Results for “ventral”

This is a truly stunning species that does well in a Tanganyikan community with well-chosen tankmates. It exists in well over 20 colour morphs, too many to list here. Obviously these should not be mixed in aquaria as they will hybridise freely. In nature, it is only the largest dominant males that build nests whilst the subdominant males and females shoal together. The territories of these dominant fish may measure several metres across....

It also exhibits morphological adaptations to an existence among rocks in a flowing environment, such as a cryptic colour pattern, reduced spine length in the dorsal and pectoral fins, ventrally-oriented pectoral fins, slightly emarginate caudal-fin, and reduced body depth. Reduced fin spines and body depth are typical features associated with the related genus Aspidoras, but the...

This species is rare in the hobby although other species are sometimes sold under the name. It's a member of the nominal G. surinamensis 'group' of closely-related species within the genus and can be identified by a combination of characters including: possession of dark preopercular marking; four parallel, ventrally-inclined bars on each flank (normally visible only when the fish are stressed, spawning or preserved); dark lateral spot positioned within the second vertical bar; caudal fin red with variable pattern of large, iridescent blue to white spo...

It can be diagnosed as follows: <30 lateral scales; two black body bands reaching ventral midline posterior to anal-fin; band above anal-fin also reaching ventral midline no black band on head, though the first band may touch the posterior margin of the eye; band above anal-fin not reaching ventral midline; 6 branched anal-fin rays; 7-8 predorsal scales. Brachygobius currently contains 9 described species but is likely to prove more diverse should a review be carried out. Alt...

Two closely-related species are also found in the Congo basin and infrequently seen in the trade. 'B.' candens has been collected northeast of the range of 'B.' hulstaerti around the city of Kisangani (formerly Stanleyville) and nearby town of Yangambi. It can be distinguished from 'B.' hulstaerti by its paler body colouration, smaller dark markings on the body and red ventral and anal fins in males. 'B.' papillo is known only from its type locality close to the eastern town of Kindu between the Lualaba and Lomami rivers. It has an elongated central body marking and males possess black dorsal, ventral and anal fins.

The broad dark stripe in the dorsal portion of the body extends into the ventral portion on the caudal peduncle, and this character can be used to distinguish it from the very similar-looking C. zygatus, with which it is often confused. In C. zygatus the dark stripe does not extend ventrally on the caudal peduncle and is present only on the dorsal part.

This species differs from all other described members of the genus by the presence of dark blotches at the dorsal and ventral base of the pectoral fins. Three very similar-looking fishes have been assigned the codes A106, A107 and A108 under the DATZ system and are also known in the aquarium hobby as A. sp. 'rotpunkt' (this form has been in the hobby for decades with its precise origin unclear), A. sp. 'rotpunkt Orteguazas' (the paratype form of A. alacrina) and A. sp. 'rotpunkt Guayas', respectively. It remains to be seen whether they're conspecific with A. alacrina or not since they exhibit some differences in colour pattern and morphology.

This species is also known by the alternative vernacular name of 'Zamora woodcat', and is often misidentified as A. thoracatus. The latter is a valid species and very similar to A. coracoideus in that the coracoid bone is exposed ventrally and covered only by a thin layer of integument in both species. The two differ principally in the number of anal fin rays...

This species is so ubiquitous across its natural range that it's often referred to simply as 'common barb'. Basic adult colour pattern consists of a small, dark spot at the base of the dorsal-fin origin and another on the caudal peduncle but overall appearance varies somewhat depending on origin, with the anterior dark spot enlarged ventrally forming a bar or posterior spot extending into the caudal-fin, for example. The spots may also appear darker or lighter in some individuals.

This species lends it name to the B. bellica group/complex of closely-related species within the genus, an assemblage of which members share the following set of characters: long and slender body with dorsal and ventral margins almost parallel; body depth 23-28 % SL; 30-33 anal-fin rays; 11-13 dorsal-fin rays; 32-34 total vertebrae; body dark brown in colour with iridescent green markings on each individual scale.

The easiest way to distinguish these is by examining the throat markings, which vary according to species, and in the case of B. hipposideros form a black horse-shoe shape. It can also be separated from other group members by the following suite of characters: dark blotch on throat joined to black lower lip; presence of transverse bars in dorsal and caudal fins; absence of dark margin in anal-fin; opercle usually with gold scales, without iridescrent green scales; ventral margin of opercle brown; 6.5-7 subdorsal scales (mode 6.5); 9-10 postdorsal scales (mode 9.5); 31-32 lateral scales (mode 32).

This species is included in the B. bellica group/complex of closely-related species within the genus, an assemblage of which members share the following set of characters: long and slender body with dorsal and ventral margins almost parallel; body depth 23-28 % SL; 30-33 anal-fin rays; 11-13 dorsal-fin rays; 32-34 total vertebrae; body dark brown in colour with iridescent green markings on each individual scale.

Though this species appears on ornamental trade lists quite often the name appears to be routinely misapplied to other species, particularly B. doriae. It can be diagnosed as follows: <30 lateral scales; two black body bands reaching ventral midline posterior to anal-fin; band above anal-fin als...

C. carsevennensis has formerly been synonymised with C. arnoldi but was considered separate by Zarske (2011) using the following combination characters: absence (vs. presence) of a silvery-white to white patch in the centre of some of the flank scales in males, particularly in the lower half of the body; absence (vs. presence) of a horizontal dark body bar in nuptial males; absence (vs. presence) of thin black margins in the dorsal, ventral and anal fins; eggs deposited among submerged vegetation (vs. eg...

D. johorensis can be distinguished by the following combination of characters: 5-6 dark, lateral stripes on body in specimens larger than 40 mm; stripes immediately above and below the central stripe (stripes '+1' and '-1', respectively) located on scale rows +2 and -2, not touching dorsal and ventral midlines (except in some small specimens from Peninsular Malaysia); stripes broad, typically between 0.5-1 scale rows deep...

E. octozona can be told apart from congeners by the following combination of characters: bar 1 present; presence of a large and distinct black mark anterior to anus, visible in lateral and ventral views; simple dorsal-fin rays black, sometimes extending onto first branched ray; other rays hyaline or with diffused chromatophores on last dorsal-fin ray, adjacent to upper extremity of bar 6; 25-31 serrae on last simple dorsal-fin ray; uppermost ray of pectoral-fin with faint black margin; width of bar 5 equal to 1-1½ lat...

Although often sold as the closely related F. acus (a species that is highly endangered and imported very rarely, if at all), F. vittata is the most common representative of the genus in hobbyists' tanks. The easiest way to distinguish the two is by comparing the shape of the rostrum, which is longer and more slender in vittata, although there are also differences in the arrangement of the ventral scutes. They are adapted for life among peripheral vegetation and tree roots along the edges o...

G. bispinosa can be distinguished from all other congeners in Southeast Asia and China by the following combination of characters: a conspicuous, quadrate, anteriorly-directed proboscis orientated ventrally against the snout and anteriorly adorned with a single, large, uniscupid, acanthoid tubercle on the distal tip of each lobe; snout with a deep groove across its tip to form a transverse lobe; 34-35 lateral...

Fowler (1940) described this species as the unique member of his new genus Homalopterula on the basis of a single specimen, separated from related genera by the curved shape of the jaws, truncate caudal-fin and scaleless ventral surface.

H. inspector can be told apart from other described species in the genus by the following combination of characters: colour pattern comprising brown to black base with large whitish to yellow spots; adpressed dorsal-fin not reaching the adipose-fin spine; spots on head much smaller than on rest of body; spots in the upper caudal-fin lobe combining to form bands in adults; 24 plates in the mid-ventral series.