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Re: Apistos in the south-(link to Felipe Cantera).

Per,

I looked at the fish. They definitely are not A. commbrae. A. commbrae - and other members of the commbrae-complex (A. inconspicua & A. linkei) - exhibits a very large blotch on the caudal peduncle. This blotch is composed of a caudal spot & a highly pigmented part of the last vertical bar (Bar 7) that have joined together. They normally are attached to the lateral band. The fish on the Spanish site show a caudal spot that is separated from Bar 7 by a relatively broad light colored area. This feature is quite typical of species belonging to the regani-complex. The fish pictured appear to be one of the many forms similar to A. geisleri. The dark colored brood dress of the female in the pictures is very typical of A. geisleri, too.

I imagine that they Czech 'commbrae' that you once had were also a form of A. geisleri - possibly the source for the Spanish fish.

As for you question about Uruguayan apistos, I do not believe the question can be answered one way or the other. The Rio Paraná and Rio Uruguay do not actually join together. Both enter the Rio de la Plata north of Buenos Aires, Argentina. The de la Plata actually is not a river, but is a broad estuary highly influenced by the nearby Atlantic Ocean. As such it is more like a large brackish water bay. Those familiar with US geography can consider it similar the the Chesapeake Bay, only the vast amount of freshwater entering from the Paraná & Uruguay make it more brackish than marine. As such, I doubt that apistos could have migrated down the Paraná and then up the Uruguay. The apistos reportedly found at Salto, Uruguay probably entered the Rio Uruguay from some of the nearby tributaries of the Rio Paraná via stream piracy farther upstream. I cannot say whether temperatures, lack of adequate collecting, or recent introduction into the Rio Uruguay - or a combination of these - is the reason apistos are not found farther south. My guess is that temperature is not the cause.

Only 5 apisto species (A. borellii, A. trifasciata, A. pleurotaenia, A. commbrae, & A. inconspicua) are known from the entire Paraguay/Paraná system. Of these, only A. borellii, A. commbrae, & A. pleurotaenia(?) are endemic the the system. All of these species have closely related species in the Amazon Basin - except A. borellii. As such A. borellii is the only species of the genus that probably originated in the Paraguay/Paraná system. The lack of species diversity indicates that apistos probably have not inhabited the Paraguay/Paraná system for more than a few thousand years - except A. borellii. Somehow A. borellii or its ancestors probably arrived earlier along with M. altispinosus. A. borellii is a very unusual Apistogramma species. It has physical and behavioral characteristic features as different as those of Apistogrammoides & Taeniacara. I personally would not be surprised that it is given its own genus sometime.

Mike Wise

Per Wigstal wrote:

Hi Mike!

Yes, I´m really curious about where the southern boundry is for the apisto species? If I understand Felipe Cantera right, there are no apistos found in the southern part of Uruguay. I wonder If that´s because of the climate, or the absence of rivers connecting to the uruguay river?

By the way, while I was searching the net for info about Ap.Commbrae I came across this spanish page.

http://atlas.drpez.org/view_album.php?set_albumName=albuv15

Would you say that this fish is a Ap. commbrae? I´m not sure. Shouldn´t the lateral line connect to the tail-spot? It´s interrupted on this fish.
I had wildcaught commbraes some years ago that came as bycatch with a batch of Borellis from Mato Grosso. They had a clear thick lateral line which ended up on the tail-root as a spot. I also had, what I thought were czech bred Commbraes. And they looked very much like the fish on the page linked.  They were definately a commbrae group member, But I was never sure if they really were commbraes.

Best regards/ Per


Mike & Diane Wise <apistowise@bewellnet.com> wrote:
Per,

It looks like A. commbrae all right. If the fish pictured at: http://www.aqvaterra.com/photos/peces/galeria_ciclidos/apistogramma_commbrae_550x380.jpg
is from Salto, then it is the most southern documented apisto in South America. It would be interesting to learn if other apisto species do occur in Uruguay. BTW the Aqva Terra web site in both Spanish & English.

Mike Wise

Per Wigstal wrote:



I just found the website of Felipe Cantera! But it´s in spanish so I can´t read it. 

http://www.aqvaterra.com/viajes.php#info_viajes

(There´s in fact a picture of a A. Commbrae on one of the pages.)

Best regards/ Per



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