Classification / Names
Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa
Teleostei (teleosts) >
Cyprinodontiformes (Rivulines, killifishes and live bearers) >
Nothobranchiidae (African rivulines)
Etymology: Aphyosemion: Greek, aphye, -es, sardine, anchovy + Greek, semeion = mark, signal (Ref. 45335); cryptum: The name cryptum, an adjective from the Greek 'krypton', meaning 'hidden', refers to the fact that the species was first thought to represent just a colour variation of Aphyosemion coeleste and not a species of its own (Ref. 125647).
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Freshwater; pelagic. Subtropical
Africa: small tributaries of the upper Louessé and Mandoro rivers in the southern Massif du Chaillu within the Republic of the Congo (Ref. 125647).
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 4.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 125647); 3.9 cm SL (female)
Short description
Morphology | Morphometrics
Dorsal
spines
(total): 0;
Dorsal
soft rays
(total): 9-12;
Anal
spines: 0;
Anal
soft rays: 14 - 16. Diagnosis: Males of Aphyosemion cryptum are distinguished from all other Aphyosemion, except for A. coeleste, by its unique combination of colouration characters in males: a light blue body with a few red markings on flanks and caudal peduncle; yellow to orange on distal part of unpaired fins; base of dorsal and anal fins blue, distally followed by a red band, two parallel or converging red lines along the blue centre of caudal fin; at least in anal and ventral part of caudal fin between red band and yellow to orange distal parts a narrow white line; by mitochondrial DNA results and male colour pattern it clearly belongs to the A. coeleste group (Ref. 125647). It differs from A. coeleste by the lack of a green or yellow iridescent blotch posterior to the operculum; in A. coeleste three to four less regular rows of red spots on anterior part of side within the green or yellow blotch vs. rows of red spots absent or reduced to a few irregular spots in A. cryptum (Ref. 125647).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
van der Zee, J.R., G. Walsh, V.N. Boukaka Mikembi, M.N. Jonker, M.P. Alexandre and R. Sonnenberg, 2018. Three new endemic Aphyosemion species (Cyprinodontiformes: Nothobranchiidae) from the Massif du Chaillu in the upper Louessé River system, Republic of the Congo. Zootaxa 4369(1):63-92. (Ref. 125647)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
More information
Common namesSynonymsMetabolismPredatorsEcotoxicologyReproductionMaturitySpawningSpawning aggregationFecundityEggsEgg development
Age/SizeGrowthLength-weightLength-lengthLength-frequenciesMorphometricsMorphologyLarvaeLarval dynamicsRecruitmentAbundanceBRUVS
ReferencesAquacultureAquaculture profileStrainsGeneticsElectrophoresesHeritabilityDiseasesProcessingNutrientsMass conversion
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Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = No PD50 data [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00389 (0.00180 - 0.00842), b=3.12 (2.94 - 3.30), in cm total length, based on all LWR estimates for this body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.2 ±0.5 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (10 of 100).