Species Fact Profile: Largescale Four-Eyed Fish (Anableps anableps)

                                                    Largescale Four-Eyed Fish

                                               Anableps anableps (Linnaeus, 1758)

Range: Northern South America, Trinidad

Habitat: Estuaries, Mangroves, Mudflats

Diet: Insects, Small Crustaceans, Mollusks, Diatoms

Social Grouping: Schools of 10-50 individuals

Reproduction: Breed year round, multiple times per year.  Internal fertilization.  Females carry 1-37 eggs which they retain internally, give live birth.  Sexes have asymmetrical genitalia, bending either to the right or left, and as such not all males in the species are sexually compatible with all females.

Lifespan: 6-8 Years

      Conservation Status: IUCN Least Concern

• Grow 14-18 (but up to 25) centimeters long, weigh 30-80 (but up to 200) grams.  Females larger than males.  Slender, elongated fish
• Brownish-gray coloration with some countershading, 3-5 brown-purple lateral stripes
• Despite the common name, the fish does not actually have four eyes - instead, each of the two eyes is divided with a horizontal band of tissue into two lobes, each with its own pupil.  The fish is then able to see above and below the water at the same time.  Most periodically submerge completely to prevent the surface-viewing eyes from drying out
• Sometimes comes out onto land to feed on mudbanks
• More tolerant of freshwater than other four-eyed fish, and can sometimes be found considerable distance inland, taking advantage of high tides to venture into intertidal channels
• Genus and species names both come from the Greek for "Glancing Up"