The Freshwater Fishes of Western Borneo (Kilamantan Barat, Indonesia)

About this book

This monograph on the freshwater fishes of western Borneo or Kalimantan Barat, Indonesia, is based on the extensive collections made during the author's ichthyological survey of the Kapuas River basin in 1976, as well as on material from earlier collections deposited in European museums. The ichthyofauna includes about 290 species belonging to 120 genera and 40 families. One new family of catfishes (Parakysidae), three new genera (Hypergastromyzon in Homalopteridae, Barbucca in Cobitidae, and Paradoxodacna in Chandidae), and 25 new species (belonging in balaena, a small Rasbora-like cyprinid with over 200 gill rakers on the first gill arch, which feeds on unicellular phytoplankton; Lepidocephalus spectrum, the first blind cobitid from a nonsubterranean habitat; Hypergastromyzon humilis, a highly specialized gastromyzontin homalopterid; and Paradoxodacna piratica, a scale-eating chandid with remarkable dentition. Original observations on feeding habits and reproduction are reported for various species. Scanning electron micrographs reveal the unciliferous quality of the lips of 7 of the 13 species of the herbivorous cyprinid genus Osteochilus known from western Borneo. The ant-eating habits of the endemic freshwater halfbeak genus Hemirhamphodon are reported for the first time, together with observations on its poorly known internal fertilization and viviparity. Oral-brooding is reported in Parambassis apogonoides, the first member of the percoid family Chandidae in which such parental care has been observed.

The introduction includes general remarks on the freshwater ichthyofauna of western Borneo and its geographical distribution; a brief historical sketch of East Indian ichthyology, with particular reference to freshwater fishes of fishes in western Borneo; and a detailed description of collecting localities of the 1976 Kapuas survey. The systematic account includes a brief introductory statement for each family, formal synonymies for almost all included genera and species, identification keys for some groups, comparative morphological and meristic data for many groups, detailed information on food habits and reproductive biology for some species, and geographical distribution for all species for which reliable information is available. The monograph is extensively illustrated with black-and-white photographs and line drawings. The literature cited provides a nearly complete bibliography for systematic study of Bornean freshwater fishes to the end of 1984.

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