Escudo de la República de Colombia Escudo de la República de Colombia
Panel de Accesibilidad

✎ Natalia Guzmán

✎ Natalia Guzmán

✎ Diego Aguilera

Captain of the Savannah
Eremophilus mutisiiAndean region

  • Generalities
  • Morpho-functionality
  • Lifecycle
  • Distribution

RECORRIDO VIRTUAL POR LA BIODIVERSIDAD DE COLOMBIA
Museo de Historia Natural
Universidad Nacional de Colombia

Captain of the Savannah
Eremophilus mutisii

It is known as captain of the sabana. Their pigmentation pattern is variable, they have vermicular green spots and they do not have ventral fins. They can use the stomach as an organ for air respiration when they inhabit areas with low oxygen concentration. They reach 24.8 cm in length with an average weight of 129.6 g. They feed on larvae, small aquatic arthropods, and mollusks.

Conservation status

Extinct

Extinct in the Wild

Critically Endangered

Endangered

Vulnerable

Near Threatened

Least Concern

Not Evaluated

Data Deficient

Morpho-functionality

Hearing

They have small bones located in front of the swim bladder that connect to the inner ear and allow the passage of vibrations captured by the bladder and up to the ear.

Skin

They lack scales which make their body reticulated and allow it to sneak away very quickly.

Gills

Their branchial arch, a complex of thin sheets that have blood vessels located on both sides of their pharynx is modified to allow breathing out of water.

Lifecycle

The females of E. mutisii are larger than the males and during the reproductive season their abdomen is more voluminous and golden yellow. They reproduce once a year, spawning mainly between the months of April, May and June. They lay about 33,000 eggs, depending on the size of the female; each egg is 1mm in diameter, light green to olive green in color. It usually spawns on the banks of dams and reservoirs. The sizes of sexual maturity range from 15 to 24 cm.

Captain of the Savannah

Distribution

It is an endemic species of the Cundiboyacense plateau with an altitudinal distribution between 2500 and 3100 m. where the temperature does not exceed 18 - 20 ° C. It is presumed that it was introduced to Lake Tota, and La Cocha lagoon, among other cold-water regions of the country. It inhabits the beds of lagoons, reservoirs, rivers and fences, feeding on annelids, mollusks, arthropods in general such as insect larvae along with mud.

Distribution area