THE NOTHOBRANCHIUS SITE

ANSP 53442, holotype, male, 34 mm TL; South Africa: Natal: Mkuzi River (approx. 27°36' S, 32°18' E), H. W. Bell-Marley, 1929-1931.

ANSP 53443 (1)

​Allied to Fundulus melanospilus from the Seychelles, also Fundulus neumanni and Fundulus guentheri, from East Africa, but all with different coloration. The dorsal and anal with dark oblique bands are especially characteristic of Fundulus mkuziensis (Fowler, 1934). 

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Preserved males of N. mkuziensis are described by Fowler (1934) as follows:

"Back dull olive, belly and under-surfaces paler to whitish. Iris grey. Paired fins and caudal olivaceous, latter with some dark grey medially. Dorsal and anal grey, spotted with darker or dusly grey, forming more or less oblique bands."

Subgenus: Nothobranchius s.s.

Species group: N. rachovii group

Fundulus mkuziensis was established as a species by Fowler in 1934. Jubb (1963) synonymized it with N. orthonotus but the description and illustration in Fowler (1934) is not consistent with that opinion. Wildekamp (2004) proposed N. mkuziensis as separate species, based on morphometric, meristic and colour pattern elements.

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The species is known only from the original collection at the type locality during 1929 or 1931. The precise position of the type locality is not known but several surveys since the original discovery were unable to determine the presence of this species in the general area of the type locality or elsewhere in the drainage of the Mkuzi River. Extensive agricultural development in the area represents increasing pressure on land resources and results in habitat degradation.

South Africa: Natal: Mkuzi River (approx. 27°36' S, 32°18' E).

This species is endemic to freshwater habitats in eastern coastal South Africa. It is known only from the type locality in the drainage of the Mkuzi or Mkuze River in KwaZulu-Natal, eastern South Africa.

Zambezian Lowveld (576)

approx. 50 m

Not reported

Possibly N. orthonotus

Not known. However, embryonic development should not differ significantly to that of N. pienaari.

Maximum size reported: 34 mm TL (ANSP 53442, holotype, male)

Not known

The specific name is given in reference to its origin, from the Mkuzi River, northeastern South Africa.

Critically Endangered (Possibly Extinct) B2ab(iii) (Nagy & Watters, 2019)

    Fowler, H. W. 1934. Natal fishes obtained by Mr. Bell-Marley. Annals of the Natal Museum, 7 (3): 403–433. [taxonomy as Fundulus mkuziensis]

    Nagy, B. & B. R. Watters. 2019. Nothobranchius mkuziensis. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019: e.T131471491A131471537. [conservation]