Nothobranchius melanospilus, Blackspotted nothobranch : aquarium

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Nothobranchius melanospilus (Pfeffer, 1896)

Blackspotted nothobranch
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Image of Nothobranchius melanospilus (Blackspotted nothobranch)
Nothobranchius melanospilus
Female picture by R A Hill ARPS

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

Teleostei (teleosts) > Cyprinodontiformes (Rivulines, killifishes and live bearers) > Nothobranchiidae (African rivulines)
Etymology: Nothobranchius: Greek, nothos = false + Greek, brangchia = gill (Ref. 45335).

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

Freshwater; benthopelagic; non-migratory. Tropical; 22°C - 28°C (Ref. 2059)

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

Africa: Unguja Island, Zanzibar archipelago, and adjacent mainland coastal rivers in eastern Tanzania (Ref. 83514, 122075); also reported from Umba and Ramisi rivers in Kenya (Ref. 83514).

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 5.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 122075); 5.3 cm SL (female)

Short description Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 15-17; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 16 - 19; Vertebrae: 30 - 32. Diagnosis: Distinguished from all congeners by the combination of the following character states: caudal fin red with black posterior margin in males, narrow white margin to dorsal and anal fins, and silver iris; posterior portion of flank and unpaired fins with black spots in females; pre-dorsal length in males 62.4-65.1% of standard length; 5 + 15-16 gill-rakers on first branchial arch; 29-31 scales in longitudinal series; 16-18 series of scales around caudal peduncle; two longitudinal rows of scales between anterior supraorbital series of neuromasts; anterior supraorbital series of neuromasts arranged continuously, with four well-developed neuromasts; four neuromasts in posterior supraorbital series; 29-31 caudal-fin rays; 30-31 vertebrae; second proximal radial of dorsal fin between neural spines of 13th and 15th vertebrae (Ref. 83514, 122075). This species differs from Nothobranchius lucius in having a plain red caudal fin with narrow margin at the upper and lower corners in male (Ref. 83514).

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Found in temporary pools in floodplains, rice fields, swamps, ditches and small streams (Ref. 3788). Found in water-filled depressions in floodplains of rivers; with vegetation often near edges, usually grasses; occasionally grasses cover the entire pool; if aquatic vegetation is present, it may comprise of Nymphea, Ottelia, Lagarosiphon, and Utricularia species; annual species; eggs deposited in substrate where they survive dry season; hatching at onset of wet season; rapid growth of fry; sexual maturity may be attained in six weeks; may be associated with other annual or non-annual fish species (Ref. 83514). Bottom spawner; 4 months incubation; difficult to maintain in aquarium (Ref. 27139).

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

Annual fishes.

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Costa, W.J.E.M., 2017. Taxonomic revision of the seasonal killifish genus Nothobranchius from Zanzibar, East Africa (Cyprinodontoidei: Aplocheilidae). J. Nat. Hist. 51(27/28):1-16. (Ref. 122075)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 18 May 2020

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

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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=0.01023 (0.00436 - 0.02401), b=2.94 (2.74 - 3.14), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & (Sub)family-body (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  3.3   ±0.45 se; based on food items.
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Low vulnerability (10 of 100).