Anablepidae

      Anablepidae
      Four-eyed fish, Anableps sp.
      Scientific classification
      Kingdom: Animalia
      Phylum: Chordata
      Class: Actinopterygii
      Order: Cyprinodontiformes
      Family: Anablepidae
      Garman, 1895
      Subfamilies

      Anablepinae

      Oxyzygonectinae

      Anablepidae is a family of freshwater and brackish water fishes living on river estuaries from southern Mexico to southern South America.[1] There are three genera with sixteen species: the four-eyed fishes (genus Anableps), the onesided livebearers (genus Jenynsia) and the white-eye, Oxyzygonectes dovii. Fish of this family eat mostly insects and other invertebrates.

      Reproduction

      Fish in the subfamily Anablepinae are ovoviviparous. Curiously, they only mate on one side, right-"handed" males with left-"handed" females and vice versa.[2] The male of most species in the family has specialized anal rays which are greatly elongated and fused into a tube called a gonopodium associated with the sperm duct which he uses as an intromittent organ to deliver sperm to the female.

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      References

      1. ^ Nelson, Joseph, S. (2006). Fishes of the World. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. ISBN 0-471-25031-7. 
      2. ^ "Four Eyes and More, the Family Anablepidae". WetWebMedia.com. Retrieved 2007-03-30. 

      Other References

      • Berra, Tim M. (2001). Freshwater Fish Distribution. San Diego: Academic Press. ISBN 0-12-093156-7
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      External links

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      Last modified on 25 February 2013, at 17:53