Hypsolebias fulminantis, (Costa & Brasil 1993)

History

This species was originally described as Cynolebias fulminantes but Costa placed it in Simpsonichthys.

W. Costa (2006) assigned many members of the genus Simpsonichthys to the subgenus Hypsolebias (Costa 2006). Hypsolebias was subsequently elevated to a genus (Costa 2011). According to some scientists, the separation of Hypsolebias from the genus Simpsonichthys is insufficiently substantiated and, therefore, debatable.

It was Gilberto Campello Brasil, the co- author of the description, who discovered this fish on the first day of Januari in 1992.

Type locality: near Guanambi, Estado da Bahia, Brasil.

Etymology: which diffuse lightning (from Latin: fulmino, fulminantis), in reference to the male color pattern of unpaired fins with glittering blue lines. Costa places the species near to H. adornatus and H. hellneri .

Superspecies components:

H. adornatus, alternatus, brunoi, caeruleus, carlettoi, delucai, fasciatus, flammeus, fulminantis, gardneri, hamadryades, harmonicus, hellneri, longignatus, lopesi, magnificus, multiradiatus, ocellatus, picturatus, shibattai, splendissimus, tocantinensis, trifasciatus.

 
Hypsolebias fulminantis - male. Guanambi. © Image made by F. Vermeulen.
Hypsolebias fulminantis - female. Guanambi. © Image made by F. Vermeulen.
 

Range: known only from few spots, in central eastern Brasil.

Diagnosis: separated from H. magnificus, by the blue flames along rays of unpaired fins, instead of curved lines crossing rays in male ; female, with 15 vertical bars and a black blotch on body center (Costa & Brasil, 1993) ; based on color characters, H. shibattai and H. fulminantis appear to be sister-species. (Nielsen et al., 2014).


Reproduction

Species of this genus can be productive, and the fry is small. Immediately after hatching, the fry should be fed with freshly hatched Artemia nauplii (brine shrimp) or better Paramecium. As most annual species do, they spawn by diving entirely into the substrate. It is best to provide a container with a lid on top in which a hole is made to allow the fish access. That container will need to have enough peat in it for the fish to dive completely into it. For most Hypsolebias species, egg development is complete after 8-10 weeks. However, it is wise also to check a few weeks earlier to see if any eggs have fully developed. Do not let the peat dry too far because the Hypsolebias like it moist. The development will be slower at storage temperatures between 21 and 24 Celsius and speed up at 25-29 Celsius. Before watering the eggs, put some eggs in the water of about 18-20 degrees Celsius to

 

see if the eggs hatch correctly. That usually happens within 2-6 hours. Then, if eggs hatched well and fry, swim correctly, bring all remaining peat in the water. You may need to re-pack the peat after pouring over the fry to a larger tank. With regular water changes and sufficient food, the young will grow quickly, and after about 5-6 weeks, they can already produce their first eggs. Since this genus has an annual life cycle, the expected life span in captivity is not much more than 10 to 12 months. Their life expectancy is limited to when their pool still has water in the wild. This period can vary from 6 to 8 months.

Remark:

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Variations
Hypsolebias fulminantis - male. Guanambi. © Image made by F. Vermeulen.
 
Hypsolebias fulminantis - Male. Guanambi. © Image made by F. Vermeulen.
Hypsolebias fulminantis - Male. "Bom Jezus da Lapa" © Image made and donated by Francisco Falcon, Brasil.

Map
     

Meristics

Max. size 6.0 cm.
Dorsal 21.5,
Anal 20.8,
D/A 2.0,
LL scale count (average)27.0
Pre- dorsal length to % SL – 45.3 %
Depth to % SL – 33.9 %

   

Literature

Costa, W.J.E.M. & G.C. Brasil. 1993. Two new species of Cynolebias (Cyprinodontiformes, Rivulidae): from the Sao Francisco Basin, Brazil, with Notes on Phylogeny and Biogeography of annual Fishes. Ichthyol. Explor. Freshwaters, 4 (3): 194, figs. 1-2.

Costa, W.J.E.M. 2006b. Descriptive Morphology and phylogenetic Relationships among species of the Neotropical annual Killifish genera Nematolebias and Simpsonichthys (Cyprinodontiformes: Aplocheiloidei: Rivulidae). Neotropical Ichthyology (Neotrop. ichthyol.), 4 (1), 1-26, 22 figs. 

Costa, W.J.E.M. 2007h. Taxonomic revision of the seasonal South American killifish genus Simpsonichthys (Teleostei: Cyprinodontiformes: Aplocheiloidei: Rivulidae). Zootaxa, 1669: 1-134. 

 

Costa, W.J.E.M., P.F. Amorim & J.L.O. Mattos. 2018a. Cryptic species Diversity in the Hypsolebias magnificus complex, a Clade of endangered seasonal killifishes from the São Francisco River basin, Brazilian Caatinga (Cyprinodontiformes, Aplocheilidae). Zookeys, 777: 141-158, figs.

Costa, W.J.E.M., P.F. Amorim & J.L.O. Mattos. 2018b. Diversity and Conservation of seasonal killifishes of the Hypsolebias fulminantis complex from a Caatinga semiarid Upland Plateau, São Francisco River basin, northeastern Brazil (Cyprinodontiformes, Aplocheilidae). Zoosystematics and Evolution (Zoosyst. Evol.), 94 (2):