Nematabramis everetti BOULENGER, 1894

Etymology

Nematabramis: from the Ancient Greek νῆμᾰ (nêma), meaning ‘thread’, and presumably the generic name Abramis.

everetti: presumably named in honour of British naturalist, civil servant, and administrator in Borneo Alfred Hart Everett (1848-1898), who collected the type series.

Classification

Order: Cypriniformes Family: Cyprinidae

Distribution

Endemic to Borneo, where it is known from the Malaysian states of Sarawak and Sabah, plus the Indonesian provinces East Kalimantan (Kalimantan Timur) and North Kalimantan (Kalimantan Utara).

Type locality is ‘Bongon River, Sarawak state, Borneo, East Malaysia’.

Habitat

Nematabramis species are found a variety of habitat-types, from swiftly-flowing affluent streams to pools, lakes, and degraded swamps. Based on the available collection records juveniles and subadults of N. everetti display a preference for fast-moving water whereas adults are found in deeper, slower stretches of minor tributaries.

Maximum Standard Length

95 -105 mm.

Diet

Feeds chiefly on terrestrial and aquatic invertebrates taken near the water surface.

Sexual Dimorphism

Mature females are likely to be deeper-bodied than males.

Reproduction

Apparently prefers to spawn in warm, shallow water.

NotesTop ↑

This species can be distinguished from congeners by the following combination of characters: barbels longer than head and extending to or beyond the centre of the pectoral-fin; body relatively deep, depth fits 2.5-3.5 times in SL; 9-11 scale rows between dorsal-fin origin and anal-fin origin; 8-13 branched dorsal-fin rays; 15-20 branched anal-fin rays.

It also possesses a distinctive dark, vertically-elongate, humeral marking which is much more prominent than in other Nematabramis species.

References

1. Boulenger, G. A., 1894 - Annals and Magazine of Natural History (Series 6) v. 13 (no. 75) (art. 26: 245-251
   Descriptions of new freshwater fishes from Borneo.
2. Inger, R. F. and P. K. Chin, 1962 - Fieldiana Zoology v. 45: 1-268
   The fresh-water fishes of North Borneo.
3. Kottelat, M., 2013 - Raffles Bulletin of Zoology Supplement 27: 1-663
   The fishes of the inland waters of southeast Asia: a catalogue and core bibiography of the fishes known to occur in freshwaters, mangroves and estuaries.
4. Martin-Smith, K. M. and H. H. Tan, 1998 - Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 46(2): 573-604
   Diversity of freshwater fishes from eastern Sabah: annotated checklist for Danum Valley and a consideration of inter- and intra-catchment variability.
5. Riehl, R. and H.A. Baensch, 1997 - Microcosm: 1-992
   Aquarium Atlas. Volume 1, 6th Edition.