New Sp of Poly ??
- Thread starter BraveheartCalif
- Start date
thanks for the info. at least we know it's not the Polypterus sp. Liberia that was mentioned in the aqualog book or something.BraveheartCalif;4168110; said:
i guess it helps in the sense we know more about it, but it still doesn't help rule out retropinnis. P. retropinnis is also found in the Congo, hence the former name P. sp. Congo as well as the trade name 'Zaire Green'.
As i said, the meristics (as best i could determine from pics) could argue for retropinnis. Just looking at the fish in those pics, it doesn't immediately scream 'retropinnis', that's for sure, but i could see hints of it. May be i'm just being too careful because i'm hoping this is something new LOL
If you have more pics, feel free to post or send if you like.
would you happen to have the full version of the 2nd pic? looks like the right side was cropped.
My initial hunch was that there were 2 different species in the pics, and i now believe that is the case, so both would be known species and not new.
My initial hunch was that there were 2 different species in the pics, and i now believe that is the case, so both would be known species and not new.
get some in so can make the short drive here in huntington beach to pick some up instead of ordering from toyin...
They collect congicum,ornatipinis, bichir, palma,weeksi often. And they all look as such. This poly whatever it is...is nothing like they have collected before. Could it be a morph possible. Id be the 1st to admit im not that informed on this sp.
thanks for the additional pics. no, not a morph and not new species either.
the top fish in the pic (i.e. the dark colored one) is retropinnis. some individuals can be darker than others. And they have a grayish base color (except the ventral region) so they could look dark when out of water, but all the characteristics match. Also, that fish the guy was holding was the one i used for all four meristics, and as i said, all the numbers fall within the range for retropinnis.
the bottom fish in the pic (i.e. the one showing mostly the ventral side) is mokelembembe. If you went back to my first post in this thread, i said that's the fish that reminded me of mokelembembe at first. The patterns match up, as well as the pointy snout.
My initial hunch tells me there are 2 species here, but i guess i was giving the benefit of the doubt and assumed all the fish are the same. Not surprisingly that's when things don't match up. I asked toyin, and when he said there are 2 species, i finally stepped back and was convinced that's the case. I suppose Occam's razor principle won here. It's clear now with all the pics that there are 2 different species, and each matches the corresponding ID.
And both retropinnis and mokelembembe are found in the Congo, and have been exported for the hobby for a long time. I don't really know why that particular supplier hasn't come across these species before...perhaps has to do with the collection area...i'm not sure.
the top fish in the pic (i.e. the dark colored one) is retropinnis. some individuals can be darker than others. And they have a grayish base color (except the ventral region) so they could look dark when out of water, but all the characteristics match. Also, that fish the guy was holding was the one i used for all four meristics, and as i said, all the numbers fall within the range for retropinnis.
the bottom fish in the pic (i.e. the one showing mostly the ventral side) is mokelembembe. If you went back to my first post in this thread, i said that's the fish that reminded me of mokelembembe at first. The patterns match up, as well as the pointy snout.
My initial hunch tells me there are 2 species here, but i guess i was giving the benefit of the doubt and assumed all the fish are the same. Not surprisingly that's when things don't match up. I asked toyin, and when he said there are 2 species, i finally stepped back and was convinced that's the case. I suppose Occam's razor principle won here. It's clear now with all the pics that there are 2 different species, and each matches the corresponding ID.
And both retropinnis and mokelembembe are found in the Congo, and have been exported for the hobby for a long time. I don't really know why that particular supplier hasn't come across these species before...perhaps has to do with the collection area...i'm not sure.
This supplier sells the retropinnis and mokelembembe and they look normal as such. Its possible these came from in around the black river. Where it would darken up the poly because of the tannins in the water.
