Galaxias zebratus, Cape Galaxias : aquarium

You can sponsor this page

Galaxias zebratus (Castelnau, 1861)

Cape Galaxias
Upload your photos and videos
Pictures | Google image
Image of Galaxias zebratus (Cape Galaxias)
Galaxias zebratus
Picture by Marr, S.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Galaxiiformes (Southern smelts) > Galaxiidae (Galaxiids) > Galaxiinae
Etymology: Galaxias: Greek, galaxias, ou = a kind of fish (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Castelnau.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Freshwater; benthopelagic. Subtropical; 18°C - 24°C (Ref. 12468); 30°S - 34°S

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Africa: endemic to South Africa, occurs in Cape coastal streams and rivers from the Krom and upper Gamtoos River systems (south coast) to the Clanwilliam Olifants system (west coast)(Ref. 32965, 52193, 93589, 93786).

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm 3.9, range 4 - 4 cm
Max length : 7.5 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 52193)

Short description Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 9-13; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 9 - 14; Vertebrae: 36 - 42. Diagnosis: body slender and cylindrical, without scales; dorsal fin placed far back over anal fin; caudal fin truncated; mouth terminal, jaws with teeth; large eyes; internal organs visible in live specimens (Ref. 52193). Loss of two laterosensory pores beneath the lower jaw; elongate caudal peduncle (Ref. 93822).

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Facultative air-breathing in the genus (Ref. 126274); May penetrate some distance inland and is widespread in lakes and rivers (Ref. 3563), which may be either acid (pH 5-6,5) or alkaline (pH 8-9) (Ref. 93592, 93822). Prefers gentle currents within shelter of banks near the head of pools (Ref. 3563, 52193). Small but extremely hardy, they are known to tolerate a wide range of water and temperature conditions (Ref. 5214, 6164, 52193, 93591, 93592). Feeds on small drifting invertebrates (Ref. 7248, 52193). Spawning period occurs in spring up to middle of summer (Ref. 5214, 33843, 52193), depending on the conditions (Ref. 52193). Ripe eggs are demersal, relatively large and numbering about 30-40 (Ref. 93592). Their small size and cryptic color enable them to avoid predators (Ref. 52193).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Breeding occurs in spring or summer depending on local conditions (Ref. 52193). Galaxias zebratus does not migrate to the sea for breeding purposes (Ref. 41543, 93592).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator : Berra, Tim M. | Collaborators

Skelton, P.H., 2001. A complete guide to the freshwater fishes of southern Africa. Cape Town (South Africa): Struik Publishers, 395 p. (Ref. 52193)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Data deficient (DD) ; Date assessed: 01 March 2007

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

Fisheries: of no interest; aquarium: commercial
FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

More information

Countries
FAO areas
Ecosystems
Occurrences
Introductions
Stocks
Ecology
Diet
Food items
Food consumption
Ration
Common names
Synonyms
Metabolism
Predators
Ecotoxicology
Reproduction
Maturity
Spawning
Spawning aggregation
Fecundity
Eggs
Egg development
Age/Size
Growth
Length-weight
Length-length
Length-frequencies
Morphometrics
Morphology
Larvae
Larval dynamics
Recruitment
Abundance
BRUVS
References
Aquaculture
Aquaculture profile
Strains
Genetics
Electrophoreses
Heritability
Diseases
Processing
Nutrients
Mass conversion
Collaborators
Pictures
Stamps, Coins Misc.
Sounds
Ciguatera
Speed
Swim. type
Gill area
Otoliths
Brains
Vision

Tools

Special reports

Download XML

Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome, nucleotide | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00490 (0.00205 - 0.01170), b=3.12 (2.91 - 3.33), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  3.5   ±0.37 se; based on food items.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (Fec<50).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Low vulnerability (10 of 100).