Chilatherina bulolo

(Whitley, 1938)

Bulolo Rainbowfish

Etymology

The species is named for the Bulolo Valley, Papua New Guinea, the type locality.

Etymology compiled from C. Scharpf (2021), “Fishes of Sahul: An Etymological Survey (Part 4), the Rainbowfishes”, Fishes of Sahul 35(1): 1706–1714, and etyfish.org.

Synonymy

Centratherina bulolo Whitley, 1938
Chilatherina bulolo Allen, 1983

Species Summary

Males may reach a maximum size of 10 cm, but females are usually less than 8 cm. They are essentially a carnivore, feeding on a variety of terrestrial and aquatic insects, insect larvae, and small aquatic crustaceans. Algae, plant pollens, and seeds are also ingested. Stomach contents of wild caught specimens indicated a diet of small insects, particularly ants, and algae that is grazed from rocks.

Distribution & Habitat

Chilatherina bulolo is so far only known from scattered localities in the Markham, Ramu and Sepik River systems of north-eastern Papua New Guinea. They have been collected from the Erap, Snake, Bulolo, and Whege rivers. They are found mainly in mountain streams with rapid flow and coarse gravel bottoms, in water temperatures between 24-28° Celsius and pH 7.5-8.5.

Remarks

Chilatherina bulolo were originally collected in the Bulolo River system in 1934 by F.B.S. Hislop. Gerald Allen and Brian Parkinson collected live specimens from the Erap River near Lae in 1978. These were transported back to Australia, but failed to become established in the hobby.

References

Allen G.R. (1983) Chilatherina bulolo a valid species of rainbowfish (Melanotaeniidae) from northern New Guinea. Fishes of Sahul 1(2): 13-17.
Allen G.R. (1991) Field guide to the freshwater fishes of New Guinea. Christensen Research Institute, Madang, Papua New Guinea.
Whitley G.P. (1938) Descriptions of some New Guinea fishes. Records of the Australian Museum 20(3): 223-233.