Grammatidae

King - Basslet ( Gramma loreto )

The family of Anthias ( Grammatidae ) occurs in the western tropical Atlantic.

Features

Anthias, 2.2 to 10 cm long. They are very colorful with bright, contrasting colors and sometimes an eyespot on the dorsal fin in most cases. So that they resemble the related dwarf perch ( Pseudochromidae ), but they are native to the tropical Indo-Pacific.

Your body is penetrated to elongate, laterally flattened and usually covered with ctenoid scales. The eyes are large and sit near the front. Dis muzzle is short, the muzzle terminal. Premaxilla, mandible, vomer and palatine bones are covered with brush-like teeth. The Vorkiemendeckel is sawn or smooth, the operculum has two or less flat, short spines. The 12 to 35 gill Reuse rays on the first branchial arch are long. The number of Branchiostegalstrahlen is six. The lateral line is split, with a portion along the dorsal fin, which ends below the last dorsal fin ray and a portion on the middle of the tail fin shaft, or missing. The dorsal fin is uniform and elongated. The first fin ray of the pelvic fin is long and narrow and sometimes extends to the end of the anal fin or beyond. The remaining four fin rays are branched. The caudal fin is rounded, crescent- shaped or currently completing. In some cases, its lower lobe is longer.

  • Fins formula: Dorsal XI-XIV/6-10, Anal III/6-10, Petorale 14-19, Ventral I / 5
  • Dandruff formula: MLR 20-48.

Way of life

Anthias very secretive in coral and rocky reefs to depths of 350 meters. They live singly or in small groups in small districts near a shelter ( cave, crevice ), from which it usually does not take off very far, and in the case of danger they disappear immediately. Anthias swim substrate- oriented, that is, close under an overhang they go with the belly up. They feed on zooplankton and clean larger fish of parasites ( cleaning symbiosis ). From aquariums observations - Gramma loreto Gramma and melacara have been bred - we know that the males build the nest hollows hidden from algae, put in the females the eggs. The eggs of Anthias have custody threads with which they hold together.

Inside systematics

The Grammatidae family includes two genera with 12 species, of which five belong to the genus Gramma and eight to the genus Lipogramma.

  • Gramma Poey, 1868. Brazilian Basslet ( Gramma brasiliensis) Sazima, Gasparini & Moura, 1998.
  • Dejongs Basslet ( Gramma dejongi ) Victor & Randall, 2010.
  • Halter Basslet ( Gramma linki ) Starck & Colin, 1978.
  • King - Basslet ( Gramma loreto ) Poey, 1868.
  • Black Cap Basslet ( Gramma melacara ) Bohlke & Randall, 1963.
  • Lipogramma anabantoides Bohlke, 1960.
  • Lipogramma evides Robins & Colin, 1979.
  • Lipogramma flavescens Gilmore & Jones, 1988.
  • Red- Basslet ( Lipogramma klayi ) Randall, 1963.
  • Lipogramma regium Robins & Colin, 1979.
  • Lipogramma robinsi Gilmore, 1997.
  • Lipogramma roseum Gilbert, 1979.
  • Lipogramma trilineata Randall, 1963.
Acanthomorpha David Starr Jordan Eyespot (mimicry) Fish fin Joseph S. Nelson FishBase
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