Simpsonichthys alternatus

[stormhawk]

As promised to Ron, here's a picture of his Simp. alternatus reverse trio that are now in my care.

I could not get a picture of the males because they are so damn shy. Here's a shot of the female. Pardon the blurriness. Did not have time to focus properly before she decides to go and hide again.



I believe these to be of the João Pinheiro population but until further confirmation from some friends, I will not label the pictures with a population code.

Closest species in terms of pattern and colouration to the alternatus would be Simpsonichthys delucai. I wonder if the females look the same.

As is, I'll try to get a shot of the males and a better shot of the female. Hopefully they decide to pose for me.

[RonWill]

Jian Yang,
Thanks for taking the time to upload the image of the female. Hopefully, you can catch hold of the male as I think he's kinda good looking too.

When I received the alternatus eggs, no population code was attached to it, so despite further research on your part, I'd suggest not appending such information to the reversed trio in your guardianship [that is, unless the European seller confirms the details].

As I understand it, what you have now is the sole representation of the species, so do handle them with plenty of TLC. [I'll check their peat to see if there are any viable eggs, then we're safe... for now ]

[TyroneGenade]

All alternatus in the trade come from the same ONE pool. There is also only ONE location known for them. You can bet your fish are the strain Joao Pinheiro even if they they do not carry the location tag.

For this fish, a location tag is in any case unneeded. It isn't going to get mixe dup with anything. The closest it came was sp. aff. alternatus Urucuia which is now delucai. Costa is a splitter. If he hasn't split them, they are the same.

Regards

[stormhawk]

Thank you for the information Tyrone. In retrospect, the same would apply to Simpsonichthys marginatus, of which the fish that are circulating in the world now are descended from that one single pair that was bred by hobbyists in Sao Paulo, as per Dalton's information.

These would be coded as Barro Alto, being the nearest city/town to its actual spot along the Rio dos Patos.

If the alternatus in the hobby came from that same single pool then the code would still be necessary. I'll take it as João Pinheiro then.

Come to think of it, Simp. delucai DOES look highly similar to the male alternatus.

Au, could you give some notes as to how similar the alternatus and delucai females are? From what I've observed the alternatus female has faint stripes in the dorsal, anal and caudal fin and rear half of the body, with a golden sheen to the midsection coupled with a smattering of irregular black marks on the flanks.

It is usually by means of the females that Costa has occasionally named a species, as is the case with Simp. ocellatus, which was named for the female's large mid-body blotch.

Ron, don't worry they'll have lots of TLC on my side. Check on your eggs and we should be safe. Having just a single female can bring a chill down my spine.

[stormhawk]

I forgot to add, I do have a copy of this species' original description by Costa and Brasil.

In it the information states that this species and Simp. trilineatus was caught at the same locality in the pond near João Pinheiro, close to the rio Paracatu.

I believe the municipality is called Brasilandia, so that may explain certain differences in location data.

In the same article Costa describes Simp. alternatus as having a very close relationship with Simp. flammeus by means of their similar barring pattern on the body and fins.

[hwchoy]

I forgot to add, I do have a copy of this species' original description by Costa and Brasil.

JY, what is the title of that reference? want to see if I already have the paper.

[stormhawk]

Trois nouveaux Poissons annuels du genre Cynolebias (Cyprinodontiformes : Rivulidae) du bassin du rio São Francisco, Brésil

Costa et Brasil, 1994

Revue fr. Aquariol., 21 (1994), 1-2, 20 décembre 1994

In English, the title means 3 new annual fishes of the genus Cynolebias (Cyprinodontiformes : Rivulidae) from the Rio São Francisco basin, Brazil.

In it the species stellatus, alternatus and trilineatus are described with a short note on their inter-species relationships with other Simpsonichthys (then Cynolebias) species.

[hwchoy]

In spanish? Can mail me a copy?

[stormhawk]

In French. I think I sent you a copy previously but I'll mail it over again.

[stormhawk]

As promised, here's a not-so-good shot of one of the shy and elusive males. They do not come out unless they are sparring or feeding. Very very shy species.

Had to take this picture in very low light conditions otherwise they go berserk in the tank.

[stormhawk]

Ron, finally managed to get a decent shot of one of the males.



I hope I did the fella justice.

Caught them in the act of diving too..