Reproductive and feeding biology of the Natal mountain catfish, Amphilius natalensis (Siluriformes: Amphiliidae)
- Marriott, Michael S, Booth, Anthony J, Skelton, Paul H (Paul Harvey)
- Authors: Marriott, Michael S , Booth, Anthony J , Skelton, Paul H (Paul Harvey)
- Date: 1997
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/125837 , vital:35823 , https://doi.10.1023/A:1007361511052
- Description: The family Amphiliidae comprises nine genera and about 60 species. Only five species are found in southern Africa, three of which belong to the genus Amphilius (Skelton 1993). These soft-bodied catlets inhabit clear, fast flowing mountain streams where they live amongst cobbles, feeding predominantly on benthic invertebrates (Crass 1964, Skelton 1993). The Natal mountain catfish, A. natalensis Boulenger, 1917, is a small, nocturnal species with a restricted distribution along the eastern seaboard of southern Africa. It occurs in mountain streams from the Umkomaas River north to the Limpopo system in South Africa. It is also present in the Marozi River, a tributary of the Zambezi River in Zimbabwe and in the Ruo River, Malawi (Skelton 1984, 1993). Skelton (1993) suggested that predation by introduced trout species has led to scarcity of A. natalensis in many streams. In spite of this, no studies on the biology of this catfish species have been published. This study presents the first quantitative information on the biology of an amphiliid catfish, A. natalensis including gametogenesis, spawning seasonality, size-at-maturity, adult sex ratio and diet.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1997
- Authors: Marriott, Michael S , Booth, Anthony J , Skelton, Paul H (Paul Harvey)
- Date: 1997
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/125837 , vital:35823 , https://doi.10.1023/A:1007361511052
- Description: The family Amphiliidae comprises nine genera and about 60 species. Only five species are found in southern Africa, three of which belong to the genus Amphilius (Skelton 1993). These soft-bodied catlets inhabit clear, fast flowing mountain streams where they live amongst cobbles, feeding predominantly on benthic invertebrates (Crass 1964, Skelton 1993). The Natal mountain catfish, A. natalensis Boulenger, 1917, is a small, nocturnal species with a restricted distribution along the eastern seaboard of southern Africa. It occurs in mountain streams from the Umkomaas River north to the Limpopo system in South Africa. It is also present in the Marozi River, a tributary of the Zambezi River in Zimbabwe and in the Ruo River, Malawi (Skelton 1984, 1993). Skelton (1993) suggested that predation by introduced trout species has led to scarcity of A. natalensis in many streams. In spite of this, no studies on the biology of this catfish species have been published. This study presents the first quantitative information on the biology of an amphiliid catfish, A. natalensis including gametogenesis, spawning seasonality, size-at-maturity, adult sex ratio and diet.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1997
The petrology and significance of a stratiform mafic segregation pegmatite in a Karoo-aged dolerite sheet
- Mitchell, Andrew A, Naicker, S B, Marsh, Julian S, Dunlevey, J N
- Authors: Mitchell, Andrew A , Naicker, S B , Marsh, Julian S , Dunlevey, J N
- Date: 1997
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/149496 , vital:38858 , https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC-9293fd659
- Description: A sub-horizontal stratiform mafic segregation pegmatite, of the order of 30 cm thick, occurs within 25 m of the top contact of a Karoo-aged dolerite sheet at Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. The host rock is an orthopyroxene-rich dolerite containing 5 - 8% interstitial granophyre. The pegmatite is similar to the host dolerite in many respects, except that the granophyre content is higher, and acicular augite is the only pyroxene. At its upper contact, a laterally continuous sub-horizontal joint forms a sharp boundary to the pegmatite, whilst the lower contact is gradational over a few millimetres. Low MgO and chalcophiles, and elevated incompatible element contents, are the main geochemical attributes of the pegmatite.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1997
- Authors: Mitchell, Andrew A , Naicker, S B , Marsh, Julian S , Dunlevey, J N
- Date: 1997
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/149496 , vital:38858 , https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC-9293fd659
- Description: A sub-horizontal stratiform mafic segregation pegmatite, of the order of 30 cm thick, occurs within 25 m of the top contact of a Karoo-aged dolerite sheet at Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. The host rock is an orthopyroxene-rich dolerite containing 5 - 8% interstitial granophyre. The pegmatite is similar to the host dolerite in many respects, except that the granophyre content is higher, and acicular augite is the only pyroxene. At its upper contact, a laterally continuous sub-horizontal joint forms a sharp boundary to the pegmatite, whilst the lower contact is gradational over a few millimetres. Low MgO and chalcophiles, and elevated incompatible element contents, are the main geochemical attributes of the pegmatite.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1997
A new species of Bothus (Pleuronectiformes: Bothidae) from Mozambique
- Hensley, Dannie A, J.L.B. Smith Institute of Ichthyology
- Authors: Hensley, Dannie A , J.L.B. Smith Institute of Ichthyology
- Date: 1997-02
- Subjects: Fishes -- Mozambique
- Language: English
- Type: text , book
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/70976 , vital:29767 , Margaret Smith Library (South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity (SAIAB)) Periodicals Margaret Smith Library (South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity (SAIAB))
- Description: Online version of original print edition of the Special Publication of the J.L.B. Smith Institute of Ichthyology; No. 58 , Bothus swio is described based on one adult male specimen collected off the coast of Mozambique. Males of this species appear to differ from all known congeners because of their narrow interobital region. Other characters useful for its identification are lack of ocular appendages, relative positions of the anterior margins of the eyes, number of lateral-line scales, length and colour pattern of the ocular-side pectoral fin, lack of orbital spines, dorsal- and anal-fin ray counts, and lack of colour pattern on the blind side. Bothus swio most closely resembles B. pantherinus and B. tricirrhitus.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1997-02
- Authors: Hensley, Dannie A , J.L.B. Smith Institute of Ichthyology
- Date: 1997-02
- Subjects: Fishes -- Mozambique
- Language: English
- Type: text , book
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/70976 , vital:29767 , Margaret Smith Library (South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity (SAIAB)) Periodicals Margaret Smith Library (South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity (SAIAB))
- Description: Online version of original print edition of the Special Publication of the J.L.B. Smith Institute of Ichthyology; No. 58 , Bothus swio is described based on one adult male specimen collected off the coast of Mozambique. Males of this species appear to differ from all known congeners because of their narrow interobital region. Other characters useful for its identification are lack of ocular appendages, relative positions of the anterior margins of the eyes, number of lateral-line scales, length and colour pattern of the ocular-side pectoral fin, lack of orbital spines, dorsal- and anal-fin ray counts, and lack of colour pattern on the blind side. Bothus swio most closely resembles B. pantherinus and B. tricirrhitus.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1997-02
Comparative ultrastructure of plasmodesmata of Chara and selected bryophytes: towards an elucidation of the evolutionary origin of plant plasmodesmata
- Cook, Martha E, Graham, Linda E, Botha, Christiaan E J, Lavin, Colleen A
- Authors: Cook, Martha E , Graham, Linda E , Botha, Christiaan E J , Lavin, Colleen A
- Date: 1997
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6506 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005933 , http://www.amjbot.org/cgi/reprint/84/9/1169
- Description: We have used transmission electron microscopy to examine plasmodesmata of the charophycean green alga Chara zeylanica, and of the putatively early divergent bryophytes Monoclea gottschei (liverwort), Notothylas orbicularis (hornwort), and Sphagnum fimbriatum (moss), in an attempt to learn when seed plant plasmodesmata may have originated. The three bryophytes examined have desmotubules. In addition, Monoclea was found to have branched plasmodesmata, and plasmodesmata of Sphagnum displayed densely staining regions around the neck region, as well as ring-like wall specializations. In Chara, longitudinal sections revealed endoplasmic reticulum (ER) that sometimes appeared to be associated with plasmodesmata, but this was rare, despite abundant ER at the cell periphery. Across all three fixation methods, cross-sectional views showed an internal central structure, which in some cases appeared to be connected to the plasma membrane via spoke-like structures. Plasmodesmata were present even in the incompletely formed reticulum of forming cell plates, from which we conclude that primary plasmodesmata are formed at cytokinesis in Chara zeylanica. Based on these results it appears that plasmodesmata of Chara may be less specialized than those of seed plants, and that complex plasmodesmata probably evolved in the ancestor of land plants before extant lineages of bryophytes diverged.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1997
- Authors: Cook, Martha E , Graham, Linda E , Botha, Christiaan E J , Lavin, Colleen A
- Date: 1997
- Language: English
- Type: Article
- Identifier: vital:6506 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005933 , http://www.amjbot.org/cgi/reprint/84/9/1169
- Description: We have used transmission electron microscopy to examine plasmodesmata of the charophycean green alga Chara zeylanica, and of the putatively early divergent bryophytes Monoclea gottschei (liverwort), Notothylas orbicularis (hornwort), and Sphagnum fimbriatum (moss), in an attempt to learn when seed plant plasmodesmata may have originated. The three bryophytes examined have desmotubules. In addition, Monoclea was found to have branched plasmodesmata, and plasmodesmata of Sphagnum displayed densely staining regions around the neck region, as well as ring-like wall specializations. In Chara, longitudinal sections revealed endoplasmic reticulum (ER) that sometimes appeared to be associated with plasmodesmata, but this was rare, despite abundant ER at the cell periphery. Across all three fixation methods, cross-sectional views showed an internal central structure, which in some cases appeared to be connected to the plasma membrane via spoke-like structures. Plasmodesmata were present even in the incompletely formed reticulum of forming cell plates, from which we conclude that primary plasmodesmata are formed at cytokinesis in Chara zeylanica. Based on these results it appears that plasmodesmata of Chara may be less specialized than those of seed plants, and that complex plasmodesmata probably evolved in the ancestor of land plants before extant lineages of bryophytes diverged.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1997
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