The rainbowfish or Melanotaeniidae is a
family
Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
of small, colourful
freshwater fish
Freshwater fish are those that spend some or all of their lives in fresh water, such as rivers and lakes, with a salinity of less than 1.05%. These environments differ from marine conditions in many ways, especially the difference in levels of s ...
found in northern and eastern
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
,
New Guinea
New Guinea (; Hiri Motu
Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea).
It is a simplified version of ...
(including islands in
Cenderawasih Bay
Cenderawasih Bay ( id, Teluk Cenderawasih, "Bird of Paradise Bay"), also known as Sarera Bay ( id, Teluk Sarera) and formerly Geelvink Bay ( nl, Geelvinkbaai), is a large bay in northern Province of Papua, Central Papua and West Papua, New Guine ...
and
Raja Ampat Islands
Raja Ampat, or the ''Four Kings'', is an archipelago located off the northwest tip of Bird's Head Peninsula on the island of New Guinea, in Indonesia's Southwest Papua province. It comprises over 1,500 small islands, cays, and shoals surrounding ...
in Indonesia),
Sulawesi
Sulawesi (), also known as Celebes (), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the world's eleventh-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Mindanao and the Sulu Ar ...
and
Madagascar
Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...
.
The largest rainbowfish
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
, ''Melanotaenia'', derives from the ancient Greek ''melano'' (black) and ''taenia'' (banded). Translated, it means "black-banded", and is a reference to the often striking lateral black bands that run along the bodies of those in the genus ''Melanotaenia''.
Characteristics
The Melanotaeniidae is characterised by having their distal premaxillary teeth enlarged. They have a compressed body with the two
dorsal fin
A dorsal fin is a fin located on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates within various taxa of the animal kingdom. Many species of animals possessing dorsal fins are not particularly closely related to each other, though through conv ...
s being separated but with only a small gap between them. There are 3–7 spines in the first dorsal fin while the second has 6–22 rays, with the first ray being a stout spine in some species, the
anal fin
Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as se ...
has 10–30 rays and, again, the first may be a stout spine in some species. The
lateral line
The lateral line, also called the lateral line organ (LLO), is a system of sensory organs found in fish, used to detect movement, vibration, and pressure gradients in the surrounding water. The sensory ability is achieved via modified epithelial ...
is either weakly developed or absent. They have comparatively large scales and these number 28–60 in the lateral series. The
pelvic fin
Pelvic fins or ventral fins are paired fins located on the ventral surface of fish. The paired pelvic fins are homologous to the hindlimbs of tetrapods.
Structure and function Structure
In actinopterygians, the pelvic fin consists of two en ...
s are attached to the fish’s abdomen by a membrane which runs along the length of the innermost ray and this is a feature which can be used to separate rainbowfishes from silversides, although the membrane is easily torn. The majority of the species in this family demonstrate conspicuous
sexual dimorphism
Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most ani ...
, with the males usually being the more colorful sex and also showing an elongated median fin ray.
[
Most species of rainbowfish are less than in length, with some species measuring less than , while one species, ''Melanotaenia vanheurni'', reaches lengths of up to . They live in a wide range of freshwater habitats, including rivers, lakes, and swamps. Although they spawn all year round, they lay a particularly large number of eggs at the start of the local rainy season. The eggs are attached to aquatic vegetation, and hatch seven to 18 days later. Rainbowfish are generalized omnivores, feeding on small crustaceans, insect larvae, and algae.]
Melanotaenia, ''Pseudomugil
''Pseudomugil'' is a genus of fish in the subfamily Pseudomugilinae endemic to Australia and New Guinea, where they are found in freshwater rivers and streams and bodies of brackish water.
Description
Members of this genus have slender bodie ...
'', and several other genera of rainbowfish include species that regularly appear in the aquarium trade. In the wild, some rainbowfish populations have been severely affected by the aggressive introduced eastern mosquitofish
The eastern mosquitofish (''Gambusia holbrooki'') is a species of freshwater fish, closely related to the western mosquitofish, ''Gambusia affinis''. It is a member of the family Poeciliidae of order Cyprinodontiformes. The eastern mosquitofish ...
(''Gambusia holbrooki''), tilapia
Tilapia ( ) is the common name for nearly a hundred species of cichlid fish from the coelotilapine, coptodonine, heterotilapine, oreochromine, pelmatolapiine, and tilapiine tribes (formerly all were "Tilapiini"), with the economically most ...
cichlids, and pollution.
Classification
Melanotaeniidae is divided into a number of subfamilies; these families have been considered by some authorities to separate families, but the 5th Edition of ''Fishes of the World
''Fishes of the World'' by the American ichthyologist Joseph S. Nelson (1937–2011) is a standard reference for fish systematics. Now in its fifth edition (2016), the work is a comprehensive overview of the diversity and classification of the ...
'' classifies these as subfamilies of a single family as they form a monophyletic
In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic gro ...
group or clade
A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English term, ...
. They are therefore classified as follows:
* Subfamily Bedotiinae
Bedotiinae are a subfamily of the rainbowfish family (biology), family Melanotaeniidae, commonly known as the Madagascar rainbowfish, Madagascan rainbowfish, or Malagasy rainbowfish due to their endemism to Madagascar. It includes two genus, gene ...
Jordan
Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
& Hubbs, 1919 Madagascar rainbowfishes
** Genus ''Bedotia
''Bedotia'' is a genus of the family Bedotiidae of fishes endemic to Madagascar.
Taxonomy
This genus is monophyletic. Little is known regarding phylogenetic interrelationships of the numerous populations of ''Bedotia'' of eastern Madagascar, an ...
'' Regan
The family name Regan, along with its cognates O'Regan, O Regan, Reagan, and O'Reagan, is an Anglicized form of the Irish surname Ó Riagáin or Ó Ríogáin, from Ua Riagáin. The meaning is likely to have originated in ancient Gaelic ''ri'' ...
, 1903
** Genus '' Rheocles'' Jordan & Hubbs, 1919
* 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 ...
Gill, 1894 Rainbowfishes
** Genus ''Chilatherina
''Chilatherina'' is a genus of rainbowfishes that is endemic to freshwater in New Guinea.
Species
There are currently 11 recognized species in this genus:
* '' Chilatherina alleni'' Price, 1997
* '' Chilatherina axelrodi'' G. R. Allen, 1979 (Ax ...
'' Regan, 1914
** Genus '' Glossolepis'' M. C. W. Weber, 1907
** Genus ''Melanotaenia
''Melanotaenia'' is a genus of rainbowfish from Australia, Indonesia (West Papua), New Guinea, and nearby smaller islands.
Species
There are currently 86 recognized species in this genus:
* '' Melanotaenia affinis'' ( M. C. W. Weber, 1908) (New ...
'' T.N. Gill, 1862
** Genus ''Cairnsichthys
''Cairnsichthys'' is a genus of rainbowfishes from the subfamily Melanotaeniinae. The genus is endemic to freshwater streams in eastern Queensland in north eastern Australia. The genus was designated as a monotypic genus in 1928 by John T. Nichol ...
'' G. R. Allen, 1980
** Genus ''Rhadinocentrus
The ornate rainbowfish (''Rhadinocentrus ornatus'') is a species of rainbowfish endemic to an area in eastern Australia, where it is native to coastal regions and sandy offshore islands in southern Queensland and northern New South Wales. It is t ...
'' Regan, 1914
** Genus '' Iriatherina'' Meinken, 1974
** Genus ''Pelangia
''Pelangia mbutaensis'' is a species of rainbowfish endemic to West Papua in Indonesia. This species was described by Gerald R. Allen in 1988 from types collected from the Lake Mbuta Basin which lies about 8 kilometers northwest of Etna Bay in ...
'' G. R. Allen, 1998
* Subfamily Pseudomugilinae
The Pseudomugilidae, the blue-eyes, are a subfamily of atheriniform fish in the rainbowfish family Melanotaeniidae. They inhabit fresh and brackish water in Australia, New Guinea and nearby smaller islands. Blue-eyes are small fish, typicall ...
Kner, 1867 Blue-eyes
** Genus '' Kiunga'' G. R. Allen, 1983
** Genus ''Pseudomugil
''Pseudomugil'' is a genus of fish in the subfamily Pseudomugilinae endemic to Australia and New Guinea, where they are found in freshwater rivers and streams and bodies of brackish water.
Description
Members of this genus have slender bodie ...
'' Kner, 1866
** Genus ''Scaturiginichthys
The red-finned blue-eye (''Scaturiginichthys vermeilipinnis'') is a tiny, critically endangered species of fish in the family Pseudomugilidae. It is the only species in its genus. The species was first recorded in 1990. It is endemic to centr ...
'' Ivantsoff, Unmack, Saeed & Crowley
Crowley may refer to:
Places
* Crowley, Mendocino County, California, an unincorporated community
*Crowley County, Colorado
* Crowley, Colorado, a town in Crowley County
*Crowley, Louisiana, a city
* Crowley, Oregon (disambiguation)
* Crowley, Te ...
, 1991
* Subfamily Telmatherininae
The Telmatherininae, the sail-fin silversides are a subfamily of Atheriniformes, atheriniform fish from the rainbowfish family, the Melanotaeniidae, inhabiting fresh and brackish water. All but the species ''Kalyptatherina helodes'' are restricte ...
Munro
A Munro () is defined as a mountain in Scotland with a height over , and which is on the Scottish Mountaineering Club (SMC) official list of Munros; there is no explicit topographical prominence requirement. The best known Munro is Ben Nevis ...
, 1958 Celebes rainbowfishes
** Genus '' Kalyptatherina'' Saeed & Ivantsoff, 1991
** Genus '' Marosatherina'' Aarn, Ivantsoff & Kottelat
Maurice Kottelat (born 16 July 1957 in Delémont, Switzerland[C ...](_blank)
, 1998
** Genus '' Paratherina'' Kottelat, 1990
** Genus '' Telmatherina'' Boulenger, 1897
** Genus '' Tominanga'' Kottelat, 1990
Behaviour in captivity
Rainbowfish usually do best with tropical community fish, such as tetra
Terrestrial Trunked Radio (TETRA; formerly known as Trans-European Trunked Radio), a European standard for a trunked radio system, is a professional mobile radio and two-way transceiver specification. TETRA was specifically designed for use by go ...
s, guppies
The guppy (), also known as millionfish and rainbow fish, is one of the world's most widely distributed tropical fish and one of the most popular List of freshwater aquarium fish species, freshwater aquarium fish species. It is a member of the ...
, and other rainbowfish. However, two males may sometimes fight at breeding season if there are not enough females. Rainbowfish usually eat floating flakes in captivity, because in the wild they will often eat insects floating on the surface.
References
External links
ANGFA
– Australia New Guinea Fishes Association, an international organization responsible for the quarterly publication of the color journal ''Fishes of Sahul'' and a quarterly newsletter devoted to the keeping and discussion of native fishes in Australia and New Guinea (the geographical region known as Sahul)
Home of the Rainbowfish
– Adrian Tappin's extensive information pages which promote the aquarium keeping, study and conservation of the rainbowfish species of Australia and New Guinea, and provide free and valuable information to the general public
Rainbowfish Species
Easy to use information on keeping rainbowfish in the aquarium
Rainbowfish discussion forum
Rainbowfish discussion forum (mostly Europeans & Australians)
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1141512
Atheriniformes
Ray-finned fish families
Taxa named by Theodore Gill