Axelrod's rainbowfish (''Chilatherina axelrodi'') is a species of
rainbowfish
The rainbowfish or Melanotaeniidae is a family of small, colourful freshwater fish found in northern and eastern Australia, New Guinea (including islands in Cenderawasih Bay and Raja Ampat Islands in Indonesia), Sulawesi and Madagascar.
The ...
in the
subfamily Melanotaeniinae
Melanotaeniinae the Australian rainbowfishes is a subfamily of the rainbowfishes of the family Melanotaeniidae. They are a group of small, colourful, freshwater fish found in northern and eastern Australia, New Guinea, islands in Cenderawasih ...
. It is found in
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
in the Yungkiri stream in the north western part of that nation. Typically its preferred habitat is a narrow stream with gentle moving, cloudy water surrounded by lush
rainforest.
Description
The males of Axelrod's rainbowfish are bluish-grey to greenish-brown in colour on the dorsal part of their body and silvery-grey to whitish on the ventral part. There are around 10 short bars along the centre of flanks, spaced roughly two scales apart and these merge to form a more or less solid blackish stripe along the caudal peduncle. The lower part of the body has about 6-10 faint dusky bars with those on side of abdomen more obvious than the others. On the back and upper flanks there are a number of bluish stripes while the lower part of the body is marked with faint yellow stripes which border each longitudinal scale row. The
dorsal
Dorsal (from Latin ''dorsum'' ‘back’) may refer to:
* Dorsal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location referring to the back or upper side of an organism or parts of an organism
* Dorsal, positioned on top of an aircraft's fuselage
* Dorsal c ...
,
anal
Anal may refer to:
Related to the anus
*Related to the anus of animals:
** Anal fin, in fish anatomy
** Anal vein, in insect anatomy
** Anal scale, in reptile anatomy
*Related to the human anus:
** Anal sex, a type of sexual activity involving s ...
and
pelvic fins are yellowish while the remaining fins are translucent. The females are less colourful than the malesd and are a silvery colour with no markings. The males are larger and have deeper bodies than the females. The males can grow to a maximum
standard length of while the females are normally less than .
There are 6-8 spines in the dorsal fins and 113 soft rays, there is a single spine in the anal fin with 19-24 soft rays
Distribution
Axelrod's rainbowfish is only known to occur in the Yungkiri Stream
[ in the ]Bewani Mountains
The Bewani Mountains form a mountain range in northwestern Papua New Guinea. Together with the Torricelli Mountains and Prince Alexander Mountains it forms the North Coastal Range of Papua New Guinea. of Sandaun Province
Sandaun Province (formerly West Sepik Province) is the northwesternmost mainland province of Papua New Guinea. It covers an area of 35,920 km2 (13868 m2) and has a population of 248,411 (2011 census). The capital is Vanimo. In July 1998 the a ...
in north western Papua New Guinea.[
]
Habitat and biology
Axelrod's rainbowfish live in a small, narrow rainforest streams where they have been recorded around aquatic vegetation and among submerged logs and branches in slightly turbid water. The spawning season runs from October to January, each female laying between 50 and 150 eggs in batches over several days.[
]
Species description and naming
Axelrod's rainbowfish was described in 1979 by Gerald R. Allen,
References
* Aquarium Fish Expert
Aquarium Fish Experts
Chilatherina
Fish of New Guinea
Taxa named by Gerald R. Allen
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot
Fish described in 1979
{{Atheriniformes-stub
Endangered fish