Fishes: Aphyosemion Australe

Sunday, 22 July 2012

Aphyosemion Australe

Pachypanchax playfairii is the only species of freshwater fish endemic to the Seychelles, a group of islands in the Indian Ocean directly east of Tanzania. An egg scatterer, Playfair's Panchax breeds amongst floating water plants. This species is unusual in that the scales of the male become lifted during the breeding season, giving the skin a rough appearance. Like the Common Lyrefish (Aphyosemion australe), Playfair's Panchax is a type of killifish and, as such, rarely lives to more than three years old.In spite of their name, the cyprinodonts are not closely related to the Cyprinidae, or carp family. They were formerly considered near allies of the pikes and their relatives, as they share some features: a flat head with protractile mouth beset with cardiform, villiform, or compressed, bi- or tri-cuspid teeth, generally large scales, and the absence of a well-developed lateral line. However, they are now generally assigned to the order Cyprinodontiformes.