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New inland sites for the Mediterranean killifish ( Aphanius fasciatus Valenciennes, 1821) in the Sahara Desert of Algeria
Author(s) -
Chaibi R.,
Si Bachir A.,
Chenchouni H.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal of applied ichthyology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.392
H-Index - 62
eISSN - 1439-0426
pISSN - 0175-8659
DOI - 10.1111/jai.12892
Subject(s) - biology , mediterranean climate , range (aeronautics) , mediterranean sea , desert climate , ecology , arid , fishery , materials science , composite material
Summary The current study aims to update the range of Aphanius fasciatus occurring in inland aquatic systems, and to characterise the length–weight relationship of specimens caught in inland waters of the Northern Sahara of Algeria. Although the known distribution of A . fasciatus is restricted to coastal waters including islands of the Mediterranean region, visits to 39 hydrosystems in Northeast Algeria revealed the presence of the species at two sites: Oued Still and Lake Temacine. Both sites are in the Sahara Desert of Algeria, where the climate is hot and hyperarid. The surveyed populations perform their entire life cycle at the same sites. Analysis of a sample composed of 27 individuals captured in Oued Still allowed determination of the length–weight relationship. On average, females measured 4.2 ± 0.6 cm in length and weighed 1.1 ± 0.5 g; males were 3.2 ± 0.6 cm and 0.5 ± 0.2 g. Growth parameters of the von Bertalanffy equation for A . fasciatus were estimated at L t = 5.5145 (1−exp (−0.341( t −0.0049))), W t = 2.6692 (1−exp (−0.271 t )) 3 .