Titicaca Orestias

Amanto

The Amanto ( Orestias cuvieri ) is probably extinct freshwater fish of the genus Andenkärpflinge ( Orestias ). He was endemic in the Lake Titicaca.

Description

With 22 centimeters of Amanto was the greatest exponent of Andenkärpflinge. Other sources 26.5 inches as the maximum length ( Day 1981, Beacham 1997). The adult fish were greenish- yellow to amber at the top. The lower jaw was dyed black and the fins were black striped. The scales were remarkably bright in the center. The scales of the boys were spotty. His mouth was directed almost up, and gave the flat head has a concave shape. The head length was responsible for 40 % of total body length.

Way of life

The Amanto usually inhabited the cold zone of Lake Titicaca to a depth of 30 meters. His diet consisted of zooplankton. In the cold season, the juveniles migrated to the deep-water zone.

Extinction

The Indians of Lake Titicaca began the Amantos frequently during the seasonal migration of the shallow water in the deep-water zone. In 1937 the American lake trout ( Salvelinus namaycush ) was exposed in the Lake Titicaca. Because of the aggressive competitive struggle for food and habitat inventories of Amantos decreased dramatically. 1937 Amanto was caught for the last time. Accurate Aussterbejahr is not known. He probably disappeared during the 1940s or 1950s by competition with other introduced fish species such as rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), brown trout (Salmo trutta fario ) or the La Plata Ährenfisch ( Odontesthes bonariensis ). A search operation in 1962 remained without result.

The Museum Naturalis in Leiden has seven conserved copies of a remarkable collection of its kind