Dieter Vogt described in 1978 a subspecies of Rasbora urophthalma (please see the entry for Boraras urophthalmoides in our fisharchives) from Borneo. He named the fish Rasbora urophthalma brigittae, a dedication name in honour for his wife Brigitte. The German name is „mosquito rasbora“. This is not because the fish are as tiny as mosquitos or as red as moskitos after having a dinner, but due to the fact that there were so many mosquitos at the collecting site that fishing became a real pain.
Today the mosquito rasbora is regarded as a full species in Boraras and thus the correct name is Boraras brigittae.
Borars brigittae was found initially in Banjarmasin in the South of Borneo. 1991 another dwarf rasbora was discovered, also in the South of Borneo, but about 400 km further in the west. This new dwarf rasbora is distinguished from all other species known so far by the very large shoulder spot with a golden ring. It was described by M. Kottelat as Rasbora merah and its correct name today is Boraras merah.
Interestingly B. brigittae also occurs in some of the habitats of B. merah. The population of B. brigittae found there is distinguished from those from the type locality by the much narrower stripe along the side. Depending on which species is dominating a peculiar habitat one imitates the other in coloration. For example: if more B. merah live in the habitat B. brigittae changes coloration so much that one has to look very close on the individual fish to be able to distinguish them. In aquaria both species can interbreed. It is unknown if they do this in the wild.
Obviously this is a case of speciation occuring directly before our eyes!
For our customers: B. brigittae has code 451102, B. merah 452752 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply to the wholesale market.
Text & photos: Frank Schäfer
| Angaben zum Tier | |
|---|---|
| Herkunft | Indonesien / Indonesia |
| Verfügbare Größe in cm | 1-2 |
