Spanish toothcarp

A similar fish in the peninsula's south-west has been classified as an independent species, Apricaphanius baeticus. Apricaphanius saourensis is another similar species in Algeria.

Description

Morphology

This is a small fish, rarely more than 5 centimeters (2.0 in) in length. Females are longer than males of the same age. It has an oblong body and rounded fins. Its dorsal fin is underdeveloped with respect to the fish's girth. It has large scales, numbering 20 to 26 across the body at its widest point.

It has obvious

The lifespan of a Spanish toothcarp is short. They reach sexual maturity at age three months. The females spawn repeatedly each season, producing from 100 to 900 eggs.^[6] Toothcarps in the Murcia region tend to spawn between April and August, while more northerly populations, such as those in the Delta del Ebro, lay their eggs between May and August. Spawning is usually done in areas with nearby vegetation, which shelters the eggs.

Hatchlings emerge approximately eight days after the eggs are laid. Females that hatch in April are able to reproduce in June.

While the females spawn, adult males set up small territories that they defend from other males in ritualized combats through which they court the females.

Behavior

The Spanish toothcarp is an omnivore, and eats

The biology of the Spanish toothcarp is characterized by a high growth rate, early maturity, a high reproductive rate, multiple periods of egg-laying and a short lifespan. From an evolutionary ecology point of view, this lifestyle is highly adaptive for fish that live in unstable environments, such as estuaries, where unpredictable conditions increase mortality. This strategy allows the toothcarp to exploit environmentally favorable conditions during the short intervals in which they occur, thereby revitalizing the population.^[7][8]

Habitat

Spanish toothcarp inhabit shallow, slow-moving bodies of water such as river-mouths,

Despite their adaptability, they have been displaced by invasive species, such as both species of mosquitofish,^[9] introduced from North America to Spain in 1921 by doctor Sadí de Buen Lozano in an attempt to control malarial mosquitoes.^[10] The toothcarp has retreated to high salinity areas where the mosquitofish cannot live.

Distribution

The Spanish toothcarp is characteristic of the Iberian peninsula, and extends from the Aigüamolls of

Despite being distributed over a large area on the peninsula, the Spanish toothcarp is largely found in small, threatened areas. Because of this, the Spanish Ministero de Medio Ambiente lists it as an endangered species.^[14]

Among the threats are:^[15]

• Water contamination by agricultural and urban waste
• Habitat destruction, primarily from development
• Louisiana crawfish, mosquitofish and largemouth bass
• Disappearance of
  channels and irrigation ponds
• Stream bed contamination by accidental spills
• Unintended consequences of combating eutrophication from algae, using toxic chemicals such as copper sulfate, or by covering them to prevent sunlight from reaching the water
• Eutrophication from algae
• Contamination of
  albuferas
• aquarists. This interest has recently shifted to more colorful tropical fish
  .

This fish is known as fartet or peixet de sequiol in Spanish and Catalan (the latter sometimes uses the diminutive fartonet).

See also

• Samaruc
  - A similar Iberian killifish, from Valencia

References