Parkinson's Rainbowfish
Melanotaenia parkinsoni
Also known as: Orange Rainbowfish, Parkinson's Rainbow
- Orange Rainbowfish
- Parkinson's Rainbow
Overview
Parkinson's rainbowfish is a big, solidly muscled freshwater fish found only in Papua New Guinea, where males wear a coat of reflective golden-orange over the back half of the body.
It lives in pairs or schools over lowland areas and in rainforest streams, and is known from the Kemp Welsh River and Milne Bay, and from lakes in the west of the country.
The base colour is a dark lavender that warms to a rosy shade on the chest.
Males are the ones to look for. Their bodies are deeper than those of the females, their fins are drawn out longer, and the golden-orange coating fits the species' other name, Orange Rainbowfish.
It feeds on algae and insects.
How to identify
Habitat & where to find it
- Exact location · 1
Adult photos 1
Discussion
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Deep dive
Taxonomy
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classTeleostei
- orderAtheriniformes
- familyMelanotaeniidae
- genusMelanotaenia
- speciesMelanotaenia parkinsoni Allen, 1980
Morphology
A large, muscular rainbowfish, dark lavender with a rosy chest. Males are deeper-bodied than females, with extended fins and a reflective golden-orange rear half.
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