Re: Extinct killies in the hobby? (fwd)
JHemdal at aol.com
Sat, 28 Sep 1996 20:11:30 -0400
Many years ago, I had also "heard" of some of the killifish species being
maintained by the AKA (American Killifish Association) that could no longer
be located in the wild. For some reason, the pearlfish Cynolebias
constanciae comes to mind....(I'm probably mistaken on this)
I also recall that some "species", (variants?) of Nothobranchius killifish
which had been earlier identified from specific small African pools, could
not later be found...their original collection sites having dried up or
consumed by development. Since I don't recall hearing of any real genetic
analysis being performed on these fish, I cannot hazard to guess if this
constitutes a true extinction of a species, a loss of a geographic variant,
or simply a case of not searching hard enough for other extant populations.
I've also "heard" that the cherry barb, (Puntius titteya) although common
in the U.S. pet trade, is considered extinct in it's native Sri Lanka.
Lots of "gossip" here, very few facts. I'm sorry, but this isn't my
primary area of experience. Doug Sweet at the Belle Isle Aquarium in Detroit
might be able to offer you further information.
jh
The Toledo Zoo - Aquarium