Anableps dowei
| Anableps dowei | |
|---|---|
| |
| Four-eyed Fish, Anableps dovii Gill. Tehuantepee, Mexico | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Cyprinodontiformes |
| Family: | Anablepidae |
| Genus: | Anableps |
| Species: | A. dowei
|
| Binomial name | |
| Anableps dowei (T. N. Gill, 1861)
| |
| Synonyms[2] | |
| |
The Pacific four-eyed fish (Anableps dowei) is a species of four-eyed fish native to the coastal waters on the Pacific side of southern Mexico to Nicaragua.[3] This fish is gregarious and inhabits mangrove swamps, tidal mudflats, and other coastal brackish ecosystems. During low tide, they will crawl onto shore to eat algae and other organic matter. This species has female biased sexual dimorphism, with males growing to 22 cm (8.7 in) TL while females can grow up to 34 cm (13.4 in) TL.[4] The male also has a prominent gonopodium used to impregnate females during mating. As with other members of Anablepinae, this species is livebearing and has left or right leaning genitals to prevent inbreeding.
The name "four-eyed fish" comes from how the eyes of the fish are split into two lobes horizontally, each with its own pupil and vision. This allows the fish to see above and below the water at the same time.[5]
References
- ^ Daniels, A.; Maiz-Tome, L. (2019). "Anableps dowei". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019: e.T191300A1975324. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-2.RLTS.T191300A1975324.en. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
- ^ Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Anableps dowei". FishBase. June 2020 version.
- ^ "Species: Anableps dowei, Northern four-eye, Pacific four-eyes". Shorefishes of the Eastern Pacific online information system. Archived from the original on 2017-04-07.
- ^ "Anableps dowei Gill, 1861, Pacific foureyed fish". Fishbase. Archived from the original on 2020-06-26.
- ^ Sivak, J.G. (1976). "Optics of the eye of the "four-eyed fish" (Anableps anableps)". Vision Research. 16 (5): 531–534. doi:10.1016/0042-6989(76)90035-3. PMID 941438. S2CID 21924658 – via ScienceDirect.