differenciating polypterus Sp. dabola from other endlicheris

[ichthusfish]

Hello, recently there has been alot of contraversy reguaring the recently discovered polypterus species: sp.Dabola.
I was told there were 2 main types, one with the head markings of and endli and the body markings of a lap and the other a fish with lap head markings and endli body markings. Some people claim that they are natural accuring hybrids but this cant be true since fish farms in indonesia are breeding these and hybrids are known to be infertile. But the question is, some people claim that all endlis found in the dabola river are sp. Dabolas and some peopel claim that they are only sp. Dabola if they have the specific characteristics of the 2 fused polypterus. My question is, what is the exact standard that makes a sp.dabola a sp. Dabola? Is it the markings or only the locality. Are all endlis found in the dabola river called sp. Dabolas or is there a certain characteristic that makes them a sp.dabola? And also, has there been any dna tests done on the discovered sp.dabola speicies? Thank you. It would be awesome of you guys to answer

 

[jaws7777]

Sub'd

 

[Dr.B]

Well first, I wouldn't believe the rumor that they are being CB. It very well may be possible, but until the sp. is removed, they are not a described species. Also there hasn't been any proof that they have been bred in captivity, only certain specimens that are "claimed" to be CB sp. dabola. In the fish industry you can see a lot of things that are "claimed" to be one thing, but are actually another (think of all the misidentification threads on here, the whole deal about WTT and fraud platinums, so it wouldn't be the first time something has been mislabeled). Just because someone says that there are CB sp. dabola, doesn't mean there are CB sp. dabola. I am not going to believe there are CB sp. dabola until 1) someone comes out and claims to have done it, and shows proof. Or 2) scientists proof sp. dabola is a species of it's own (and even then I'd still prefer that someone prove they've actually bred them). However, everyone else is free to believe what they want and whenever they want to believe it. As far as distinguishing them, you should know a little background. Most of the sp. dabola we see are caught in Guinea in the tinkisso river, near the small town of Dabola. Hence the name "dabola". So if and endlicheri is caught in that area it is known as polypterus endlicheri sp. dabola (I actually have one of these). The "dabola" part doesn't indicate a hybrid or new species, it indicates a location, so that when talking about this undescribed species, we know which one we are talking about. And no, not all endlis are found in dabola. There are endlicheri found in many other places. The locality is mainly what describes an sp. dabola. While you can usually see a mix of endlicheri and lapradei patterns (some more than others), the location is mainly what describes them, since they are caught in that location. As far as testing, that kind of ties into your first statement. I do not know of any genetic testing. I have seen dabola with a lapradei head and an endlicheri head, both with different levels of mixed patterns. Thats why I would probably wait on accepting them as a described species until scientists can test the genetics, and describe the fish themselves. There seems to be a few different characteristics in some of these sp. dabola that are interesting. The genetic testing results will be interesting to hear.

 

[ichthusfish]

I never said that all endlis were from the dabola area....
So are you saying that all endlis that are caught in the dabola area are called sp. Dabola?
I thought the name "sp.dabola" was used to describe a certain type of fish with different characteristics from a normal endli that is found in the dabola river.
Thank you for the reply. I really need clarification. And its a little tricky cus theres not much known about these lil suckers

 

[Dr.B]

I never said that all endlis were from the dabola area....
So are you saying that all endlis that are caught in the dabola area are called sp. Dabola?
I thought the name "sp.dabola" was used to describe a certain type of fish with different characteristics from a normal endli that is found in the dabola river.
Thank you for the reply. I really need clarification. And its a little tricky cus theres not much known about these lil suckers

My apologies I was breaking down all your questions and accidentally misread. What I'm saying is an endlicheri caught in dabola will be labeled polypterus endlicheri sp. Dabola. Exactly like we seperate polypterus endlicheri sp. Nigerian, polypterus endlicheri sp. Guinea. The sp. explains the area the fish is caught. So an endlicheri caught in the area would be labeled polypterus endlicheri sp. dabola. The actually dabola is labeled sp. dabola, because we don't know what comes before it. We don't know if it's endlicheri, lapradei, or neither. So we just say polypterus sp. dabola.

 

[ichthusfish]

Thank you for replying.

 

[jaws7777]

Would be cool to see some pics of both sp.dabola and endli dabola just for visual reference

 

[Vancouver_98683]

Bumpin an oldie but a goodie regarding the whole Polypterus sp. Dabola topic.

Head of a Lap w/ body of Endli
&
Head of an Endli w/body of a Lap

 

[ichthusfish]

Haha wish we had some og members post again

 

[Hao]

Haha wish we had some og members post again

There has been some interesting specimens popping up in Asia in the past year or two. There are "sp. dabola" looking bichirs coming out of Nigeria. They share similar features but don't quite look the same IMO. Japanese think "sp.dabola" from Guinea are LapEn (Lap x Endli) and the ones from Nigeria are "Bikien" (PBB x Endli). While the Koreans believe that there are two types of sp.Dabola, Endli type and Lap type. Interesting stuff.