![]() As the name suggests, this fish has the ability to launch itself completely out of the water. However, the Main Ridge individuals are decidedly larger, as with fewer fish predators around they live longer. Ordinarily, this species reaches around 10cm from head to tail. Without a doubt, the king of the Main Ridge rivers is the Jumping Guabine, Aneblepsoides hartii. Typical aquatic habitat in the upper reaches of the Main Ridge Reserve. Only the most intrepid make it through to dominate the uplands. Most fish will never manage to traverse these barriers, forever restricted to the lowland rivers. Often these are tens of metres high, much like those at Argyll. In North East Tobago, fish in the lower reaches moving upstream soon reach one of many waterfall barriers at the edge of the Ridge. While we humans can easily drive along the Roxborough – Parlatuvier road to access the reserve, fish must initially colonise inland from the sea. Thirteen species of freshwater fish have been recorded in Tobago, but only a handful of these have successfully conquered the Main Ridge. This time, we dip our nets into the cool, glistening streams that run through the reserve and see what we might catch! This feature was first published in the Tobago Newsday on March 16, 2017. In this week’s column Amy Deacon, Lecturer in the Department of Life Sciences at The University of the West Indies, St Augustine and Secretary of the Trinidad and Tobago Field Naturalists’ Club, returns to the Main Ridge.
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