Melanotaenia longispina (male) - photo© Laurent Pouyaud

Melanotaenia longispina

Species Summary
Melanotaenia longispina has an overall pale body colour with pinkish and greenish reflections; a series of 7-8 narrow and discrete yellowish stripes between each horizontal scale row; pale gray to bluish dorsally and whitish to pale pink ventrally; a midlateral stripe faint or absent in middle part of the body and sometimes only visible directly behind pectoral fin base and at the extremity of the caudal peduncle; pectoral fin translucent; remaining fins pink in males and whitish to translucent in females. No margin stripe on dorsal and anal fins. The overall colour of females is paler than males with darker narrower stripes between each horizontal scale row. The species was named longispina, with reference from the Latin longus and spinus: named for the long spines on dorsal and anal fins.

Distribution & Habitat
Melanotaenia longispina is currently only known from the Klahfot River, which ranged from about 10 to 15 metres in width at the type locality, and was flowing through secondary rainforest habitat over gravel and sand substrate with no aquatic vegetation and turbid water. The river is part of the middle course of the Kladuk River system by underground connection. Physical water parameters at the collecting locality on May 2007 were: water temperature 28°C; pH 7.35 and conductivity 368 µS.

Literature
Nugraha M.F.I., Kadarusman, N. Hubert, J.C. Avarre, R.K. Hadiaty, J. Slembrouck, O. Carman, Sudarto, R. Ogistira and L. Pouyaud (2015) Eight new species of Rainbowfishes (Melanotaeniidae) from the Birds Head Region, West Papua, Indonesia. Cybium 39 (2): 99-130.

Adrian R. Tappin
July, 2015