Cape Lopez Lyretail
| Class: Fishes: 4
classes |
Diet: Small invertebrates |
| Order:
Atheriniformes: Toothcarps, Sandsmelts |
| Size: 6
cm (2 1/4 in) |
| Family: No Fish family
information |
Conservation Status:
Non-threatened |
| Scientific Name:
Aphyosemion australe |
Habitat: swamps,
ditches |
| Range:
Africa: Gabon, Cape Lopez area |
 The
male Cape Lopez lyretail is an attractive, brightly colored fish, with
large, pointed dorsal and anal fins and a tail with extended lobes. The
female is plainer, and her fins lack the decorative points and extensions.
The lyretail deposits its eggs among the mud and detritus at the bottom
of its habitat. If there is then a prolonged dry season, the embryos cease
their development and lie dormant in the mud, protected by their drought-resistant
egg membrane. Although the parent fishes die in the drought, the eggs resume
development with the arrival of rain and hatch shortly afterward.
  
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