Alternative name: Austrolebias pongondo. See: Garcialebias introduction page.

Discoverer(s): Morevy M. Cheffe, G. Mauricio and L. Matheus, August 22. 1991.

Etymology: with black (from Latin: niger) bars (from Latin: fasciatus), in reference to the vertical dark bands on the sides of both sexes (notably in male).

Introduction: Morphological characters and phylogenetic trees generated by analyses of a segment of the mitochondrial gene cytochrome b support two new species from the Lagoa dos Patos basin, in southern Brazil. The phylogenetic analyses indicate that the two new species are each other’s respective closest relatives among species of A. adloffi group. The clade comprising the two new species is supported as be- ing more closely related to A. adloffi than to A. nigrofasciatus that is endemic to the same area. Austrolebias pelotapes Costa & Cheffe n. sp. is distinguished from all other species of the A. adloffi group by having the urogenital papilla base attached by a thin membrane to the anterior margin of the anal fin in males; it is endemic to an area containing temporary pools and swamps associated to small streams tributaries to the northern margin of the São Gonçalo channel, just about 10 km from the area inhabited by A. nigrofasciatus. Austrolebias pongondo Costa & Cheffe n. sp., from temporary pools and swamps in the floodplains south of the São Gonçalo channel, and A. pelotapes are distinguished from all other species of the A. adloffi group by a combination of character states, including the presence of a transverse row of small spots on the middle portion of the dorsal fin in males, unpaired fins with a single row of light blue spots on their basal portion in males, a distinctive dark grey zone on the posterior portion of the dorsal and anal fins, and caudal peduncle in males predominantly dark brownish grey or dark grey to black, with narrow vertical light blue zones.

Diagnosis in the original description. Austrolebias pongondo is distinguished from all other species of the A. adloffi group, except A. pelotapes, by the following combination of character states: a transverse row of small spots on the middle portion of the dorsal fin in males (vs. transverse row absent in all other species), unpaired fins with a single row of light blue spots on their basal portion in males, and with a distinctive dark grey zone on the posterior portion of the dorsal and anal fins (vs. multiple rows of blue dots and no distinctive dark grey zone in A. charrua and A. minuano), and caudal peduncle in males predominantly dark brownish grey or dark grey to black, with narrow vertical light blue zones (vs. alternating dark grey and light blue bars, dark grey bars slightly wider, equal or narrower than light blue bars, in A. adloffi, A. nachtigalli, A. nigrofasciatus, A. reicherti). Austrolebias pongondo is distinguished from A. pelotapes by the former having the urogenital papilla free from the anal fin in males (vs. basal portion of the urogenital papilla attached to the anterior margin of the anal fin); 20 – 21 neuromasts in the supraorbital series (vs. 14 – 19) and 24 – 27 neuromasts around orbit (vs. 22 – 23); the presence of dark grey to black bars on the flank strongly contrasting with the light blue interspace (vs. grey bars slightly contrasting with the light blue background in A. pelotapes) and a row of blue dots on the basal portion of the caudal fin (vs. absence, sometimes a single dot). Austrolebias pongondo is distinguished from all other species of the A. adloffi group by six unique nucleotide substitutions (Not further specified in this pages)

Holotype: UFRJ 9583, male, 37.0 mm SL; Brazil: Estado do Rio Grande do Sul: Município de Pelotas: swamp at the road to Torotama island, Arraial, Povo Novo district, 31°55′54″S 52°14′42″W; m. Cheffe et al., 21 Aug. 2001. Paratypes: All from Município de Pelotas, Estado do Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil: UFRJ 9584, 2 males, 30.5 – 34.4 mm SL, 6 females, 31.0 – 37.0 mm SL; collected with holotype. – UFRJ 9585, 3 males, 33.9 – 40.9 mm SL, 2 females, 33.1 – 37.1 mm SL; same locality as holotype; m. Cheffe et al., 15 Aug. 2001. – CIMC 4540, 8 males, 27.8 – 35.9 mm SL, 7 females, 22.5 – 31.8 mm SL; swamp close to the road BR-392, localidade de Capão Seco, Povo Novo district, 31°55′21″S 52°18′47″W; m. Cheffe et al., 30 Aug. 2000. – CIMC 42098, 12 males, 26.7 – 36.1 mm SL, 21 females, 26.3 – 36.4 mm SL; road BR-392, 31º54′59″S 52º18′53″W; m. Burns & e. silveira, 18 Aug. 2011. – CIMC 42099, 20 males, 18.8 – 32.3 mm SL, 25 females, 14.5 – 30.7 mm SL; road BR-392, 31º55′23″S 52º18′45″W; m. Cheffe et al., 17 Aug. 2011. – CIMC 42100, 2 males, 30.8 – 33.2 mm SL, 16 females, 19.1 – 35.3 mm SL; road BR-392, 31º55′20″S 52º18′49″W; m. Burns, 5 Oct. 2011. – CIMC 42103, 3 males, 30.5 – 34.5 mm SL, 3 females, 29.7 – 34.2 mm SL; road BR-392, 31º54′59″S 52º18′53″W; m. Burns, 5 Oct. 2011. – CIMC 42108, 5 males, 29.4 – 36.3 mm SL, 1 female, 31.2 mm SL; road BR-392, 31º54′58″S 52º18′55″W; m. Burns, 15 Sep. 2011. – CIMC 42114, 2 males, 31.9 – 38.2 mm SL, 2 females, 29.0 – 32.7 mm SL; road BR-392, 31º54′48″S 52º18′55″W; m. Burns, 5 Oct. 2011. – CIMC 42116, 1 male, 30.6 mm SL, 8 females, 26.2 – 32.5 mm; Banhado do Cemitério, 31º55′23″S 52º18′46″W, Povo Novo district; m. Burns, 5 Oct. 2011. – UFRJ 8977, 3 males, 25.8 – 31.8 mm SL, 3 females, 28.6 – 31.3 mm SL (DNA); same locality as CIMC 42116; m. Cheffe & m. Burns, 22 Sep. 2011. – CIMC 5666, 1 male, 42.9 mm SL; swamp near Banhado da Mulata, 31°55′10″S 52°17′16″W; m. Cheffe et al., 21 Aug. 2001. – UFRJ 9581, 12 males, 24.1 – 30.9 mm SL, 35 females, 23.7 – 29.6 mm SL; UFRJ 9582, 2 males, 29.4 – 31.5 mm SL, 3 females, 27.6 – 28.5 mm SL (C&S); swamp close to the road BR-392, Capão Seco, 31°47′59″S 52°19′59″W; m. Cheffe & m. Burns, 30 Oct. 2000. – CIMC 5671, 5 males, 30.5 – 37.8 mm SL, 7 females, 30.1 – 42.4 mm SL; same locality as UFRJ 9581; m. Cheffe & f. silveira, 23 Aug. 2001.

To breed most Austrolebias, you need a tank with about 10 to 25 liter water in it, a small jar or plastic container of about 10 to 15 cm high, a little bit of well-boiled peat moss, or coco-peat, and a water temperature between 18 and 24 C. It is wise to add a small filter to that tank and change the water regularly for 90 %. Bring one male and, if possible, two or more females in the tank and feed the fishes daily with live food like daphnia, red- and black mosquito larvae, and white worms. Austrolebias does not accept dry food quickly, and also, the prepared cow-heart is not preferred if live food is offered. If possible, breed this genus in larger tanks with more than one pair or trio and give some hiding places if you do so. When breeding with more than one male, you should also provide more than one spawning container. Every male must have one, and you will see they show interesting territorial behavior to attract females into their spawning place.

The male "flinders" around the female, displaying his fins high- up with the most intense colors. As the female is willing to spawn, she follows the male, pressing his head towards the layer of peat, and when the female contact the male's belly, both will dive into the peat layer. This layer should have a thickness of at least the length of the largest animal or, better, some deeper so they can dive entirely into it.

The spawning occurs during the whole fertile life of the fishes, starting at 5 to 6 weeks of age, till they become old and weak or die from the lack of water in their natural environment. This "end-of-life" will be within 8 to 11 months, depending on the temperature. Higher temperatures will trigger more rapid aging.

In the wild, Austrolebias live in colder environments during the wintertime. Temperatures in Uruguay, Paraguay, and Argentina can get very low. Incubation time usually is six weeks if stored at high temperatures ( 25 C.) and more extended if kept at lower temperatures. The development can last five to six months also. So it is wise to check the eggs regularly to see if the eyes inside the eggs are fully developed and the iris is well visible. When "eyed-up," put a part of the peat with the eggs in water at cool (ca. 18 C) temperature. If the fry usually hatches- and swims within a few hours, wet the rest of the peat. After hatching, feed the fry immediately with freshly born Artemia nauplii. A day or so later, I pour the water together with the fry off and place them in a well-filtered tank without any peat moss to grow up. Austrolebias are not used to strong currents, and juveniles can die if turbulence is too strong. The remaining peat will still have eggs inside that are not ready to hatch yet. Re-pack the peat and store it for some extra time. This hatching delay is nature's answer to short rain showers that fill pools only temporarily, followed by another dry period. Such an event would kill the entire population of the species in that area if all eggs were hatched with first rains. These (late) eggs will hatch later, sometimes very much later, and the fishes that were born earlier will eat these youngs.

As stated before, young's are growing fast and will produce their first eggs after 5 to 6 weeks already, if not even sooner. This breeding information applies to most Austrolebias. However, if the above Austrolebias- species have different behavior or extreme adult size, find these adaptions below in this chapter under <remarks>.

Remarks:

Geographical distribution of the Austrolebias adloffi group species in the region where the Canal de São Gonçalo with Lagoa dos Patos meet.

White dots, A. pelotapes, yellow, A. pongondo, black A. nigrofasciatus, and red A. minuano.

In progress.

Max. size 00 mm in males - female smaller.
Dorsal (average, male only ) 00.0,
Anal (average, male only ) 00.0,
D/A (average, male only ) 0.0,
LL scale count (average) 00.0
Pre- dorsal length to SL – 00.0 %
Depth to SL – 00.0 %
Vertebrae count (average) 00.0

Costa J.E.M., M.M. Jeffe and P.F. Amorim 2017. Two new seasonal killifishes of the Austrolebias adloffi group from the Lagoa dos Patos basin, southern Brazil
(Cyprinodontiformes: Aplocheilidae) Vertebrate Zoology 67 (2): 139-149, fig. 6, tab. 2

Alonso F., G.E. Terán, W.S. Serra Alanís, P. Calviño, M.M. Montes, I.D. Carcía, J.A. Barneche, A. Almirón, L. Ciotek, P. Giorgis, J. Casciotta, 2023. From the mud to the tree: phylogeny of Austrolebias killifishes, new generic structure and description of a new species (Cyprinodontiformes: Rivulidae) Zool. Journ. of the Linnean Society, XX, 1-30, Fig. 15, Tab. 2.