IVAN MIKOLJI FISHES of the ORINOCO in the WILD 8 The Author 10 Acknowledgments 12 Foreword 14 Preface 38 224 Siluriformes 16 Introduction 40 Belonidae 226 Callichthyidae 20 The Orinoco 42 Characiformes 238 Doradidae Loricariidae 44 Acestrorhynchidae 242 Trichomycteridae 52 Anostomidae 274 70 Bryconidae 276 Cyprinodontiformes 78 Chalceidae 278 Poeciliidae 80 Characidae 282 Rivulidae 134 Crenuchidae 286 Cichliformes 148 Ctenoluciidae 288 Cichlidae 152 Curimatidae 372 156 Cynodontidae Perciformes 374 Polycentridae 158 Erythrinidae 166 Gasteropelecidae 376 Synbranchiformes 168 Hemiodontidae 378 Synbranchidae 174 Iguanodectidae 178 Lebiasinidae Elasmobranchii

194 Parodontidae 380 Myliobatiformes 198 Prochilodontidae 382 Potamotrygonidae 200 Serrasalmidae 386 Species List in Alphabetical Order 388 Abbreviations 390 Glossary 9 The Author

With more than a hundred expeditions and innumerable publications in different countries, Ivan Mikolji has demonstrated the authenticity and originality of his artistic passion for photography and painting. The philosophy that moves his creative will is the urgency to preserve the aquatic ecosystems of the planet, and as a first step he considers it necessary to make the richness and beauty

Ivan Mikolji 9459 - June, 2015 of these biomes known. That is why he maintains: “you , (Venezuelan cannot preserve something that you don’t know exists.” Mountain Range) And to that work, he has dedicated a large part of his life. Sony SLT-A99V, Sony A 100mm f/2.8 Macro Lens, Sony HVL-F58AM Flash Ivan Mikolji 170 - November, 2007 f/2.8, 1/125, ISO 50, 0 e.v. Image by: Oliver Lucanus Latitude: 10°11’50.04”N Eduardo Planchart Licea PhD Caño de Rosa, Apure, Venezuela (Flooded Savannas) Longitude: 67°59’57.38”W Latin American Art History UNAM Canon EOS-1Ds Mark II, Canon EF 20mm F2.8L Lens, Seacam 1Ds housing with Superdome f/8, 1/250, ISO 400, 0 e.v. Latitude: 7°12’39.70”N Longitude: 67°40’50.29”W 11

Acknowledgments

Scientific revision Thank you FishBase for your valuable support by providing us Donald C. Taphorn B. with the distribution data of most species, which makes this book incredibly more interesting. Species identification Fish: Donald C. Taphorn B., Antonio Machado - Allison, Carlos Lasso Alcalá, Oscar Lasso Alcalá, Carlos DoNascimiento, Wolfgang Staeck, Frank Magallanes, Lina Mesa Salazar Plants: Francisco Delascio Chitty, Sixto Rodríguez

Coordinator: Yelka Mikolji

Image curator: Eduardo Planchart Licea

Editorial design and Layout: Joshua Pickett

Editor: Mary Janet Mikolji Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2019. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. fishbase.org, version (12/2019). Sub editor: Jeremy Gay The FishBase logo is a trademark of Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. Proofreader: Max Pedley

Map: Carlos E González R.

Special thanks to: Carlos Lasso Alcalá, Alipio Mendoza, Maria Thank you Christopher Scharpf of The ETYFish Project for your Amier, Oliver Lucanus, Kenia Sandoval, Frans Vermeulen, Rafael support by providing us with the fish-name etymologies that make Amier, Alfredo Amier, Monica Morales, Alfredo Perez, Juanita this book much more amenable. Andrade, George Fear, Jorge E. García-Melo, Emiliano Rujano, Giorgi Khizanishvili, Fernando Chan, Thomas Manns, Ofenie Kasupi, Marco Pigozzo, Oscar Pietri, Alberto Blanco Dávila, Marc Weiss, Eugenio Mikolji and to all of you that are not on this The ETYFish Project list but helped me in our adventures. Fish Name Etymology Database © Christopher Scharpf and Species names and dates cross reference: Kenneth J. Lazara Caño el Pozo 3597 - January, 2014 Thank you Carlos DoNascimiento for creating and www.etyfish.org Amazonas, Venezuela (Western Guiana Shield) Sony SLT-A99V, Sony A 16-35mm f/2.8 ZA SSM Vario-Sonnar T* maintaining the list of all freshwater species present in Lens, Ewa-Marine U-B 100 Underwater Housing Venezuelan continental waters at the Ictiovenezuela website. f/2.8, 1/200, ISO 200, -0.5 e.v. ictiovenezuela.blogspot.com/ Latitude: 3°59'14.30"N Longitude: 67°38'19.75"W Monocirrhus polyacanthus 237 - June, 2008 Caño El Pozo, Amazonas, Venezuela (Western Guiana Shield) Sony DSC-H50, Aquapac SLR Case f/4, 1/250, ISO 100, 0 e.v. Latitude: 3°59’14.30”N Longitude: 67°38’19.75”W Foreword

It was a photo, that was how I first met Ivan. I’d written formal nature of many aquatic works. Furthermore, he a piece on Monocirrhus polyacanthus, and a search has broken the cycle of regurgitation that can plague through Google images had tossed up the best shot some writers as they copy each other’s words, topping I’d ever seen of one; a sublime fish lurking in marginal and tailing sentences of long-unchallenged folklore and grasses, three Cardinal Tetras in the foreground, wild passing it along as their own. and raw. I still look at that picture. When Ivan writes about a fish, he knows about that fish. It wasn’t long before Ivan and I began a working relation- Not from collecting it or buying it, keeping it in a tank and ship. It started with technically difficult and precise photos, noting some behaviours. Ivan is immersive, in the truest photos that require patience, dedication, and more than a sense. If gonzo journalism can be applied to the lives of little understanding of fish behaviour. Photos that require fishes, then that is what he does. He visits them, first as an the one essential element that cannot be taught; the eye intruder, but then a guest. He swims with them, integrates for a perfect composition. In a sea of a billion images himself into their lives, becomes a part of their everyday that could be clones of each other in their style, Ivan’s habitat. This is his world, and it welcomes him. captures make up a bounteous island, rich in originality. Over the following pages, you will see what Ivan has It was a photo, but it became words. When I first asked seen, see fish behaving as fish behave. You will see fish Ivan to write for me, it was with trepidation. Here was a in their wilderness homes, away from artificial lighting and Venezuelan conservationist being asked to cater to an the constraints of glass walls. You will read observations English audience. The first submission came through as borne out of diligence and obsession. You will feel the the work of a gifted wordsmith; evocative and moving, flow of the Orinoco over your body, feel the leaf litter intelligent and insightful. I tidied up some punctuation underfoot, feel the tetras nipping at your skin. Through and left it as untouched as possible. We evolved our this book, Ivan takes us into the field with him. relationship from editor and contributor to a professional friendship. It led to a long chain of barely tweaked features, It was a photo, and now there’s a whole each more magnificent than the last. book of them. We are truly blessed.

Fishes of the Orinoco in the Wild is a book for the aficio- nado, but without stuffiness or pomp. Ivan’s accessible, matter-of-fact writing is a welcome departure from the Nathan Hill, August 2020 15

Ivan Mikolji 8566 - August, 2013 Image taken by: Kenia Sandoval Caño Picantonal, Amazonas, Venezuela (Western Preface Guiana Shield) Sony NEX-7, Sony E 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS Lens f/10, 1/160, ISO100, -0.3 e.v., Built-in flash: On Latitude: 5°44’28.23”N Longitude: 67°31’54.81”W

The intention of this book is to show the rich ichthyo-di- Most of the images in the book were taken in Shutter Priority versity of the Orinoco River basin. I am a believer that mode which is the underwater camera setting I use most of the education, knowledge, and empathy towards nature is one time, even today. My first images were all taken in Auto mode of the best ways to ensure the preservation of all species because I never took photography lessons, but I tested and ex- as well as mankind. The images in this book have been perimented with the camera for years until I found a setting that carefully taken, curated, and presented to create a visual worked for me. There are a few images that have flash lighting, continuity, to inspire the readers to go outside and doc- mostly from the beginning of my career, but due to the fact that ument the ecosystems closest to their homes and in that my underwater cases do not allow me to use an external flash, way awaken a strong feeling of belonging across the globe. I have not used flash in years. This became an advantage as people started recognizing my work because it had a “natural I included the best images I have taken of each species, many look,” and it became my personal signature. Some images of them from the start of my underwater documenting journey include underwater rainbows or spectrums, created when which began with video in 2006 and then with photography sunlight is bent by the water’s surface movement. This natural in late 2007. Most of the images were not book worthy until phenomenon adds a lot of color to the underwater world. the beginning of 2008. The images are all taken in the wild, throughout Venezuela and Colombia. None of the fish were I hope you enjoy this book as much as I enjoyed creating it. captured and placed or relocated to take the pictures. Setups A lot of attention to detail, passion, and perseverance were and backgrounds were not used either. Also, all the images placed into every shot as I strive to make each one a work of art. were taken using lung power, snorkeling that is, with mask and snorkel, lead belt, and sometimes with a wetsuit and fins. 17

Introduction

There is still a lot to learn about the Orinoco underwater the fish are in parentheses because the in which world. This is proven by the fact that in our numerous that person(s) described it originally has changed. It expeditions we, the many investigators, scientists, and is also important to note that the team of scientific explorers, have found many new species of fish, plants, professionals that reviewed this book tried their best to and even freshwater sponges. We also used to think that identify each fish or plant and bring you to the closest we shared a large number of species with other basins genus or species, but this is extremely hard to do using across South America, but thanks to technological images because some of their differences can only be advances in many fields such as DNA or CT-scans, we found in teeth structures or other aspects which cannot have now discovered that these species are different be seen in a photo. In those cases, we used the sp. or and autochthonous to the Orinoco River basin. Up cf. abbreviations. I also included common fish names until today, we know that there are approximately 1,093 which some people find useful and some people do not species of freshwater fish present in the Orinoco River agree with it as they have no scientific basis. I believe basin across Venezuela and Colombia, but there are they are relevant because sometimes scientific names many more to be discovered or scientifically described. change or get invalidated, but common names usually stay.

This book includes 151 species of freshwater fish, divided into The number that appears after every image in the book is 89 genera and 28 families. It also provides information about the file number that the camera assigned to it when it was the different species of fish and aquatic plants (44 species) shot. With Sony, it is usually preceded by DSC0 which that live sympatrically in the same habitat or microhabitat. I I usually omit leaving just the “birth certificate” number. have also included photography tips, interesting anecdotes, Images that show no EXIF information is due to a loss of and/or simple observations of the fish’s behavior in the wild. metadata in the original files.

This book is a fusion between nature, science, and art. The fish are arranged taxonomically and some of the information Pozo Azul 7738 - February 2013 is not obvious to the non-scientific layman. For example, Amazonas, Venezuela (Western Guiana Shield) some names of the person(s) that scientifically described Sony SLT-A99V, Sony A 16-35mm f/2.8 ZA SSM Vario-Sonnar T* Lens f/2.8, 1/90, ISO 400, -0.5 e.v. Latitude: 5°50’54.34”N Longitude: 67°30’8.89”W

21

The Orinoco

The first time I saw the Orinoco River, back in 1986 when I was 14 years old, I was amazed by its vastness and also by the fact that it was so far away and unlike Caracas, the busy city where I lived. To me, it looked like a different world, a mysterious world. Later on in my life, as I explored, it revealed a few of its secrets to me and I felt at home. Today it is not mysterious anymore; now it’s magical.

The Orinoco makes its way through Venezuela and Colombia, extending approximately 2,250 kilometers and covering about 880,000 ㎢. No wonder I thought it was so vast when I saw it for the first time, as it is the third-largest river in the world by discharge volume of water. Water drains into the Orinoco River from many different areas. From the north, water drains from the Venezuelan Caribbean Mountain Range, in the west from the Andes Mountains, Colombian llanos, and savannas, and the south-east from the Lost World of the ancient Guiana Shield highlands. Each of these places having their secrets still waiting to be revealed.

Raudales de Atures 6558 - 6:50 pm, February 22, 2013 Because the water of the Orinoco’s main channel is not as Amazonas, Venezuela clear as I would like it to be for underwater photography, I (Western Guiana Shield) Sony SLT-A99V, Sony A 16-35mm spent part of my life searching for clear water streams and f/2.8 ZA SSM Vario-Sonnar T* Lens springs that would drain into the Orinoco and in that way f/4, 1/125, ISO 250, -0.5 e.v. document its flora and fauna in a more visually striking way. Río Orinoco 711 - 6:54 am, February 12, 2020 Latitude: 5°35'22.94"N Vichada Department, Colombia (Western Guiana Shield) Longitude: 67°37'2.48"W Although I have snorkeled in hundreds of its streams, I have DJI Mavic Air, 24mm / 35mm (35mm Equivalent), DJI ND 4 Filter See next page for image decided to present the most relevant spots I have explored. f/2.8, 1/306, ISO 113, -1.3 e.v. Latitude: 6° 6'9.07"N Longitude: 67°29'11.92"W

Order: Potamorrhaphis guianensis 2040 - February, 2020 Caño Verde, Vichada Department, Colombia (Western Guiana Shield) Sony SLT-A99V, Sony A 50mm f/2.8 Macro Lens, Ewa-Marine U-B 100 Underwater Housing f/2.8, 1/200, ISO 200, -0.5 e.v. Beloniformes Latitude: 6° 6’7.02”N Longitude: 67°32’24.46”W 40 Actinopterygii > Beloniformes > Belonidae

Potamorrhaphis guianensis (Jardine 1843) Freshwater

These are remarkable fish to see in the wild, with their incredibly long, needle shape snout filled with tiny teeth. They are strict surface water dwellers, very shy, and hard to approach in their habitat. It took me many years to find a specimen that was kind enough to let me approach it and photograph it for a couple of minutes. Their unusual body shape allows them to swim over dense overgrowth of aquatic plants and behind fallen tree branches in extremely shallow water. Also, as they swim right beneath the water’s surface, underwater reflections create a duplicate visual confusion which makes them really hard to spot, even if they are right in front of you. To hunt their prey, they place their body right next to a floating stick or branch and wait, motionless, for small fish to pass by, before striking with incredible speed.

Classification: Order: Beloniformes Family: Belonidae Genus: Potamorrhaphis Species: guianensis

Etymology: Potamorrhaphis: potamos, river; rhaphis, needle, i.e., a freshwater needlefish. guianensis: –ensis, suffix denoting Potamorrhaphis guianensis place: Guyana, where type locality (Paduiri River) is situated 2937 - May, 2013 (occurs elsewhere in Amazon and Orinoco River basins). Pozo Azul, Amazonas State, Venezuela (Western Guiana Shield) Sony SLT-A99V, Sony A 50mm Distribution: South America: Amazon and Orinoco River f/2.8 Macro Lens, Ewa-Marine basins, and the Guianas. U-B 100 Underwater Housing f/4, 1/200, ISO 400, 0 e.v. Size: Up to 23 cm. Latitude: 5°49’25.05”N Longitude: 67°28’55.46”W pH: 4.5 to 5.5 Temperature: 26°C - 28°C Sympatry: Fish = Boulengerella lateristriga, Chalceus macrolepidotus, Iguanodectes cf. gracilis Plants = Acisanthera quadrata, Desmoncus Mitis, Fallen rainforest tree trunks and branches. Imagine yourself fl oating in a crystal-clear river fi lled with some of your favorite tropical fi sh. When you look down at the river bottom, you see Stingrays and schools of Corydoras. When you look to your right, you see Cardinal Tetras, and to your left, you witness schools of Severum Cichlids. You lie there, motionless, observing, and narrating what you see, what the fi sh do. That is what is in this book.

In the Fishes of the Orinoco in the Wild, Venezuelan explorer Ivan Mikolji shares a breathtaking look at over 150 species of freshwater fi sh photographed in his underwater journeys through clear water streams in the Orinoco River basin.

With images carefully selected by renowned art curator Eduardo Planchart Licea, the compilation presents a clean, minimalistic, museum-like collection of the natural underwater world of Venezuela, Colombia, the Lost World, the Amazonas inselbergs, and other remote areas in the tropical rainforests of the Guiana Shield.

Each page of stunning visuals displays the original colors of the fi sh when in their natural habitats, along with valuable information such as GPS locations, water pH, and other species that share their biotopes. Learn what their scientifi c names mean, Mikolji’s interesting personal observations of the fi shes’ behavior in the wild, and underwater photography tips such as the settings and gear used to take each image.

You cannot preserve something that you don’t know exists! This modern collection of fi sh art documents the relationships between minerals, water, plants, and for anyone—from scientists to hobbyists—with an interest in aquatic life.