Aphaniops stoliczkanus (Day, 1872)

Freyhof, JÖrg, Yoğurtçuoğlu, Baran, Jouladeh-Roudbar, Arash & Kaya, Cüneyt, 2025, Handbook of Freshwater Fishes of West Asia, De Gruyter : 730

Aphaniops stoliczkanus

Common name. Rajasthan killifish.

Diagnosis. Distinguished from other species of Aphani- ops in West Asia by: ● male usually with wide grey or brown bars at caudal peduncle, often anterior to dorsal base, with roundish or ovoid silvery spots or blotches on flank anterior to dorsal base or caudal peduncle / ● tip of dorsal reaching to end of hypural complex in nuptial male larger than 40 mm SL / ● female with a midlateral series of narrow bars, not much wider in upper part / ○ female with a narrow and long bar at caudal base / ○ male with 2–3 bold, crescent-shaped black bars on caudal / ○ male without black dorsal margin / ○ body covered by overlapping scales / ○ caudal truncate or slightly rounded / ○ 6–8½ branched dorsal rays. Size up to 53 mm SL.

Distribution . Shatt al Arab/Arvand and its tributaries, recorded from Hammar Marsh, Fallujah, Lake Razzazah and Badrah on Iran / Iraq border east of Baghdad. Also along coasts of Persian Gulf basin in Kuwait, Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Oman, except coast of Hormuzgan, and east along Indian Ocean coast to Rajasthan (north-west India). Aphaniops found as far inland as south of Riyadh in Saudi Arabia may belong to this species.

Habitat. Euryhaline; widespread in lagoons and estuar- ies, lower parts of rivers, streams, and all types of inland waters, especially when brackish or saline. In and around Hajar Mountains, very common in freshwater habitats, natural and artificial (including water tanks and cisterns), with or without significant vegetation.

Biology. May mature within five months, depending on temperature and food availability. Females mature at about 25 mm SL, males smaller. Males grow larger than females. Live up to 3 years. Males territorial during spawn- ing season defending spawning sites against other males. Spawns in pairs. In Oman and UAE, spawning occurs at all times of day and throughout the year. In southern Iraq, spawning peaks April–July. Several eggs are laid in each spawning event, and several spawning events occur daily. Eggs are attached to the spawning substrate by sticky filaments. Larvae hatch after about 14 days (25°C). Females, juveniles, and non-reproductive males form schools in open water. Salinities up to 14.5 % are tolerated, and salinities up to 25.0 % are briefly survived. Feeds on a wide variety of aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates, algae, and detritus are usually main components.

Conservation status. LC.

Remarks. Aphaniops teimorii , A. kruppi , and A. ginaonis are other superficially similar species. Aphaniops stoliczkanus has been widely introduced for mosquito control in UAE and Oman, and many, if not all, inland populations may be non-native. In northern Oman, inland populations sometimes show colour patterns similar to A. kruppi , and hybridisation between the two species cannot be excluded.

Further reading. Haas 1982 (biology); Teimori et al. 2012 (diversity in Persian Gulf basin); Freyhof et al. 2017b (molecular data, distribution).

Figures

Aphaniops stoliczkanus

Distribution