Dracula fish
| Dracula fish | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Cypriniformes |
| Family: | Cyprinidae |
| Subfamily: | Danioninae |
| Genus: | Danionella |
| Species: | D. dracula
|
| Binomial name | |
| Danionella dracula | |
Thedracula fish(Danionella dracula) is aspeciesoftropicaldanioninfishfrom thecyprinidfamily. It is afreshwaterfishendemictoMyanmar.[2]A close relative isDanio rerio,thezebrafishof aquariums. It is nameddraculaafter its unusual "fangs"; male dracula fish have protrudingtooth-likebones stemming from their jawbones. Males have been observed using their fangs to spar with other males.[3][4]
Identified in April 2007[5]from specimens shipped to the United Kingdom in a consignment ofaquarium fishes,the dracula fish has so far only been found in the wild in a small stream atSha Du ZupbetweenMogaungandTanaiin northern Myanmar.[4]It is a obese type of miniature species and grows to a maximum size of around 17 millimetres (0.67 in).[6]The fish has an elongate body with a large head and eyes. Dracula fish lackscalesand the upper body is dominated by the jaws on large males. Much of the fish's structure iscartilaginous:it has 44 fewer bones than the zebrafish, and thus it is translucent and appears similar tolarvalforms.[3][4]The natural diet of the dracula fish is unknown but in captivity it eatsshrimplarvae, smallnematodesandfish flakes.Close relatives of the fish feed upon smallcrustaceansandinvertebrates.[7]
The dracula fish is unusual in that its ancestors lost their true teeth around 50 million years ago, but re-evolved its bone fangs as a replacement around 30 million years ago.[4]The species issexually dimorphicin that the female does not have such prominent bone fangs. It becomes sexually mature while its body is still not fully developed; scientists speculate that this may happen because younger fish were more successful reproductively.[4]IchthyologistDr Ralf Britz, who named the fish afterBram Stoker's characterCount Dracula,stated that the dracula fish "is one of the most extraordinaryvertebratesdiscovered in the last few decades. "[3][6]
References[edit]
- ^Ng, H.H. (2010)."Danionella dracula".IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.2010:e.T167874A6403815.doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-4.RLTS.T167874A6403815.en.Retrieved20 November2021.
- ^Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2014)."Danionella dracula"inFishBase.November 2014 version.
- ^abcBlack, Richard (2009-03-11).'Dracula' fish shows baby teeth.BBC News.Retrieved on 2009-03-11.
- ^abcdeRalf Britz; Kevin W. Conway; Lukas Rüber (2009)."Spectacular morphological novelty in a miniature cyprinid fish,Danionella draculan. sp ".Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.276(1665): 2179–2186.doi:10.1098/rspb.2009.0141.PMC2677611.PMID19324738.
- ^Tiny fish developed its own set of dracula fangs.The Times(2009-03-11). Retrieved on 2009-04-30.
- ^abDevlin, Kate (2009-03-11).New 'dracula' fish discovered.The Daily Telegraph.Retrieved on 2009-03-11.
- ^Jaggard, Victoria (2009-03-11).Photo In The News: New "Dracula" Fish Discovered.National Geographic.Retrieved on 2009-03-12.