Pacific Spirit Marine Institute

Diminishing Habitat Investigation Nets Revelation: Mangrove Killifish Neither Fish nor Foul?

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Mangrove ecosystems are used as habitat for a wide and strange group of aquatic and terrestrial species. There are about 110 species of vegetation identified as Mangal, and each one share a unique ability to overcome problems inherent to their habitat.

As if the the Mangrove plants aren’t interesting enough on their own, having the ability to grown in high salt content waters, low oxygen supplies and tidal flooding the mangrove forests are home to killifish.

The Killifish has always been known as a strange creature because it is actually able to produce its own eggs like a female and then as if by magic fertilize those same eggs like a male.

Now it has been discovered that the Killifish doesn’t just have the attributes of two sexes, but it also can live under the waters that the Mangroves live in but, they can live in the branches of those trees above water too.

The Killifish is able to live inside rotten branches and trunks of the Mangroves. apparently the killifish can turn itself into an air breathing machine. This makes the killifish one of the oddest fish known to man.

What seems even more odd than the ability to reproduce without a mate added to the killifish’s newly discovered ability to breath air is the fact that this trait is only now being discovered.

Biologists wading in the swamps that are home to the Mangroves discovered hundreds of killifish hiding outside of the water in tree branches. It’s suspected that the fish had flung themselves into the branches of the trees when the pools of muddy water they are normally found in began to dry up.

The fish were lined up end to end along grooves that had been previously carved out by insects munching away at the trees. These fish are said to be normally very territorial, adding even more paradox to this amazing creatures resume.

The Killifish has both male and female attributes, territorial and group traits and it can adapt its gills to utilize water or air to breath. There are other fish that are adapted to use both air and water such as South-east Asia’s walking catfish, and the climbing perch of India. But, the strangest fish award this week has to be given to the Killifish.

We are finding out daily that there is so much more we don’t know about the earth around us, than what we do know. Tragically we are loosing species daily that have yet to be discovered let alone studied.

Have these killifish always been flinging themselves into tree branches and hanging out, or are we in the midst of witnessing an evolutionary leap?

Labels: Killifish, Mangrove, aquatic, ecosystems, habitat