diseases. 48 (4): 236–241. PMID 22297287. Gale A278760684.
^"Dubai: Aphanius dispar fish to assist in effective mosquito control". International Pest Control. 56 (1): 12. 2014. ProQuest 1500923148.
arabian, toothcarp, aphaniops, dispar, known, also, arabian, pupfish, mother, pearl, fish, species, killifish, belonging, family, cyprinodontidae, found, from, shores, south, ethiopia, gulf, aden, arabian, along, persian, gulf, east, pakistan, india, also, fou. The Arabian toothcarp Aphaniops dispar known also as the Arabian pupfish or mother of Pearl fish is a species of killifish belonging to the family Cyprinodontidae It can be found from the shores of the Red Sea south to Ethiopia the Gulf of Aden the Arabian Sea and along the Persian Gulf east to Pakistan and India It is also found in the Suez Canal the northern coast of the Sinai Peninsula and in one location on the Palestinian coast There are two recognized subspecies A d dispar found throughout the range and A d richardsoni the Dead Sea toothcarp endemic to the Dead Sea Arabian toothcarpThe fishes of the Nile displaying several tooth carps The fish marked 3 and 4 are a male and female Aphaniops dispar respectivelyConservation statusLeast Concern IUCN 3 1 1 Scientific classificationDomain EukaryotaKingdom AnimaliaPhylum ChordataClass ActinopterygiiOrder CyprinodontiformesFamily AphaniidaeGenus AphaniopsSpecies A disparBinomial nameAphaniops disparRuppell 1829 SubspeciesA d dispar Ruppell 1829 A d richardsoni Boulenger 1907 Synonyms 2 Lebias dispar Ruppell 1829 Aphanius dispar Ruppell 1829 Cyprinodon dispar Ruppell 1829 Lebias lunatus Ehrenberg 1846 Lebias velifer Ehrenberg 1846 Aphanius velifer Ehrenberg 1846 Cyprinodon lunatus Valenciennes 1846 Aphanius lunatus Valenciennes 1846 Aphanius foemina Valenciennes 1846 Cyprinodon stoliczkanus Day 1872 Aphanius stoliczkanus Day 1872 Cyprinodon richardsoni Boulenger 1907 Aphanius richardsoni Boulenger 1907 Cyprinodon cilensis Gianferrari 1930 Alphaniops cilensis Gianferrari 1930 Aphanius cilensis Gianferrari 1930 Aphanius airebejensis Gianferrari 1933 Cyprinodon zaccarinii Gianferrari 1933 Aphaniops zaccarinii Gianferrari 1933 Aphanius zaccarinii Gianferrari 1933 Cyprinodon darrorensis Gianferrari 1933 Aphaniops darrorensis Gianferrari 1933 Aphanius darrorensis Gianferrari 1933 Contents 1 Taxonomy 2 Description 3 Habitat 4 Diet 5 Conservation and threats 6 ReferencesTaxonomy editThe Arabian toothcarp was reassigned from the genus Aphanius in 2020 in the course of a reclassification of several species in that genus 3 Description editA dispar is a chubby and robust fish in both sexes with a similar body plan lacking any spines but here is where their similarities end This species expresses extreme sexual dimorphism in both appearance and behaviour The larger males are very brightly coloured with long fins that may reach the end of the tail when lowered He is a lustrous greyish blue with bright silver spots spread across his body with a relatively sharp snout The fins are light yellow with thick black bands running across his tail fin and spots on his dorsal and ventral fins The smaller females are brownish silver with distinctive brown marks running down her sides with a smoother snout Her fins are smaller and her tail is distinctly shaped like a square This fish is coated with a pearly lustre giving rise to one of their names the Mother of Pearl fish The males are solitary and less commonly encountered while females and younger males are gregarious forming small shoals The size is about 8 cm for males and 6 cmfor females 4 Habitat editThe Arabian pupfish inhabits a wide variety of water bodies though it prefers hard alkaline It is an extremely euryhaline fish capable of tolerating salinities from below 1 ppt pure freshwater to hypersaline conditions of almost 140 ppt 5 For reference seawater has an average salinity of 35 ppt Throughout its range the Arabian pupfish can be seen in several aquatic habitats It is commonly encountered in coastal zones and estuaries 6 with the greatest number observed being in mangrove forests where they hide amongst the roots and leaves of the plants in groups of hundreds They can also be found in freshwater environments such as oases and lakes through Saudi Arabia the UAE and OmanDiet editThis fish is an omnivore feeding on any organic debris such as algae freshwater crustaceans and small insects In freshwater habitats their main source of food is the larvae of mosquitoes whilst smaller aquatic worms are often targeted by groups of fish Its prolific feeding on mosquito larvae had led to it being used as a method of pest control in several countries 7 Conservation and threats editThe Arabian pupfish is listed as a species of least concern by the IUCN with a stable population in 2013 Owing to the outdated status this fish has faced several threats in recent days especially with freshwater populations citation needed These fish are threatened by water pollution lack of food and habitat degradation which led to noticeable declines in population densities throughout their range The introduction of the mosquitofish a widespread invasive species has proven detrimental to the fish as it outcompetes A dispar The status of this fish is only believed to worsen with time as there is a dire lack of conservation efforts 8 References edit Freyhof J 2014 Aphanius dispar IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2014 e T183159A1730991 doi 10 2305 IUCN UK 2014 1 RLTS T183159A1730991 en Retrieved 19 November 2021 Froese Rainer Pauly Daniel eds 2019 Aphaniops dispar in FishBase August 2019 version Freyhof J Yogurtcuoglu B 2020 A proposal for a new generic structure of the killifish family Aphaniidae with the description of Aphaniops teimorii Teleostei Cyprinodontiformes Zootaxa 4810 3 421 451 doi 10 11646 zootaxa 4810 3 2 PMID 33055730 S2CID 222842275 Qatar e Nature Arabian Pupfish Plaut Itai September 2000 Resting Metabolic Rate Critical Swimming Speed and Routine Activity of the Euryhaline Cyprinodontid Aphanius dispar Acclimated to a Wide Range of Salinities Physiological and Biochemical Zoology 73 5 590 596 doi 10 1086 317746 PMID 11073794 S2CID 10868634 Haq Sarfarazul Yadav Rajpal S 1 December 2011 Geographical distribution and evaluation of mosquito larvivorous potential of Aphanius dispar Ruppell a native fish of Gujarat India Journal of Vector Borne Diseases 48 4 236 241 PMID 22297287 Gale A278760684 Dubai Aphanius dispar fish to assist in effective mosquito control International Pest Control 56 1 12 2014 ProQuest 1500923148 Aphanius dispar Seriously Fish nbsp This Cyprinodontiformes article is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Arabian toothcarp amp oldid 1183864927, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
