Arapima gigs natural history

HybridHerp

Fire Eel
MFK Member
May 18, 2012
1,192
86
66
New York
So, for one of my classes I'm doing a natural history paper on these guys. Wondering if any of you have on hand any good sources for information on these guys.

Not asking ya'll to do my work for me, but MFK is a resource to us all, so I may as well use it right? :p

Anything I find on my own I'll link to this thread as well, for any that happen to be curious or into that sort of thing.

Edit* I feel stupid now for misspelling it. Arapaima gigs....doh
 

HybridHerp

Fire Eel
MFK Member
May 18, 2012
1,192
86
66
New York
This is more or less verbatim from my class syllabus. I'm assuming a google scholar search and fish base will be the most useful immediate sources for this information, but are there any other websites or anything dedicated specifically to the scientific study of fish like these that are worth looking at? Or papers that I might not immediately find that are worth a peak? I don't want to be having anyone do all the research for me or anything like that, but just figured I'd ask around for leads and such.

2. Physical description: Write a physical description of your species using the terminology customarilyapplied to the morphology and other properties of the group in the scientific literature. However, youcan shorten the description by stating the major group to which your species belongs. For example, ifyou say your species is a placental mammal, you need not say that it has hair, produces live young, andhas mammary glands, which all placentals have. Include appropriate measures of size (metric unitsonly), general body form, color, and other characteristics. It may be appropriate to discuss thesignificance of its coloration (e.g., camouflage, warning, reproductive). Note unusual external orinternal features (e.g., tusks, horns, sexual ornamentation, pharyngeal teeth) that distinguish it from related species.

3. Systematics and paleontology: Discuss the phylogenetic relationships of your species. By whom andwhen was the species described? To what higher taxa does it belong, and what are its closest relatives?What taxonomic characters are used to distinguish it from related species and to classify species in thehigher taxon to which the species belongs? (Although this information should be included here,minimize redundancy with the physical description.) If your species has a good fossil record,summarize it. If it has no fossil record, say so and discuss relevant aspects of the fossil record of thegroup to which it belongs. Summarize the temporal and geographical distribution of the fossils.Information on systematics and paleontology will differ among species. Express uncertainties, if any, over your species’ relationships, and indicate what kind of information (e.g., morphology, DNA sequence data) has been used to infer relationships.

4. State where your species occurs using physical geographical units (e.g.,islands, continents), political units (e.g., countries, states), and compass directions (e.g., northern,southern), as seems appropriate. Distinguish between the native and introduced distribution, ifappropriate. Indicate whether the distribution has increased or decreased in historical times and why. Ifpossible, discuss effects of the last glacial advance ("ice age"), climatic fluctuations (including globalwarming), or human habitat alteration on the distribution of your species. Discuss the geographicaldistribution of fossils (here or above). Indicate whether there are reasons to be uncertain about its distribution. A description of the species’ geographical distribution is required but may be combinedwith the ecological distribution.

5. Ecological distribution: Describe environmental factors that are associated with the occurrence andabundance of your species. What climatic zone or biome does it occupy? Does it have anyspecializations for climate? What are its important competitors, predators, parasites, and prey? Do theylimit its distribution? In what habitats within the species’ range does it occur? Is it endangered or threatened, and why? Information on ecological distribution is required.

6. Habits: Describe the social, reproductive, parental, feeding, defense, and locomotory habits of yourspecies. Use such terms as aquatic, terrestrial, arboreal, solitary, fossorial, ambush predator, pelagic, benthic, etc. Does it undertake seasonal migrations, and if it does, are they between habitat types andwhat is the function of migration? For lack of a better place, describe the reproductive biology of thespecies here (e.g., external fertilization, egg layer, polygamous). To what extent do its habits seem to belearned or heritable? You may have to describe some anatomy here if it has a clear relationship tohabits (e.g., arboriality may depend on having a prehensile tail or opposable digits).

7. Sensory modalities: Which senses are important for your species? What are they used to detect andfor what environment are they specialized? Note any unusual sensory abilities (e.g., electroreception,chemoreception for homing or mate identification).

8. Physiology: General aspects of physiology should not be discussed. For example, we need not betold that your species uses aerobic metabolism, kidneys to produce urine, or that a mammalian speciesis an endothermic homeotherm. However, some species have physiological properties that may requireexplanation, represent unusual specializations, or are exceptional for their group (e.g., camels allowbody temperature to fluctuate even though mammals are homeotherms, some kangaroo rats never drinkwater, some fish elevate brain temperature above ambient, some lungfish aestivate, some bearshibernate).

9. Other properties: Many species will have other unusual or notable features. For example, somesalamanders are paedomorphic, some frogs are extremely poisonous, some fish emit electricaldischarges, skunks protect themselves by releasing a repulsive odor, rattlesnakes make a warning sound,male deep sea anglerfish are parasitic on females, some guppy-like fish species are all-female clones,some fish have diapausing eggs, some birds and fish help their parents raise their younger siblings, andsome species engage in cannibalism and infanticide. Some species are the largest or smallest of theirgroup, some occupy the most restricted habitat or they undertake the longest migration, others are longlived or have a short generation time. Other interesting features may be worthy of note in existingsections or in a special section.
 

BuffaloPolypteridae

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Aug 5, 2013
3,011
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0
Buffalo
Ill see if i can dig it up somehow but i dont know how to link on my phone, i posted a couple different papers on the phylogenetics of polypterus in the poly forum, that website may also havea paper on A. Gigas not sure though. That could help that section at least, im interested to see where this thread goes

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