Teleostei (teleosts) >
Characiformes (Characins) >
Lebiasinidae (Pencilfishes) > Lebiasininae
Etymology: Lebiasina: Derived from Greek, lebias, lebiou = a kind of fish (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Valenciennes.
Issue
No recent study. The body is stocky with a dark spot just behind the head and another at the base of the caudal fin. All lebiasinids are mainly insectivorous feeding generally near the surface of the water. Lebiasina bimaculata especially has been used in the control of mosquitoes. Thus it has been introduced into regions where it was not native. Its original distribution was in the coastal streams between the Lima area of central Peru north to northern Ecuador. It also occurs inland at higher elevations in the Cajamarca region of central Peru. Pearson (1937: 89) remarks that this fish can live for a long time in a minimum quantity of water and that pre Inca people could easily have carried this fish from the coast up into the Cajamarca valley where it has adapted and spread into the upper Marañon River. Marilyn Weitzman, pers. comm., Eschmeyer, 1998:229; Ortega and Vari, 1986:10.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Freshwater; benthopelagic; pH range: 6.2 - 7.5; dH range: ? - 25. Tropical; 22°C - 26°C (Ref. 2059)
South America: Ecuador and Peru west of the Andes; also Marañon River basin.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 16.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 37104)
Facultative air-breathing (Ref. 126274); Used as a mosquito control (Ref. 26543).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Weitzman, M. and S.H. Weitzman, 2003. Lebiasinidae (Pencil fishes). p. 241-251. In R.E. Reis, S.O. Kullander and C.J. Ferraris, Jr. (eds.) Checklist of the Freshwater Fishes of South and Central America. Porto Alegre: EDIPUCRS, Brasil. (Ref. 37104)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: commercial; aquarium: commercial; bait: occasionally
Tools
Special reports
Download XML
Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01122 (0.00514 - 0.02450), b=3.04 (2.87 - 3.21), in cm total length, based on all LWR estimates for this body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.7 ±0.4 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (10 of 100).
Nutrients (Ref.
124155): Calcium = 137 [48, 313] mg/100g; Iron = 1.47 [0.73, 3.27] mg/100g; Protein = 17.8 [15.9, 19.9] %; Omega3 = 0.533 [0.189, 1.477] g/100g; Selenium = 63.6 [27.0, 153.0] μg/100g; VitaminA = 83.1 [30.9, 199.6] μg/100g; Zinc = 2.47 [1.71, 3.49] mg/100g (wet weight);
