The sheer brilliance of Ptereleotris kallista is simply mind-blowing. Photo credit: Lemon TYK.
Of all the slender, slippery gobioid looking fishes to exist, few can surpass the unearthly and celestial beauty of Ptereleotris. The genus, of course, is home to numerous species, but three of them stand out in terms of their bind-blowing beauty, second to none. That being said, it is important to note that Ptereleotris, although slender and very goby like, are not gobies. They belong to the family Microdesmidae, which contains the two subfamilies Ptereleotrinae (dartfishes) and Microdesminae (wormfishes). In the aquarium context, much of this family is represented by the members in the former group, which contain the familiar genera Aioliops, Parioglossus, Ptereleotris, Nematereleotris, Navigobius, Oxymetopon and Pterocerdale. The latter group is more obscure, with Gunnelichthys perhaps being the only regular fare to grace the aquarium scene. Ptereleoris kallista
Ptereleotris kallista, whose specific epithet alludes to “most beautiful” in greek. Photo credit: Lemon TYK.
The first of three species highlighted today is Ptereleotris kallista. The specific epithet “kallista” is in reference to the greek for “most beautiful”. This species belongs to the Ptereleotris grammica clade, for which there are four members – all of which are diagnosed by having circular caudal fins, as well as a broad, flag like first dorsal fin in which the rays are extrapolated into long, filamentous extensions. The phylogeny of Ptereleotris has not been formally worked out, but it appears likely that kallista and its group members form a sister group the the Ptereleotris hanae complex – in which the members are diagnosed by having very filamentous caudal fins, as well as a shorter, more underdeveloped first dorsal fin. Ptereleotris kallista is a fairly recent addition to the genus, being described in 2008 based on two specimens obtained from the aquarium trade. The species is distributed in the Philippines, although how extensively, is currently unknown. Needless to say, this species is very seldom seen, and is currently known only from a handful of live photos, most of which are included here. That being said, its rarity is probably due to its obscurity, and the species slips in occasionally with P. grammica and the very similar P. uroditaenia during Philippines exports. Ptereleotris kallista is easily diagnosed from P. uroditaenia based on caudal fin patterns. In the former, the fin is mostly translucent, sans a brownish-black outer margin, edged on both sides in metallic blue.… More:
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