PFK Fishnews: Three new killifish described

[AquaticQuotient.com]

Three new killifish described

German killifish expert Rainer Sonnenberg has described three new species of nothobranchiid killifish from the coastal plains of Cameroon. The descriptions of the three new species, named Chromaphysemion koungueense, C. omega and C. melinoeides, are published in a recent issue of the journal Zootaxa.


Chromaphyosemion koungueense

This species, named for the type locality (Konugué), is known from the area north of Kribi up to the Douala River at Wouri.

Chromaphyosemion koungueense is distinguished from other members of the genus by “...the bluish-green color on side of males and copper-brown metallic scales on dorsal part of sides; with bluish-green to yellow-greenish unpaired fins, on dorsal and caudal fins with red dots or streaks in basal and streaks in distal parts, almost no red patterns on pelvic and anal fins except for small red stripes on fin rays in anal fin in some specimens...”.

The type locality is a small forested river about 3 m wide and 0.4 m deep, with a substrate of mud over sand and covered by decomposing leaves.

The water temperature was 26°C pH 4.9 and conductivity ~10 µS/cm.


Chromaphysemion omega

This species is known from several points along the road between Kopongo/Somakek and Bonepoupa. It is named after the Greek omega, an allusion to the end and a reference to the phylogenetic position of this species reltive to C. alpha (‘the beginning’).

Chromaphyosemion omega is distinguished from all other members of the genus in having “...completely orange anal and pelvic fins without red pattern, a red submarginal and a blue marginal band, in some specimens a small greenish basal part with a row of basal dark red dots in anal fin...”.

The type locality is a small forested river about 3 m wide and 0.2 m deep, with a substrate of sand and gravel. The water temperature was 27°C, pH 6 and conductivity ~10 µS/cm.


Chromaphyosemion melinoeides

This species is known from several points along the road from Kribi to Ebolowa and the road from Akom II to Bipindi. It is named after the Greek melinoeides, meaning orange-coloured, in reference to the conspicuous orange colour on the throat, belly and fins.

According to the author: “Chromaphyosemion melinoeides differs from all other species, except C. lugens and C. bivittatum, by male and female color pattern.

It is distinguished from its closest relative, C. lugens, by the orange color on throat and belly, orange on basal half of anal and dorsal fins and orange fin streamer on dorsal fin in males and orange in ventral part of caudal fin in females; the anterior or complete dorsal fin orange, orange hue on flanks of females versus a pale grey to dark color on throat, mostly bluish to greenish on middle part of anal and basal part of dorsal fins, with whitish or yellow fin streamer and yellowish-green to greenish dorsal fin and pale brown to whitish flanks and absence of orange in caudal fin in females; it is distinguished from the very similar C. bivittatum by dots and streaks on caudal fin versus only red dots on caudal fin and the absence of red dot or vertical bar on posterior end of caudal peduncle, which is an apomorphy for C. bivittatum”.

The type locality is a small, forested creek about 1.5 m wide and 0.5 m deep, with a substrate of sand and gravel covered by leaves and submerged wood. The water temperature was 26°C, pH 6.5 and conductivity between 10–20 µS/cm.

A brief review of the C. splendopleure species complex using both morphological (colour pattern) and molecular (cytochrome b, large subunit of nuclear rDNA) is also provided.

For more information, see the paper: Sonnenber, R (2007) Description of three new species of the genus Chromaphysemion Radda, 1971 (Cyprinodontiformes: Nothobranchiidae) from the coastal plains of Cameroon with a preliminary review of the Chromaphyosemion splendopleure complex. Zootaxa 1591, pp. 1–38.


Full article by Ng Heok Hee here...

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