Teleostei (teleosts) >
Cyprinodontiformes (Rivulines, killifishes and live bearers) >
Valenciidae (Toothcarps)
Etymology: Valencia: After Valenciennes, the ichthyologist?.
Eponymy: Aristide Horace Letourneux (1820–1890) was a botanist and entomologist in Algiers. [...] (Ref. 128868), visit book page.
More on author: Sauvage.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Freshwater; demersal; non-migratory. Subtropical; 15°C - 24°C (Ref. 2060); 41°N - 39°N, 19°E - 22°E
Europe: Albania and western Greece, from Lake Butrint to Alfios drainages, and Corfu and Lefkas islands where it has been extirpated.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 8.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 27139); max. reported age: 3.00 years (Ref. 59043)
Short description
Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
Anal soft rays: 11. Can be diagnosed from other species of Valenciidae, Fundulidae and Cyprinodontidae in Europe by the following characters: males bluish to greyish, possessing 1-14 darker bars narrower than or as wide as interspaces, not always distinct anteriorly, with iridescent spots; males with caudal fin hyaline to bluish, with or without dark posterior margin, and spots organized into 2-4 vertical rows; dorsal and anal fins of adult male not reaching caudal fin; 28-30 scales in midlateral series on body; anal fin usually with 11 rays; pectoral fin with 12-14 rays (Ref. 59043).
A short-lived species. Adults inhabit swamps, lowland water courses with little current, lagoons, springs and associated wetlands (Ref. 26100). Can tolerate salinity of up to 4 ppt in the wild and 46 ppt under laboratory conditions, but prefer freshwater. They feed mainly on insects, especially chironomids (Ref. 59043). Threatened due to the introduction of other species and water abstraction (Ref. 26100). Not a seasonal killifish. Difficult to maintain in aquarium (Ref. 27139).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Eggs are scattered among fine-feathered water plants. Young hatch after 16-20 days (Ref. 2060). Eggs of about 2-mm in diameter are laid probably in batches (Ref. 59043).
Kottelat, M. and J. Freyhof, 2007. Handbook of European freshwater fishes. Publications Kottelat, Cornol and Freyhof, Berlin. 646 pp. (Ref. 59043)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-2)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: of no interest; aquarium: commercial
Tools
Special reports
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.7500 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00490 (0.00186 - 0.01287), b=3.14 (2.91 - 3.37), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.2 ±0.4 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Generation time: 1.1 ( na - na) years. Estimated as median ln(3)/K based on 1
growth studies.
Resilience (Ref.
120179): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (tmax=3).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (14 of 100).
