THE NOTHOBRANCHIUS SITE

AMG PF 1239, holotype, male, 44.0 mm SL; a pan known as Sazale Pan [an elephant watering hole], in the Gona-re-Zhou Game Reserve, Rhodesia [present-day Zimbabwe], (approx. 21°40' S, 31°45' E); 12 Jan 1969, W. Warne.

AMG P1240 (9)

The color pattern of a mature male, as in all species of this genus, is constant but distinct from that of any known species. The scale centers are iridescent turquise, edged with crimson; pupil bordered with gold, dark vertical line passing through; pectoral fin pale orange edged with pale blue; pelvic fin with pale blue membrane and brick-red markings; anal fin membrane pale blue heavilty mottled brick-red, the branched rays of the lower half being bright red and extending into the blue edging; caudal fin bas pale blue or pale grey memebrane with liver-colored markings between rays; the posterior portion of the caudal with a distinct pale yellow-orange band, followed by a black band; ventral portion of the gill cover jet black (after Jubb, 1971). 

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This species occurs as two phenotypes. Males of the green/yellow form have iridescent turquoise scale centers, edged with crimson; the anal fin membrane is pale blue and heavily mottled in brick-red, the branched rays of the lower half being bright red and extending into the blue edging. The audal fin has a distinct pale yellow vertically-oriented submarginal zone, followed by a black marginal band. The caudal fin of the red form has a red vertically-oriented submarginal zone and a black marginal band.

Subgenus: Nothobranchius s.s.

Species group: N. orthonotus group

Nothobranchius furzeri was established as a species by Jubb in 1971, and that status has been accorded by all authors since.

A pan known as Sazale Pan [an elephant watering hole], in the Gona-re-Zhou Game Reserve, Rhodesia [present-day Zimbabwe], (approx. 21°40' S, 31°45' E).

This species is endemic to freshwater habitats in southeastern Zimbabwe and southern Mozambique. It is known from seasonal pools and marshes in the Guluene River drainage in southeastern Zimbabwe and the lower Limpopo, Changane, Chefu, Mazimechopes, Incomati and Vaneteze river drainages in southern Mozambique.

Zambezian Lowveld (576)

31–425 m

Data from savannah pools in southern Mozambique indicates that the pools supporting killifish populations become desiccated one to four months after their filling, although water persisted in some pools for a longer period (Vrtilek et al. 2018).

Water parameters are as follows: temperature of 20.5–35.2°C; pH of 6.55–7.22; conductivity of 40–625 μS; and typically turbid (Reichard et al. 2009, B. Watters personal data in Nagy & Watters, 2019).

N. orthonotus - 40%

N. pienaari - 70%

This species has an annual life cycle.

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

Maximum size reported: 53.0 mm TL, 44 mm SL (PF 1239, holotype)

Diploid chromosome number 2n = 38 (Scheel, 1981; Scheel, 1990, Reichwald et al., 2009), NF = 60, karyotype structure 14m+8sm+16st/a (Krysanov & Demidova, 2018).

Karyotype structure unique in the genus.

The specific name is given 'in honour of Mr Richard Furzer of Rhodesia through whose efforts this beautiful fish was introduced to Nothobranchius enthusiasts' (Jubb, 1971).

Least Concern (Nagy & Watters, 2019);

Previous assessment: Least Concern (Bills, Engelbrecht & Marshall, 2007)

    Jubb, R. A. 1971. A new Nothobranchius (Pisces, Cyprinodontidae) from southeastern Rhodesia. Journal of the American Killifish Association, 8 (1): 12–19. [taxonomy as Nothobranchius furzeri]

    Nagy, B. & B. R. Watters. 2019. Nothobranchius furzeri. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: e.T63305A99447871. [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]