Red-striped Rainbowfish, Melanotaenia rubrostriata (Ramsay & Ogilby 1886)

Summary:

A pale overall bluish-green rainbowfish becoming whitish below, with a narrow orange to pinkish stripes between the scale rows, and red membranes on the second dorsal and anal fins. The larger males have a deeper body and are more brightly coloured than females.

Video of Melanotaenia rubrostriata in the wild in West Papua.

Cite this page as:

Bray, D.J. 2024, Melanotaenia rubrostriata in Fishes of Australia, accessed 20 Apr 2025, https://fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/4888

Red-striped Rainbowfish, Melanotaenia rubrostriata (Ramsay & Ogilby 1886)

More Info

Distribution	Torres Strait islands near Papua New Guinea: Boigu Island and Saibai Island. Elsewhere, the species is widespread in the lowlands south of the Central Dividing Range, New Guinea. It is the most abundant rainbowfish in the Fly system, particularly in the middle and upper portions of the catchment. Inhabits lowland coastal freshwater creeks and rivers, usually sheltering aquatic vegetation, submerged logs and woody debris.
Etymology	The specific name is from the Latin ruber (= red) and striatus (= striped, channeled), in reference to the "nine broad red longitudinal bands" on a silvery background.
Species Citation	Nematocentris rubrostriatus Ramsay & Ogilby 1886, Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 2 1(1): 14. Type locality: Strickland River, New Guinea.
Author	Bray, D.J. 2024
Resources	Atlas of Living Australia Australian Faunal Directory Catalog of Fishes

Red-striped Rainbowfish, Melanotaenia rubrostriata (Ramsay & Ogilby 1886)

References

Allen, G.R. 1980. A generic classification of the Rainbowfishes (Family Melanotaeniidae). Records of the Western Australian Museum 8 (3): 449-490. (as Melanotaenia splendida rubrostriata) See ref online

Allen, G.R. 1991. Field guide to the freshwater fishes of New Guinea. Christensen Research Institute, Madang, Papua New Guinea, 268 pp.

Allen, G.R. & Jebb, M. 1993. A collection of fishes from the Upper Purari River system, Papua New Guinea, with descriptions of two new species (Terapontidae and Eleotrididae). Ichthyological Explorations of Freshwater 4(3): 233-240 (as Melanotaenia splendida rubrostriatus)

Allen, G.R. & Cross, N.J. 1982. Rainbowfishes of Australia and Papua-New Guinea. New Jersey : T.F.H. Publications 142 pp. figs.

Allen, G.R. & Kadarusman. 2020. Melanotaenia rubrostriata. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2020: e.T161111566A161111635. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T161111566A161111635.en. Accessed on 12 September 2024.

Allen, G.R., Storey, A.W. & Yarrao, M. 2008. Freshwater Fishes of the Fly River Papua New Guinea. Tabubil, Papua New Guinea : Ok Tedi Mining 216 pp.

Hitchcock G., Finn, M.A., Burrows, D.W. & Johnson, J.W. 2012. Fishes from fresh and brackish waters of islands in Torres Strait, far north Queensland. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 56(1): 13-24.

Humphrey, C., Klumpp, D.W. & Pearson, R. 2003. Early development and growth of the eastern rainbowfish, Melanotaenia splendida splendida (Peters). I. Morphogenesis and ontogeny. Marine and Freshwater Research 54: 17-25.

Ramsay, E.P. & Ogilby, J.D. 1886. A contribution to the knowledge of the fish-fauna of New Guinea. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales (Series 2) 1: 8-20. See ref at BHL

Regan, C.T. 1914. Report on the freshwater fishes collected by the British Ornithologists' Union Expedition and the Wollaston Expedition in Dutch New Guinea. Transactions of the Zoological Society of London 20(6): 275-286 fig. 31 (as Anisocentrus rubrostriatus)

Weber, M. 1907. Süsswasserfische von Neu-Guinea; ein Beitrag zur Frage nach dem früheren Zusammenhang von Neu-Guinea und Australien. Nova Guinea (Zoologie) 5(2): 201-267 1 fig. pls 11-13 (described as Melanotaenia maculata, type locality Merauke River mouth, Irian Jaya, Indonesia). See ref at BHL

Whitley, G.P. 1935. The sunfish problem. Aquatic Life 1(1): 36-37 (as Amneris rubrostriatus)