Edit Pseudomugil cyanodorsalis

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Name

Scientific name

Pseudomugil cyanodorsalis

Described by

Authority Allen & Sarti, Year 1983

Family

Pseudomugilidae

Common names

Neon Blue-eye

Photograph credits

All 1 credited

Summary

The neon blue-eye, Pseudomugil cyanodorsalis, is a euryhaline blue-eye from coastal northern Australia and possibly southern New Guinea. Ma…

Size and aquarium

Maximum size

35mm, standard length

Aquarium size

Minimum length 45 cm, Minimum depth 30 cm

Water

Water conditions

Temperature 21–31°C, pH 7–8.5

Hardness

10–25dGH

Conductivity

Not recorded

Behaviour

Temperament

Peaceful

Community suitability

Not for a community

Where it lives

Countries, regions, rivers and lakes

Australia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, New Guinea, Mary, Norman

Writing

Etymology

Pseudomugil: from the Ancient Greek ψευδής (pseudes), meaning 'false, lying, untrue', used here as a prefix, and the generic name Mugil. cyanodorsalis: from th…

Distribution

Type locality is 'Crab Creek, about 15 kilometers east of Broome, Western Australia, about 17°59'S, 122°23'E', but this species appears to be widely-distribute…

Habitat

Euryhaline and thus capable of withstanding significant fluctuations in salinity and other water conditions. It's been recorded in full marine conditions as we…

Aquarium size

An aquarium with base dimensions of 45 ∗ 30 cm or equivalent should be the smallest considered.

Maintenance

Opinions vary as to whether this species requires salt or not, though the general consensus is that it's more vigorous, fecund, and long-lived when maintained …

Water conditions

Temperature: 21 – 31 °C pH: 7.0 – 8.5; will not do well in acidic water. Hardness: 10 – 25 dGH

Diet

Feeds chiefly on floating or suspended zooplankton, phytoplankton, and invertebrates in nature, and in the aquarium must be offered items of a suitable size. I…

Behaviour and compatibility

Peaceful but unsuitable for the general community aquarium since it's easily outcompeted and quite timid. It's best maintained alone or alongside fishes of com…

Sexual dimorphism

Males are more highly-patterned, colourful, and larger than females and the unpaired fins become noticeably extended as they mature.

Reproduction

This species is an egg-scatterer exhibiting no parental care and will consume its own eggs and fry given the opportunity. Spawning is more likely in temperatur…

Notes

P. cyanodorsalis can easily be told apart from other members of the genus since males possess a unique colour pattern with the upper portion of the body a brig…

P. cyanodorsalis can easily be told apart from other members of the genus since males possess a unique colour pattern with the upper portion of the body a bright metallic blue.

It's also known as the 'blueback blue-eye' in reference to this character.

The family Pseudomugilidae was erected by Saeed et al. (1989) and currently comprises the genera Kiunga, Pseudomugil, and Scaturiginichthys.

Members are related to rainbowfishes of the family Melanotaeniidae but differ in lacking a mesethmoid, possessing an infraorbital series with only the anterior member present (the kachrymal), and with an articular bone as high as the dentary bone.

The family Telmatherinidae is also a relative, with Sparks and Smith (2004)[3] recommending that all telmatherinid genera be included in Pseudomugilidae based on the results of their phylogenetic analysis, in which Marosatherina ladigesi was nested within Pseudomugilidae, these together comprising the sister group to Melanotaeniidae.

Herder et al. (2006) suggested that since M. ladigesi was the only telmatherinid included in the investigation, meaning that data for 94% of member species plus DNA of some important comparative taxa was not analysed, any such conclusions should be withheld pending additional study.

The Pseudomugilidae and Telmatherinidae do appear to represent a single clade, however, and this forms a sister group to another clade formed by the Australian and New Guinean Melanotaeniidae plus the Malagasy Bedotiidae, which may seem surprising given their respective modern-day distributional patterns.

The precise origin and subsequent dispersal of the latter two has therefore been the subject of debate, with some palentologists suggesting that Madagascar's freshwater fishes derived from a trans-oceanic dispersal during the Cenozoic Era, but the most compelling recent arguments indicate a freshwater radiation which occurred during the Mezozoic break-up of Gondwana.

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References

6 on this profile

Name

Scientific name

Described by

Family

Common names

Photograph credits

Summary

Size and aquarium

Maximum size

Aquarium size

Water

Water conditions

Hardness

Conductivity

Behaviour

Temperament

Social needs

Community suitability

Where it lives

Countries, regions, rivers and lakes

Writing

Etymology

Distribution

Habitat

Aquarium size

Maintenance

Water conditions

Diet

Behaviour and compatibility

Sexual dimorphism

Reproduction

Notes

References

References