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Myanmar Freshwater Fishes |
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Hein Aquarium |
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Family Mastacembelidae
Spiny eels
Mastacembelidae, commonly known as spiny eels are elongate and looked like eel with the series of spines preceding the soft dorsal fin. Their sizes range the medium and large. Some member has the length about one meter. The fish are distributed in freshwaters of tropical Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. Mastacembelidae belong to the order, Synbranchiformes, in which the families Synbranchidae (Swamp eels) and Chauduriidae (earth worms) are also included. In Asia, the total number of 15 species of mastacemblids are recorded as valid species.The family mastacembelidae has two genera: Macrognathus and Mastacembelus. Myanmar has 3 species of the genus Macrognathus and 6 species of the genus Mastacembelus, including Mastacembelus tinwini and Mastacembelus pantherinus which are recently discovered by Britz in 2007.
Species of the family Mastacembelidae in Myanmar
Macrognathus aral (Bloch & Schneider, 1801) Macrognathus caudiocellatus (Boulenger, 1893) Macrognathus zebrinus (Blyth, 1859) Mastacembelus alboguttatus Boulenger, 1893 Mastacembelus armatus (Lacepede, 1800) Mastacembelus dayi Boulenger, Day, 1876 Mastacembelus oatesii Boulenger, 1893 Mastacembelus pantherinus Britz, 2007 Mastacembelus tinwini Britz, 2007
Macrognathus caudiocellatus (Boulenger, 1893)
Inle spiny eel
Picture by Ye Hein Htet (Hein Aquarium)
Explanation of scientific name: The specific name caudiocellatus refers to the spots on the caudal fin.
Original description: Mastacembelus caudiocellatus Boulenger, 1893, Ann. Mag. nat. Hist, (5) 12: 159
Type locality: Fort Stedman, Inle Lake basin, Burma.
Distribution: Inle Lake, Myanmar
Habitats: The fish are available in Inle Lake and some streams drained into the lake. In the lake, it is rich in aquatic plants. Water is moderately hard and slightly alkaline.
Characters: The body is eel-like and compressed. A strong preorbital spine is present. Mouth is small. Dorsal fin is inserted above the tip of pectoral fins. Dorsal and anal fins are separated from caudal fin. The color of the body is brown on the back and yellow on the belly. A series of black round spots are on the caudal fin. The maximum length is 20 cm, (SL)
Sex differences: It is difficult to sex.
Aquarium keeping: The tank size 100 x 45 x 45 cm with decorated aquatic plants and driftwood.
Spawning: No record.
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