What exactly do we know about the critically endangered freshwater fish Parosphromenus gunawani?

Chris Englezou Biotopes of Indonesia, Uncategorised Leave a Comment

The Licorice Gouramies The genus Parosphromenus sits discreetly within the taxonomic subfamily of the Macropodusinae, often overshadowed by the popularity of the Betta, Macropodus, and even the Trichopsis. Still, these little bursts of colour and iridescence truly are the gold dust of the Gouramis, somewhat like Bettas, but better! Parosphromenus can only be found in peat swamp habitats in Malaysia and Indonesia, so not only is their geographic range limited, but they are also highly specialised to only thrive in very specific conditions in a habitat type that is itself under increasing threat from unsustainable palm oil, illegal deforestation, and …

Biotopes of Hong Kong | Hill Stream Habitats | Blue Neon Stiphodon

Jeffery Chan Biotope, Biotopes of Hong Kong, Conservation 1 Comment

Hill stream habitats in Hong Kong are home to some of the most endearing and enigmatic fishes on Earth. These oxygen-rich, cool mountain streams or often, torrential rivers, provide crucial habitat, not only for exclusively freshwater dwelling species, but also form important migratory routes and nurseries for anadromous, amphidromous and catadromous fishes, those which migrate upriver, those with complex breeding strategies involving both fresh and saline systems and those which migrate downriver to the sea to spawn, respectively. One Hong Kong hill stream species which is particularly fascinating is the goby Stiphodon atropurpureus. From their striking iridescence, their adaptation of …

Biotope Aquarium 101: An authentic Western Ghats biotope for the endangered Zebra Loach

Jeroen Vanhooren Biotope, Conservation, Uncategorised 4 Comments

Koyna River is one of the five Indian rivers which find their source at the Pachaganga Temple in Mahabaleshwar within the Sahyadri mountain range (also known as the Western Ghats); they’re also home to one of India’s few evergreen forests. This range forms a barrier to the Deccan Plateau for the monsoon winds and as the clouds are forced to rise when they meet the mountains, this leads to large amounts of rain fall, particularly during the rainy season (June till September) and give rise to the formation of rainforests. The area is known as one of the most biodiverse places …

Current status of the Mediterranean Killifish (Aphanius fasciatus) in Malta | A Complex Conservation Question

Chris Englezou Chris Englezou, Conservation 5 Comments

Between the 21st-26th March 2017 I had the opportunity to visit each of five known localities for the Mediterranean Killifish Aphanius fasciatus on the island of Malta. The Killifish is locally known as “Buzaqq” and has historically inhabited brackish to hypersaline habitats at Marsa, Marsaxlokk, Marsaskala, Salini and Għadira. Salini The population at Salini are the only remaining natural population still residing in their natural habitat, but this habitat has been heavily altered since it was constructed into a large salt pan area by the knights of St John in the 16th century. It is still maintained to this day for …

The history of Salaria fluviatilis in Cyprus

Chris Englezou Conservation, Fish History Leave a Comment

Roland L. N. Michell was a British National who lived on the island of Cyprus periodically in the early 1900’s, he was not an ichthyologist nor was he a naturalist, his interest was mainly in ethnography but yet he must have been somewhat enamoured with the wildlife of Cyprus because not only did he collect the first examples ever recorded in Cyprus of Salaria fluviatilis, the freshwater ‘Blenny’, he also seems to have been the only person to ever have done so, and it took him 4-5 years before he succeeded! Michell collected his specimens from less than a handful …