Anablepidae

Anablepidae
Four-eyed fish, Anableps sp.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Cyprinodontiformes
Family: Anablepidae
Garman, 1895
Subfamilies

Anablepinae

Oxyzygonectinae

Anablepidae is a family of fishes which live in brackish and freshwater habitats from southern Mexico to southern South America.[1] There are three genera with sixteen species: the four-eyed fishes (genus Anableps), the onesided livebearers (genus Jenynsia) and the white-eye, Oxyzygonectes dovii. Fish of this family eat mostly insects and other invertebrates.

Reproduction

Fish in the subfamily Oxyzygonectinae are ovoviviparous. The Anablepinae are livebearers. Curiously, they mate on one side only, right-"handed" males with left-"handed" females and vice versa.[2] The male has specialized anal rays which are greatly elongated and fused into a tube called a gonopodium associated with the sperm duct which he uses as an intromittent organ to deliver sperm to the female.

References

  1. ↑ Nelson, Joseph, S. (2006). Fishes of the World. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. ISBN 0-471-25031-7.
  2. ↑ "Four Eyes and More, the Family Anablepidae". WetWebMedia.com. Retrieved 2007-03-30.

Other References

  • Berra, Tim M. (2001). Freshwater Fish Distribution. San Diego: Academic Press. ISBN 0-12-093156-7


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