P. Lapradei and P. bichir sp. "Koliba" ... what sets them apart?

[JESToner]

what characteristics set these two fish apart? im just curious because ive seen some people with lapradei that look just like my koliba...

so i wanted to know what defines a koliba

 

[Keeper of the Ropes]

I'm sure I'll be corrected if I'm wrong, but I'm willing to bet it has something to do with the area in Africa that they are collected from. Infact, a Koliba IS a Lapradei, just a variant. For instance, you could also have a Guinea Lap, or a Guinea Endli (*claps and smiles*), or a Nigerian Endli, or even a Volta River Endli, but they are all still endlis when it comes down to it.

Keeper

 

[JESToner]

i was talking about more like appearance wise... somtimes my koliba darkens and looks really cool and like a "true" koliba, but sometimes the color lightens up and if i didn't know any better i would ID it as a lapradei

 

[messiner]

yup koliba is a regional morph/variant

 

[JESToner]

and also i wanted to point out that if it were a similar relationship to say a endlicheri vs. volta endlicheri, why did they call this bichir sp."koliba" and not just koliba lapradei or why didnt they say endlicheri sp. volta

all info given to me so far i knew, still wondering is there are any PHYSICAL differentiations

 

[Keeper of the Ropes]

Um... as far as I can tell from what I have owned/seen, kolibas are extra gold when you bring them home then darken to a dusty olive color, whereas my guinea laps were pale when i brought them home then darkened to a ... mouse gray color I think I could call it. And my lap is pretty pale now but I've seen her @ the LFS and the color she is now is what she always has been. Since they are both Lapradei, there shouldn't be any differences in fin count or in length.

And as far as the naming problems... Koliba is new, and probably doesn't have an official name yet as far as I know. They're called Koliba because that's what Toyin labeled them on his in-stock list, I'm assuming.

 

[JESToner]

hmm... so is it really a toyin only fish? did he name it? i mean, if it really is just a lapradei with a new "label" slapped on it, it doesnt really justify the 250$ i paid for it anymore

 

[Keeper of the Ropes]

I'm uploading Pix of Dusty and King Kong the Kolibas, Flopsy the Guinea Lap and Marley the new girl so we can compare them at the same time. They should be done in a minute or four.

Keeper

 

[Keeper of the Ropes]

hmm... so is it really a toyin only fish? did he name it? i mean, if it really is just a lapradei with a new "label" slapped on it, it doesnt really justify the 250$ i paid for it anymore

That I'm not sure of. But the coloration is definitely nothing like any other lap - those bright gold lines running down the side don't happen with laps, at least not THAT color.

And it probably is a Toyin only fish because he's probably the only one in the US who can get to them. And it probably came out of some little creek named Koliba Creek (humor me here lol) and he knows its something new so he just tagged it for the purpose of selling. Last I looked, on his in-stock list, Koliba was in quotes, whereas the other well-known variants are not. It's probably waiting on a proper name. Or at least recognition from a well versed scientist.

ETA: Ponder this. Bichirs have been around for centuries. Scientists still argue over variants and names and species and all that, and thats just the discussion of the variants we KNOW and HAVE KNOWN. I don't think we even heard the term Koliba until last fall, so it still counts as a new discovery.

 

[Keeper of the Ropes]

Okay here are the pics.

1) Dusty, P. Lap "Koliba"
2) King Kong, P. Lap "Koliba" (both featured with normal coloration after settling in)
3) Flopsy, P. Lap Guinea
4) Marley, P. Lap