showed up as bycatch with P. pellucidus (written comm.,
F. Wang). I don’t know the exact location. This species
has a slimmer body than P. pellucidus and lacks the
typical longitudinal stripes. Both the abdomen and the
lower caudal peduncle have black lines. In the male, the
first ray of the first dorsal fin is extended and bright red,
as is the second dorsal fin. The rear part of each scale
has a black edge, giving the impression of black vertical
striping. Unfortunately, the species I currently call Pseu-
domugil sp. “Red Fin” has showed up only once and could
not be bred. Despite an exhaustive search of this vast
area, I could not find this species.
However, in 2015 we were finally able to collect
enough specimens with a proven location to scientifi-
cally describe another species. Known as Pseudomugil sp.
“Red Neon” in the hobby (sometimes erroneously called
Pseudomugil paskai “Red Neon,” a species that lives much
further east in the Fly River), this small beauty was de-
scribed by Allen et al. (2016) as Pseudomugil luminatus.Blackwater swamps
I went on my first trip to Timika in June 2011 with my
friends Jeffrey Christian and Mikael Hakånson. We
worked around Timika for almost two weeks, exploring
all of the biotopes and catching many fishes, which we
identified relatively quickly using Gerry Allen’s book
Freshwater Fishes of the Timika Region, New Guinea
(2000). Since the habitats in the Ajkwa mentioned by
Allen were not accessible to us—several times we were
politely invited to leave the area by armed security
guards—we were unable to catch the blue-eye depicted in
Allen’s book on p. 84 as Pseudomugil paskai. We suspect-
ed this fish lives in blackwater streams and marshes, but
we could not find any such biotopes in the areas we were
allowed to visit.
However, we had on-site support from Eko, one
of Christian’s suppliers, who had been collecting local
crayfishes of the genus Cherax for Christian. We gave Eko
the book, our nets, and many pieces of advice so that he
could supply Christian with the fishes from the region.
He did this for a few weeks—and then started de-
livering the fish to Christian’s competition as well. In
September 2011 the first bright orange animals suddenly
appeared in Asia under the name Pseudomugil paskai “Red
Neon.” Christian and I quickly realized that these were
the fish we had asked Eko to catch for us. Needless to say,
our relationship with Eko soured and we had no contact
with him for a while. In 2013, I was back in Timika with
Neil Woodward; Christian was sick and couldn’t go. On
this trip we failed to find the biotopes of the “Red Neon.”
To make matters worse, on our way home all the fishes
we had collected were confiscated at the airport by uni-
formed personnel, even though they had been inspected
and approved by veterinarians and the authorities. The
reason given was that I was not allowed to fish here
without official supervision. They even threatened to im-prison me. Eventually, after a series of frantic phone calls
and a small “donation,” we were allowed to leave Timika.
In January 2015, I was back with Christian and
Andreas Wagnitz. Eko came along as well and offered to
show us the habitats of “Red Neon.” These blue-eyes are
difficult to catch but very easy to breed, so Eko could no
longer get a good price for them and had stopped export-
ing them. To my surprise, it didn’t take long to get from
Timika to the habitat. As soon as we arrived at the Sungai
Iwaka, Eko parked the car and led us through the bushes
and then through a Pandanus “screw pine” swamp to
the little stream where the blue-eyes lived. I am sure that
none of us will ever forget this arduous trek. For about 45
minutes we trudged through knee-deep mud and climbedAMAZONAS
Above: A typical clearwater habitat in the Mimika Regency. Large
groups of Melanotaenia goldiei swim through the water as it flows
over the rounded rocks and sandy bottom. Various gobies live
among the stones.Below: A typical edge zone. Just below the water’s surface, small
squads of blue-eyes patrol the bank and feed on small insects that
fall into the water.H.-G. EVERS