''Telmatherina'' is a genus of
sailfin silverside
The Telmatherinidae, the sail-fin silversides are a family of atheriniform fish, inhabiting fresh and brackish water. All but the species '' Kalyptatherina helodes'' are restricted to the Indonesian island of Sulawesi
Sulawesi ( ), also kno ...
s
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
to the
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
n island of
Sulawesi
Sulawesi ( ), also known as Celebes ( ), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the List of islands by area, world's 11th-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Min ...
. They are restricted to the Malili Lake system, consisting of the large
Matano and
Towuti, and the small
Lontoa (Wawantoa),
Mahalona and
Masapi. They are also found in rivers and streams that are part of this lake system.
[Herder, F.; J. Schwarzer; J. Pfaender; R.K. Hadiaty; and U.K. Schliewen (2006). ]
Preliminary checklist of sailfin silversides (Teleostei: Telmatherinidae) in the Malili Lakes of Sulawesi (Indonesia), with a synopsis of systematics and threats.
'' Verhandlungen der Gesellschaft für Ichthyologie Band 5: 139-163.
Appearance and feeding
''Telmatherina'' are fairly small fish, with a maximum length of depending on the exact species.
Several of the species are highly variable, occurring in
morphs that differ in
morphology
Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to:
Disciplines
*Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts
*Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies, ...
or colour.
[ The various ''Telmatherina'' can be slender or high-bodied, may have rounded or pointed ]anal fin
Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the back bone and are supported o ...
and second dorsal fin
A dorsal fin is a fin on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates. Dorsal fins have evolved independently several times through convergent evolution adapting to marine environments, so the fins are not all homologous. They are found ...
, and can be overall yellow, overall bluish, overall brownish, bluish with yellow fins or greenish with yellow fins.[D. Sinha Roy; Margaret F. Docker; G. Douglas Haffner; and David D. Heath (2007). Body shape vs. colour associated initial divergence in the Telmatherina radiation in Lake Matano, Sulawesi, Indonesia. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 20(3): 1126-1137.]
''Telmatherina'' typically feed on various small animals, with some species (e.g. ''T.'' sp. "thicklip") mostly eating ''Caridina
''Caridina'' is a genus of freshwater atyid shrimp. They are widely found in tropical or subtropical water in Asia, Oceania and Africa. They are filter-feeders and omnivorous scavengers. They range from 0.9 to 9.8 mm ('' C. cantonensis'') ...
'' shrimp, some species (e.g., ''T. antoniae'' small morph) mostly eating copepod
Copepods (; meaning 'oar-feet') are a group of small crustaceans found in nearly every freshwater and saltwater habitat (ecology), habitat. Some species are planktonic (living in the water column), some are benthos, benthic (living on the sedimen ...
s, some (e.g., ''T. antoniae'' large morph) mostly eating small freshwater snails and land-living insects that end up in the water, and some (e.g., ''T. prognatha'') mostly eating small fish and land-living insects that end up in the water.[Jobst Pfaender; Ulrich K. Schliewen; and Fabian Herder (2010). Phenotypic traits meet patterns of resource use in the radiation of ‘‘sharpfin’’ sailfin silverside fish in Lake Matano. Evol Ecol 24: 957–974. ] ''T. sarasinorum'' mainly feeds on eggs of fish. It may cannibalize
Cannibalism is the act of consuming another individual of the same species as food. Cannibalism is a common ecological interaction in the animal kingdom and has been recorded in more than 1,500 species. Human cannibalism is also well document ...
eggs of its own species (especially male ''T. sarasinorum'' will do this if it is unclear if he has fertilized the eggs), follow spawning pairs of other ''Telmatherina'' species (especially ''T. antoniae'') to eat their eggs, or pretend to be a male partner of a female of another ''Telmatherina'' species (especially ''T. antoniae'') to entice her to spawn, only to eat the eggs.[Alexander F. Cerwenka; Juliane D. Wedekind; Renny K. Hadiaty; Ulrich K. Schliewen; and Fabian Herder (2012). Alternative egg-feeding tactics in Telmatherina sarasinorum, a trophic specialist of Lake Matano’s evolving sailfin silversides fish radiation. Hydrobiologia 693(1): 131–139.] Two additional species, ''T. abendanoni'' and ''T. opudi'', frequently feed on fish eggs.[ However, no species take only one type of prey. For example, the fish egg-eating ''T. sarasinorum'' also frequently take snails, insects and shrimp, while the fish-eating ''T.'' sp. "elongate" also frequently take shrimp, the shrimp-eating ''T.'' sp. "thicklip" also frequently eat small fish, and the snail-eating ''T. wahjui'' also take shrimp.][
In general, species that mainly feed on other fish reach the greatest length and are relatively slender, while species that mainly feed on fish eggs or shrimp have a relatively high body, likely allowing them to make faster turns (necessary to catch relatively mobile shrimp, or outmaneuver fish parents when stealing their eggs).][ Species feeding mainly on insects or snails tend to have an intermediate body shape, being neither as slender as fish-eaters, nor as high-bodied as egg- and shrimp-eaters.][ Shrimp-specialists also tend to have conspicuously fleshy lips.][
]
Species
In addition to the species listed below, ''Marosatherina ladigesi
The Celebes rainbowfish (''Marosatherina ladigesi'') is a species of sailfin silverside endemic to Sulawesi (formerly known as Celebes) in Indonesia. It is the only known member of its genus.
Description
Males grow to 6–8 cm, and females t ...
'' was formerly included in ''Telmatherina''. There are currently 10 recognized species in this genus:[
* '']Telmatherina abendanoni
''Telmatherina abendanoni'' is a species of fish in the subfamily Telmatherininae part of the family Melanotaeniidae, the rainbowfishes. It is endemic to Indonesia where it occurs only in Lake Matano on the island of Sulawesi
Sulawesi ( ...
'' M. C. W. Weber, 1913
* ''Telmatherina albolabiosus
''Telmatherina albolabiosa'' is a species of fish in the subfamily Telmatherininae part of the Family (biology), family Melanotaeniidae, the rainbowfishes. It is Endemism, endemic to Indonesia where it occurs only in Lake Matano on the island of ...
'' Tantu
''Tantu'' is a 1993 Kannada
Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native ...
& Nilawati, 2008
* ''Telmatherina antoniae
''Telmatherina antoniae'' is a species of fish in the subfamily Telmatherininae part of the family Melanotaeniidae, the rainbowfishes. It is endemic to Indonesia where it occurs only in Lake Matano on Sulawesi
Sulawesi ( ), also known as ...
'' Kottelat, 1991
* ''Telmatherina bonti
''Telmatherina bonti'' is a species of fish in the subfamily Telmatherininae part of the family Melanotaeniidae, the rainbowfishes. It is endemic to Indonesia where it is found in Lake Towuti, near Malili and in Lake Mahalona all on Sulawesi ...
'' M. C. W. Weber & de Beaufort, 1922
* ''Telmatherina celebensis
''Telmatherina celebensis'', also known as the Celebes rainbow, is a species of fish in the subfamily Telmatherininae part of the family Melanotaeniidae, the rainbowfishes. It is endemic to the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia where it has been ...
'' Boulenger, 1897 (Celebes Rainbow)
* ''Telmatherina obscura
''Telmatherina obscura'' is a species of fish in the subfamily Telmatherininae part of the family Melanotaeniidae, the rainbowfishes. It is endemic to Indonesia. The species was described in 1991 by Maurice Kottelat with a type locality of M ...
'' Kottelat, 1991
* ''Telmatherina opudi
''Telmatherina opudi'' is a species of fish in the subfamily Telmatherininae part of the family Melanotaeniidae, the rainbowfishes. It is endemic to Indonesia. his species was described in 1991 by Maurice Kottelat from a type locality of La ...
'' Kottelat, 1991
* ''Telmatherina prognatha
''Telmatherina prognatha'' is a species of fish in the subfamily Telmatherininae part of the family Melanotaeniidae, the rainbowfishes. It is endemic to Indonesia, where it occurs only in Lake Matano on the island of Sulawesi
Sulawesi ( ...
'' Kottelat, 1991
* ''Telmatherina sarasinorum
''Telmatherina sarasinorum'' is a species of fish in the subfamily Telmatherininae part of the family Melanotaeniidae, the rainbowfishes. It is endemic to Indonesia, where it occurs only in Lake Matano on the island of Sulawesi. This species was ...
'' Kottelat, 1991
* '' Telmatherina wahjui'' Kottelat, 1991
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q6413971
Telmatherininae
Freshwater fish of Sulawesi
Freshwater fish genera
Taxa named by George Albert Boulenger
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot