Kapuas River
Kapuas River In the upper and middle reaches, the river flows through dense tropical forests; the rich flora and fauna are the subject of international research. Discoveries of new species are frequent, such as of the Kapuas mud snake, which was discovered in 2003รข€"2005 by the German and American herpetologists. This species is remarkable in that it can spontaneously change its skin color, similar to the chameleon. About 300 species of fish have been identified in the river, of which 234 are of high economical value. They belong to 120 genera and 40 families with the two major groups being cyprinids and catfish. More than 30% of the species originate from the sea and inhabit the delta areas. Owing to the warm climate and abundance of food, most fishes breed all through the year with only a few species like fire eel having certain reproduction periods. The number of individuals per species is relatively low. The large variety of species may be explained by the fact that some 6,0...