Anableps dowei | |
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Four-eyed Fish, Anableps dovii Gill. Tehuantepee, Mexico | |
Conservation status | |
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1) | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Order: | Cyprinodontiformes |
Family: | Anablepidae |
Genus: | Anableps |
Species: | A. dowei |
Binomial name | |
Anableps dowei (T. N. Gill, 1861) | |
Synonyms | |
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The Pacific four-eyed fish (Anableps dowei) is a species of four-eyed fish native to the coastal waters on the Pacific side of southern Mexico to Nicaragua. This fish is gregarious and inhabits mangrove swamps, tidal mudflats, and other coastal brackish ecosystems. During low tide, they will crawl onto shore to eat algae and other organic matter. This species has female biased sexual dimorphism, with males growing to 22 cm (8.7 in) TL while females can grow up to 34 cm (13.4 in) TL. The male also has a prominent gonopodium used to impregnate females during mating. As with other members of Anablepinae, this species is livebearing and has left or right leaning genitals to prevent inbreeding.
The name "four-eyed fish" comes from how the eyes of the fish are split into two lobes horizontally, each with its own pupil and vision. This allows the fish to see above and below the water at the same time..Aiding in predator detection and prey location. Additionally, the fish has specialized muscles enabling each eye to adjust its focus independently, further enhancing its ability to adapt to both aerial and aquatic environments.
References
- Daniels, A.; Maiz-Tome, L. (2019). "Anableps dowei". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019: e.T191300A1975324. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-2.RLTS.T191300A1975324.en. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
- Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Anableps dowei". FishBase. June 2020 version.
- "Species: Anableps dowei, Northern four-eye, Pacific four-eyes". Shorefishes of the Eastern Pacific online information system. Archived from the original on 2017-04-07.
- "Anableps dowei Gill, 1861, Pacific foureyed fish". Fishbase. Archived from the original on 2020-06-26.
- Sivak, J.G. (1976). "Optics of the eye of the "four-eyed fish" (Anableps anableps)". Vision Research. 16 (5): 531–534. doi:10.1016/0042-6989(76)90035-3. PMID 941438. S2CID 21924658 – via ScienceDirect.
- Perez, Louise N.; Lorena, Jamily; Costa, Carinne M.; Araujo, Maysa S.; Frota-Lima, Gabriela N.; Matos-Rodrigues, Gabriel E.; Martins, Rodrigo A. P.; Mattox, George M. T.; Schneider, Patricia N. (2017-04-12). "Eye development in the four-eyed fish Anableps anableps : cranial and retinal adaptations to simultaneous aerial and aquatic vision". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 284 (1852): 20170157. doi:10.1098/rspb.2017.0157. ISSN 0962-8452. PMC 5394668. PMID 28381624.
Taxon identifiers | |
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Anableps dowei |