Classification / Names
Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa
Teleostei (teleosts) >
Cypriniformes (Carps) >
Danionidae (Danios) > Chedrinae
Etymology: Engraulicypris: Greek, eggraulis, -eos = anchovy + Greek, kypris = the name of Aphrodite, proceeding from Kypris, (Cyprus), Greek, kyprinos = carp (Ref. 45335); gariepinus: The species name gariepinus refers to the Gariep, a San name for the Orange River that means 'great water' (Ref. 116496).
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Freshwater; benthopelagic. Tropical
Africa: Orange River, below the Augrabies Falls, and its tributary the Gt. Fish River, in South Africa and Namibia (Ref. 93592, 116496).
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 4.7 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 116496)
Short description
Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 9 - 10; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 17 - 19; Vertebrae: 36 - 38. Diagnosis: Caudal fin membrane clear to pale orange towards midline; anal fin extending over three quarters of length of caudal peduncle; caudal peduncle short; operculum entirely, not partially, shiny; body midline silver, not black; iris dark to light grey, not white; head with tubercles along lower jaw and lower head in breeding males; snout rounded, with dense dark spotting on tip; pelvic fin melanophores absent (Ref. 116496).
This shoaling fish favours open, shallow water, normally occurring in slack pools and particularly below riffles; populations found in the lower Orange and Fish Rivers are limited by the Augrabies and Fish River Falls; they are restricted to turbid waters, which provide protection from visual predators (Ref. 116496). They are thought to feed mainly on small autochthonous invertebrates, e.g. planktonic crustaceans or insects, and are caught in large numbers where they occur (Ref. 116496).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Riddin, M.A., I.R. Bills and M.H. Villet, 2016. Phylogeographic, morphometric and taxonomic re-evaluation of the river sardine, Mesobola brevianalis (Boulenger, 1908) (Teleostei, Cyprinidae, Chedrini). ZooKeys 641:121-150. (Ref. 116496)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-2)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5039 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01000 (0.00244 - 0.04107), b=3.04 (2.81 - 3.27), in cm total length, based on all LWR estimates for this body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.0 ±0.3 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Resilience (Ref.
120179): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (10 of 100).
