Images attached to GBIF records (field photographs), from . Open licences; click for the record.
Arabian Toothcarp
Aphanius dispar (Rüppell, 1829)
Also calledafty (ara) · disli sazancik (tur) · çeliku laraman (sqi) · נאוית המלחות (heb)
The Arabian toothcarp (Aphaniops dispar), known also as the mother-of-Pearl fish is a species of killifish belonging to the family Aphaniidae . It can be found from the shores of the Red Sea south to Ethiopia, the Gulf of Aden, the Arabian Sea and along the Persian Gulf east to Pakistan and India. It is also found in the Suez Canal, the northern coast of the Sinai Peninsula, and in one location on the Israeli coast. The former recognized subspecies: A. d. richardsoni, the Dead Sea toothcarp endemic to the Dead Sea has now been raised to a full species as Aphaniops richardsoni.
Descriptions from checklists and floras indexed by GBIF
Aphanius dispar (Ruppell 1828)
Aphanius dispar (Rüppell, 1828) Cyprinodon dispar: Haas & Steinitz, 1947; Mendelsohn, 1947; Ben-Tuvia, 1953a; Ben-Tuvia, 1953c. Aphanius dispar: Steinitz, 1951; Villwock, 1964 (Syst.); Ben-Tuvia, 1966; Lotan, 1969 (Physiol.); Villwock, 1970; Ben-Tuvia, 1971a; Lotan, 1971 (Physiol.); Paperna, 1972 (Parasit.); Kornfield & Nevo, 1976 (Gen.); Villwock, 1977 (Syst.); Ben-Tuvia, 1978; Villwock, 1981; Lotan, 1982a (Gen. Biol.); Lotan, 1982b (Gen. Biol., Heb.); Villwock, 1982 (Syst., Gen.); Villwock et al., 1983 (Syst.); Ben-Tuvia, 1985; Villwock, 1985a (Syst.); Villwock, 1985b (Syst.); Golani & Ben-Tuvia, 1989; Frenkel & Goren, 1996 (Gen. Biol.); Golani, 1996; Lotan & Ben- Tuvia, 1996 (Rep.); Golani, 1997 (Heb.); Fishelson, 2001; Golani, 2005; Goren & Galil, 2005. Aphanius dispar dispar: Fischthal, 1980 (Parasit.); Villwock, 1987 (Syst.).
An updated Checklist of the Mediterranean fishes of Israel, with illustrations of recently recorded species and delineation of Lessepsian migrants
Aphanius dispar (Ruppell 1829)
Key to species in the Aphanius dispar group It should be noted that more than one species seems to be involved in A. dispar from the Red Sea basin and only limited material was available from the different molecular groups. The identification key is based on A. dispar from the northern Red and Mediterranean Sea basins. Other populations from the Red Sea may not be identified using this key. 1a Caudal fin emarginated; body without scales......................................................... A. furcatus 1b Caudal fin truncate; body covered by scales................................................................. 2 2a Lower jaw sharply upturned, oriented about 90° to body axis.......................................... A. stiassnyae 2b Lower jaw gently upturned, oriented about 45° to body axis.................................................... 3 3a Female with a midlateral row of roundish, black spots, often with additional black spots on flank; male with a wide, black dorsal-fin margin; anal fin yellow, with or without a narrow black margin and 0–2 short black bars on middle of fin... A. sirhani 3b Female with a midlateral row of vertically elongated black, grey or dark-
Aphanius kruppi, a new killifish from Oman with comments on the A. dispar species group (Cyprinodontiformes: Aphaniidae)
From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA), quoted section by section
Description
A. dispar is a chubby and robust fish in both sexes with a similar body plan lacking any spines, but here is where their similarities end. This species expresses extreme sexual dimorphism in both appearance and behaviour. The larger males are very brightly coloured with long fins that may reach the end of the tail when lowered. He is a lustrous greyish blue with bright silver spots spread across his body, with a relatively sharp snout. The fins are light yellow with thick black bands running across his tail fin and spots on his dorsal and ventral fins. The smaller females are brownish-silver with distinctive brown marks running down her sides, with a smoother snout. Her fins are smaller and her tail is distinctly shaped like a square. This fish is coated with a pearly lustre, giving rise to one of their names, the "Mother-of-Pearl fish" The males are solitary and less commonly encountered, while females and younger males are gregarious, forming small shoals. The size is about 8 cm (3 in) for males and 6 cm (2 in) for females.
Range & habitat
The Arabian pupfish inhabits a wide variety of water bodies, though it prefers hard alkaline. It is an extremely euryhaline fish, capable of tolerating salinities from below 1 ppt (pure freshwater) to hypersaline conditions of almost 140 ppt. For reference, seawater has an average salinity of 35 ppt. Throughout its range, the Arabian pupfish can be seen in several aquatic habitats. It is commonly encountered in coastal zones and estuaries, with the greatest number observed being in mangrove forests where they hide amongst the roots and leaves of the plants in groups of hundreds. They can also be found in freshwater environments such as oases and lakes through Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Oman
What it does
This fish is an omnivore, feeding on any organic debris such as algae, freshwater crustaceans and small insects. In freshwater habitats, their main source of food is the larvae of mosquitoes, whilst smaller aquatic worms are often targeted by groups of fish. Its prolific feeding on mosquito larvae had led to it being used as a method of pest control in several countries.
Where it has been recorded
Recorded sightings
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geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
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In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Aphanius dispar in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
From the GBIF Backbone Taxonomy and occurrence records (GBIF.org), with Wikipedia and the Source Library. GBIF species 2348092.