Profundulus kreiseri Matamoros, Schaefer, Hernández & Chakrabarty, 2012
Kreiser's Killifish
photo by Gómez González, A.E.

Family:  Profundulidae (Middle American killifishes)
Max. size:  8.12 cm SL (male/unsexed)
Environment:  pelagic-neritic; freshwater
Distribution:  North America: Honduras.
Diagnosis:  Dorsal soft rays (total): 10-12; Anal soft rays: 9-14; Vertebrae: 32-34. This new species of the subgenus Profundulus shares similar characters with members of the subgenus (viz., P. (P.) punctatus, P. (P.) guatemalensis, P. (P.) oaxacae): dark humeral spot, a scaled preorbital region and between 32-34 vertebrae. It differs from other members of the subgenus by having less than half of its caudal fin densely covered with scales; from P. oaxacae and P. punctatus by the not having conspicuous brown spots on the sides of the body; from P. guatemalensis by having fewer pectoral-fin rays, (13-16 vs. 17-20) and caudal-fin rays (13-18 vs.19-23); from P. guatemalensis, P. punctatus, by having a golden blotch covering most of the operculum and reaching the base of the pectoral fin. Profundulus (P.) kreiseri differs from all members of the subgenus Tlaloc (viz., P. (T.) candalarius, P. (T.) hildebrandi, P. (T.) labialis, P. (T.) portillorum) by the presence of a dark humeral spot and a scaled preorbital. It further differs from P. (T.) candalarius, P. (T.) hildebrandi, P. (T.) labialis by having 32-34 vertebrae (vs. 35-39) (Ref.91935).
Biology:  The area where the species was collected from are both characterized as small tributaries ranging from 0.8 to 4 meters in width with stones (from pebbles to boulders) as the dominant substrate; estimated canopy cover of both localities 70-80%; and both creeks feature a variety of run, pool, riffle, rapid and small waterfall habitats (Ref. 91935).
IUCN Red List Status: Vulnerable (VU); Date assessed: 12 August 2019 (B1ab(iii)) Ref. (130435)
Threat to humans:  harmless


Source and more info: www.fishbase.org. For personal, classroom, and other internal use only. Not for publication.