THE NOTHOBRANCHIUS SITE

ZMB 32.781, holotype, male, 33.1 mm SL; Tanzania: coast region: lower Rufiji drainage: about 2 km south of Ndundu ferry across the Rufiji on road from Nyamwage to Kibiti; collected by L. Seegers, 22 Jul 1997 [field code: TZ 97-57].

ZMB 32782 (3), ZMB 32783 (6)

Nothobranchius fuscotaeniatus differs from all other species of the genus by the males being of an intense blue-green ground colour with no red neither on the body nor in the fins and in which the females have a similar (although somewhat subdued) colour pattern than in males (Seegers, 1997).

Males have a blue-green body and distinct red-brown crossbars on the entire trunk that extend into the dorsal and anal fins, which have prominent black marginal bands; the dorsal and anal fins are trapezoidal; the caudal fin has alternating curved bands of dark red-brown and light green to yellow-green with a broad black distal margin.

Females have a unique pattern of light blue and red-brown crossbars on the body and a light blue iridescence on the dorsal and anal fins.

Subgenus: Aphyobranchius

Species group: N. lourensi group

Nothobranchius fuscotaeniatus was established as a species by Seegers in 1997, and that status has been accorded by all authors since.

Tanzania: coast region: lower Rufiji drainage: about 2 km south of Ndundu ferry across the Rufiji on road from Nyamwage to Kibiti.

This species is endemic to freshwater habitats in coastal Tanzania. It is known only from the type locality, a seasonal pool in the Rufiji River drainage, eastern Tanzania.

Coastal East Africa (564)

20 m

Water parameters at collecting site during the initial discovery on May 31, 1997 (Watters, 2014):

Water temperature:  25 °C

pH: 6.50

TDS: 80 ppm

Conductivity: 160 μS

N. janpapi

N. lourensi

N. melanospilus

This species has a semi-annual life cycle.

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

Maximum size reported: 33.1 mm SL (ZMB 32.781, holotype, male)

Diploid chromosome number 2n = 38, NF = 40, karyotype structure 2sm+36st/a (Krysanov & Demidova, 2018).

Karyotype structure shared with some other species of the subgenus Aphyobranchius. 

The specific name is formed from fuscus (Latin for dark) and taenium (Latin for stripe), and 'refers to the dark bars across the body of especially the males but the females as well'.

Critically Endangered B2ab(iii) (Nagy & Watters, 2019);

Previous assessment: Data deficient (Hanssens & Snoeks, 2006)

    Seegers, L. 1997. Description of Nothobranchius fuscotaeniatus new species. P 12 in: Killifishes of the World: Old World Killis II. A. C. S. Verlag, Mörfelden-Walldorf, Germany. [taxonomy as Nothobranchius fuscotaeniatus]

    Watters, B. R. 2016. Nothobranchius fuscotaeniatus Seegers, 1997: Species Profile. Journal of the American Killifish Association, 49 (1): 28–32.

    Nagy, B. & B. R. Watters. 2019. Nothobranchius fuscotaeniatus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: e.T61286A47243647. [conservation]

    Nagy, B. & B. R. Watters, 2021. A review of the conservation status of seasonal Nothobranchius fishes (Teleostei: Cyprinodontiformes), a genus with a high level of threat, inhabiting ephemeral wetland habitats in Africa. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, 1–18. [conservation]