Biotopes of Brunei | Aquatic Treasures in the Labi Jungle

Zaheer Afie Biotope, Biotopes of Borneo 2 Comments

On 17th February 2017, a 3 member team from the Brunei Biotope Group including myself set off on a journey into the jungles of Labi (located in South East of Belait District in Brunei Darussalam) in search of a tall waterfall known to locals as Wasai Belulok situated along the Belulok River (4°16’32.57″N, 114°25’29.45″E). The journey into the jungle started at approximately 12 noon, until 4pm. At the Belulok waterfall, within a 50 metre span of the stream, various species of fish and one species of aquatic plants can be found. Starting from the pool beneath the waterfall, only one …

Biotopes of Brunei | Ichthyofauna of the Teraja Falls

Zaheer Afie Biotope, Biotopes of Borneo Leave a Comment

On 18th March 2017, we, Brunei Biotope Group, were off again on another journey into the Labi jungle of Brunei in hopes of finding something exciting. On this trip our group of four people were heading towards Teraja Waterfall, a widely known fall along the Sungai Teraja which is frequented  by many tourists, especially those which like to go on jungle adventures here in Brunei. We started our journey from Seria Town at 09:00 AM and we had arrived at the Teraja Longhouse at about 11:00 AM. As we arrived at the Teraja Longhouse, we informed the Iban people (head …

Biotopes of Brunei | Biodiversity of the Telamba River

Zaheer Afie Biotope, Biotopes of Borneo 1 Comment

On the early morning of 15th September of 2017, our group finally resembled to embark on another trip to explore the jungles of Brunei. This time we headed to our 1st lowland river trip where we would be investigating the lower Telamba River; this was also to our first exploration trip within Tutong district of Brunei. The Telamba river is a stream for most of its course and is approximately 5.5km long (possibly longer) and is a tributary of the Danau River. For this trip we started off from Seria Town, we departed at 8am and drove to our destination located at …

A new species of Pterophyllum?

Chris Englezou Biotope, Biotopes of South America, Chris Englezou 2 Comments

Having been deeply fascinated with the Pterophyllum genus for many years, I have found myself waist deep in research, analysing data, images and footage and even taking trips into the jungle to better understand the majestic freshwater Angelfish and the factors which influence their distribution and taxonomy. One area of recently increasing interest to me is the Rio Negro in Brasil. I have always been curious about the distribution of Pterophyllum leopoldi and the existence of disjunct populations along both the Rio Negro and Rio Solimões and in the last few years I have dedicated countless hours to uncover more …

URUGUAY, la tierra de los Gymnogeophagus y Austrolebias

Marcelo Fernandez Biotope, Biotopes of South America, Uncategorised Leave a Comment

  Desde hace varios años distintos artículos en revistas y libros nos deleitaban con las especies halladas en este maravilloso país tan natural que para nosotros está  al otro lado del “charco” llamado Rio de la Plata. Ya desde las aventuras del famoso grupo FLA FLO DUL (Fauna y Flora dulce acuícola) en los noventa,  hasta algunas publicaciones en Tropical Fish Hobbyest como también en estos últimos años, en la revista Amazonas, nos mostraban  una variedad de peces únicas muy atractivas para los amantes de la acuariofilia. La idea era conocer los biotopos de algunos Austrolebias (“Cynolebias”) uruguayas como también …

Biotope Aquarium 101: An authentic Indragiri River basin biotope for Clown Loach

Jeroen Vanhooren Biotope 2 Comments

Creating a home for the beloved Clown Loach (Chromobotia macracanthus) is no easy feat, information on their natural habitat is scarce (even on the vast internet) but it is a challenge and I dread to think of the amount of Clown Loach lives that would have been saved but for an article such as this one… The Indragiri River is located in the Indonesian province of Riau and is formed from at the confluence of the Ombilin River and the Sinamar River; at it’s delta it empties into the Strait of Malacca which is a narrow channel located between the …

potamon freshwater crab malta

An Endangered Freshwater Crab in Malta | Potamon fluviatile lanfrancoi

Chris Englezou Chris Englezou, Conservation 1 Comment

Potamon fluviatile lanfrancoi is definitely not the short name for the Maltese freshwater crab. In Maltese language it is referred to as Qabru and was originally described from seven localities across Malta and Gozo islands by D. Capolongo and J. L. Cilia in 1990.  Ten years later the subspecies status was revised in a publication by Brandis et al and the genus Potamon was split into four subgenera: Potamon, Eutelphusa, Pontipotamon and Orientopotamon.  The Maltese crab is currently identified as Potamon (Eutelphusa) fluviatile although revocation of the subspecies status is not widely accepted in Malta since the endemism of the “subspecies” to …

Biotope Aquarium 101: An authentic Guyana biotope for Glowlight Tetras

Jeroen Vanhooren Biotope, Biotopes of South America Leave a Comment

The Rio Takutu is a river in one of the most interesting and biodiverse places on earth: the Guiana Shield in northern South America. It was most famously documented during the expedition by Robert H. Schomburgk from 1835 – 1844 to mark the borders of territory of “British” Guiana on the orders of Queen Victoria. It was subsequently used as a base to develop large-scale sugar plantations maned by countless African slaves and was only returned to independence in 1966 from whence it became known as Guyana. The fish fauna of this area are highly endemic as a result of the …

Biodiversity of the Rio Paraná Delta, Argentina

Marcelo Fernandez Biotope, Biotopes of South America 2 Comments

For many years, when thinking about ornamental fish, I wonder how this paradise of species has not been better recognised and appreciated. This Argentine delta is a unique place, unlike any other similar habitat in the world. It is a beautiful wetland, a magical place with lagoons, jungle, grasslands and floating islands that form in the space of just a few years and are constantly mutating to give birth to new biotopes for different species – this place is so very rich in biodiversity. Firstly, to appreciate the size of this Eden of ornamental fish it is instrumental to know …