Teleostei (teleosts) >
Ovalentaria/misc (Various families in series Ovalentaria) >
Ambassidae (Asiatic glassfishes)
Etymology: Ambassis: Derived from Greek, anabasis = climbing up (Ref. 45335).
More on authors: Gilchrist & Thompson.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; freshwater; brackish; demersal. Subtropical; 13°N - 39°S, 19°E - 52°E
Western Indian Ocean: East coast from KwaZulu-Natal south to Algoa Bay in South Africa (Ref. 4318, 7248, 52193). Reported from east Africa (Ref. 4318), including Madagascar (Ref. 4180, 50956) and Mauritius (Ref. 50956).
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm 3.5  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 10.0 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 52193)
Dorsal spines (total): 8; Dorsal soft rays (total): 9 - 11; Anal spines: 3; Anal soft rays: 9 - 11. Diagnosis: Ambassis natalensis has following combination of characters: supraorbital spines 1-4; rostral spine absent; rear margin of preopercle entirely serrate; preopercle ridge smooth except for 1-5 tiny spines at rear corner; interopercle smooth or with 1-4 tiny serrae at angle; two rows of cheek scales; predorsal scales 9-11; lateral line continuous; lower gill rakers 19-22; pectoral-fin rays 14-15; teeth on vomer and palatines in 2-3 rows (Ref. 50956).
Tolerant of freshwater within a temperature range of 19-27°C (Ref. 4180, 52193, 79840). In summer, it feeds mainly in early evening and late morning while in winter, it feeds both day and night on crustaceans as well as insects (aquatic and terrestrial) and fish (Ref. 7248, 52193). Excellent subject for biological research as it easily thrives in captivity (Ref. 12484).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae
Maugé, L.A., 1986. Ambassidae. p. 297-298. In J. Daget, J.-P. Gosse and D.F.E. Thys van den Audenaerde (eds.) Check-list of the freshwater fishes of Africa (CLOFFA). ISNB, Brussels; MRAC, Tervuren; and ORSTOM, Paris. Vol. 2. (Ref. 4180)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: of no interest; aquarium: commercial; bait: usually
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Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref.
123201): 23.9 - 27.6, mean 26.7 °C (based on 82 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01413 (0.00728 - 0.02742), b=3.02 (2.85 - 3.19), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & Genus-body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.4 ±0.59 se; based on food items.
Resilience (Ref.
120179): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Assuming Fec > 10,000).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (10 of 100).