THE NOTHOBRANCHIUS SITE

MRAC B3-022-P-0194, holotype, male, 29.7 mm SL; DR Congo: Katanga Province: Luapula drainage: ephemeral swamp of the Kinikabwimba river, about 1 km south of Kasomeno village, 10°46.03' S, 28°17.00' E; B. Nagy, E. Abwe & A. Chocha Manda, 9 Apr 2013, [field code: Kasomeno CD 13-11]. 

MRAC B3-022-P-0195-200 (7), MRAC B4-008-P-0003-11 (12), MRAC B4-008-P-0001-2 (2)

Nothobranchius chochamandai is distinguished from all other species of the N. brieni species group by the unique combination of the following characters in males: caudal and anal fins with narrow light blue distal margin and without a submarginal band; dorsal fin without a light blue distal margin; postorbital length 56–60 % HL; snout length 16–19 % HL; head width 65–69 % of its depth; and caudal peduncle length 135–142 % of its depth (Nagy, 2014).

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The male has light blue scales, with red-brown margins, on the trunk and head, creating a reticulated pattern forming irregular crossbars; the caudal and anal fins have narrow light blue distal margins. The female is grey-brown with a dark grey reticulation on the dorsal and posteroventral parts of the flanks.

Subgenus: Zononothobranchius

Species group: N. brieni group

Nothobranchius chochamandai was established as a species by Nagy in 2014, and that status has been accorded by all authors since.

DR Congo: Katanga Province: Luapula drainage: ephemeral swamp of the Kinikabwimba river, about 1 km south of Kasomeno village (10°46.03' S, 28°17.00' E).

This species is endemic to freshwater habitats in south-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is known only from the area of the type locality, ephemeral marshes of the Kinikabwimba River, a tributary of Lufutishi River in the middle Luapula River drainage in south-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Bangweulu–Mweru (544)

1070–1073 m

Personal observation at collecting sites:

Water temperature: 24.6–25.3 °C

pH: 7.30–7.65

TDS: 20–33 ppm

Conductivity: 40–66 µS

None

The species has an annual life cycle.

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

Maximum size reported: 35.2 mm SL (MRAC B4-008-P-0001, paratype, male)

Diploid chromosome number 2n = 36, NF = 64, karyotype structure 18m+10sm+8st/a (Krysanov & Demidova, 2018).

Karyotype structure unique in the genus.

The specific name is given in honour of Professor Auguste Chocha Manda (Université de Lubumbashi), for his special dedication to research of the ichthyofauna of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Vulnerable D2 (Nagy & Watters, 2019)

    Nagy, B. 2014. A la redécouverte du légendaire Nothobranchius brieni. Association Killiphile Francophone de Belgique, Killi-Contact, 42 (1): 2–15. [collecting as N. spec. Kasameno, incorrect spelling for Kasomeno]

    Nagy, B. 2014. Über die Wiederentdeckung des legendären Nothobranchius brieni. Deutsche Killifisch Gemeinschaft Journal, 46 (3) 57–66. [collecting as N. spec. Kasomeno]

    Nagy, B. 2014. Nothobranchius chochamandai, a new species of annual killifish from the Luapula drainage, Democratic Republic of Congo (Cyprinodontiformes: Nothobranchiidae). Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters, 25 (2): 167–183. [taxonomy as Nothobranchius chochamandai; systematics in N. brieni species-group]

    Nagy, B. 2014. Nothobranchius flagrans, a new species of annual killifish from the Lufira drainage, Democratic Republic of Congo (Cyprinodontiformes: Nothobranchiidae). Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters, 25 (3): 259–276.

    Nagy, B., F. P. D. Cotterill & D. U. Bellstedt. 2016. Nothobranchius sainthousei, a new species of annual killifish from the Luapula River drainage in northern Zambia (Teleostei: Cyprinodontiformes). Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters, 27 (3): 233–254. [phylogeny]

    Nagy, B. 2017. Collecting Killies in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Tropical Fish Hobbyist, #724, May/June 2017, 65 (5): 46–52. [collecting]

​    Nagy, B., B. R. Watters, P. D. W. van der Merwe, F. P. D. Cotterill & D. U. Bellstedt. 2017. Nothobranchius cooperi (Teleostei: Cyprinodontiformes) a new species of annual killifish from the Luapula River drainage, northern Zambia. African Journal of Aquatic Science, 42 (3): 201–218. [phylogeny]

    Nagy, B. & B. R. Watters. 2019. Nothobranchius chochamandai. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: e.T131470569A131470573. [conservation]

    Nagy, B. 2020. Lands of the unknown Nothobranchius. Practical Fishkeeping, 2020 (12): 24–31. [collecting]