Anadoras grypus
(Cope, 1872) |
he month of May 2013
takes us back to the South American family of the Doradidae and
a quite pretty and sought after species; the "Dusky Doradid",
Anadoras grypus.
There are at this precise moment only 4
species in the Anadoras genera, namely our factsheet
of the month A. grypus (Cope, 1872) from the Upper Amazon
River basin in Peru, A. insculptus (Miranda Ribeiro,
1912) from Brazil and Argentina, A. regani (Steindachner,
1908) from the Amazon and Oyapock River basins and A. weddellii
(Castelnau, 1855) from the Upper Mamoré, Paraguay and Pilcomayo
River basins. Apart from A. weddellii and A. grypus
the other two are uncommon in the hobby and are very rarely seen.
A. grypus and A. wendellii
are similar but the later has plates formed in the caudal peduncle
which A. grypus lacks.
|
|
Close-up
of Humeral Process |
Close-up
of Caudal |
Anadoras grypus is similar to
Amblydoras
nauticus but this species has a serrated dorsal fin ray
against A. grypus which is smooth. There is also a difference
in the colour patterns and the shape of the head fontanels. The
bony plates are also smaller than on Amblydoras.
The maps show the area where A. grypus is from, in small
streams tributary to the Ambyiacu, as well as the river itself,
which empties into the Amazon near Pebas, in Eastern Ecuador,
some distance east of the Napo (Type Locality).
Aquarium Care: In the
aquarium you should provide hiding places as with most Dorads
they like to hide out during the day and establish their own space.
Provide some plants with overhead planting an advantage as they
do prefer dimmer lighting in the tank.
26 or 27 lateral scutes which are small. Has
a modified caudal fulcra covering most of the peduncle above and
below. Short adipose fin. The fontanel is D shaped.
Body light brown which is covered with
large irregular shaped dark brown blotches. The head is mainly
dark brown. Front half of the dorsal fin is covered with dark
brown pigment, the remainder of the fin is clear with a few dark
spots. Pectoral, ventral and anal fins with dark pigment in the
centre and lighter at the edges. The adipose fin has a dark bar
at the rear. Caudal fin has a broad dark horizontal bar in the
centre of each lobe, the remainder of the fin is clear.
Generally peaceful with other placid species.
As this species can grow moderately large you would need to house
with same size species such as Cichlids and larger Characins as
they could pick off smaller fish at night as this is, as most Dorads
are, reclusive during daylight hours.
As yet unknown.
| Sexual
differences |
Not yet described.
|
| Diet |
Tablet foods, frozen and live worms. Will
also eat snails in the aquarium.
| Etymology |
Anadoras:
Ana = back; doras = cuirass.
|
| References |
Baensch, H.A.
and R. Riehl 1985
Aquarien atlas. Band 2. Mergus, Verlag für Natur- und
Heimtierkunde GmbH, Melle, Germany. 1216 p.
Ferraris, C.J. Jr., 2007. Checklist of
catfishes, recent and fossil (Osteichthyes: Siluriformes),
and catalogue of siluriform primary types. Zootaxa 1418:1-628.
Catfish Study Group UK. 2002.
Information Sheet No. 28.
Google Maps - ©2013
Google
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| Glossary
of Terms |
Dorsal
fin: The primary
rayed fin(s) on top of the body.
Anal fin: The fin
forward from the anal cavity.
Caudal fin: The primary rayed fin(s) on
top of the body.
Pectoral fin: The paired fins just behind
the head.
Fulcra: Bony plates.
Fontanel: The space(s) between the bones
on top of the skull covered by skin.
|
© Danny
Blundell @ The Danny Blundell PhotoGallery |
