THE NOTHOBRANCHIUS SITE

MRAC 2007-37-P-1, holotype, male, 27.1 mm SL; Tanzania: pool in the course of the seasonal Lisinjiri River, a tributary of the Mbwemkuru River, 91 km northwest of the town of Nachingwea, in the direction of the village of Liwale, and near Mtawatawa village, 09°54.102' S, 38°15.384' E; B. R. Watters, B. J. Cooper & R. H. Wildekamp, 6 Jun 1997, [field code: Lisinjiri River TAN 97-27].

MRAC 2007-37-P-2-3 (2)

Nothobranchius cardinalis is distinguished from the congeners, with the exception of N. rubripinnis, by the colour pattern in the male: red snout; red pectoral, anal and caudal fins; narrow black marginal band to the caudal fin. It is distinguished from N. rubripinnis by an almost solid red anal fin, solid red pectoral and ventral fins, and wide red scale margins resulting in a dominantly red body in some specimens (Watters et al. 2007).

Subgenus: Adiniops

Species group: N. guentheri group

​Following its discovery in 1985, this species was initially proposed as a population of N. rubripinnis (Seegers 1986). Subsequent studies showed it to be a distinct species that was described as Nothobranchius cardinalis by Watters, Cooper & Wildekamp in 2008, and that status has since been accepted by all authors. The year for the journal issue in which the description appeared is 2007 but that issue of the journal was printed in January 2008, thereby representing the year in which the species description became available.

Tanzania: pool in the course of the seasonal Lisinjiri River, a tributary of the Mbwemkuru River, 91 km northwest of the town of Nachingwea, in the direction of the village of Liwale, and near Mtawatawa village, (09°54.102' S, 38°15.384' E).

This species is endemic to temporary freshwater habitats in coastal Tanzania. It is known from temporary pools and swamps on the floodplain of the Mbwemkuru River and one of its tributaries, the Lisinjiri River, Tanzania.

Coastal East Africa (564)

33–369 m

Water parameters at type locality (Watters et al., 2007):

Water temperature: 25 °C

pH: 7.68

Conductivity: 380 µS

N. melanospilus - 89%

N. matanduensis - 56%

The species has an annual life cycle.

Embryonic development under captive conditions in peat moss is about three to four months at room temperature.

Maximum size reported: 27.1 mm SL (MRAC 2007-37-P-1, holotype, male)

Diploid chromosome number 2n = 36, NF = 38, karyotype structure 2m+34st/a (Krysanov & Demidova, 2018).

Karyotype structure shared with some other members of the N. guentheri species group in Adiniops subgenus.

​The specific name is given in reference to the striking, dominantly red coloration of the male. From the Latin cardinalis, meaning principal, chief or essential, from which the ecclesiastical title of cardinal was derived. The species name cardinalis, as applied here, is an allusion to the blood-red vesture worn by cardinals.

Vulnerable B1ab(iii) (Nagy & Watters, 2019)

​    Watters, B. W., B. J. Cooper & R. H. Wildekamp. 2008. Description of Nothobranchius cardinalis spec. nov. (Cyprinodontiformes: Aplocheilidae), an annual fish from the Mbwemkuru River basin, Tanzania. Journal of the American Killifish Association, 40 (5–6): 129–145. [taxonomy as Nothobranchius cardinalis]

    Nagy, B. & B. R. Watters. 2019. Nothobranchius cardinalis. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: e.T53885949A58340329. [conservation]

    Watters, B. R., B. Nagy, P. D. W. van der Merwe, F. P. D. Cotterill & D. U. Bellstedt. 2020. Redescription of the seasonal killifish species Nothobranchius ocellatus and description of a related new species Nothobranchius matanduensis, from eastern Tanzania (Teleostei: Nothobranchiidae). Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters, IEF-1149, pp. 1–28. [phylogeny]