Anablepidae


Anablepidae is a family of ray-finned fishes which live in brackish and freshwater habitats from southern Mexico to southern South America. There are three genera with sixteen species: the four-eyed fishes, the onesided livebearers and the white-eye, Oxyzygonectes dovii. Fish of this family eat mostly insects and other invertebrates.

Reproduction

Fish in the subfamily Oxyzygonectinae are ovoviviparous. The Anablepinae are livebearers. They mate on one side only, right-"handed" males with left-"handed" females and vice versa. The male has specialized anal rays which are greatly elongated and fused into a tube called a gonopodium associated with the sperm duct which he uses as an intromittent organ to deliver sperm to the female.

Subfamilies and genera

The family is divided into two subfamilies and three genera: