THE NOTHOBRANCHIUS SITE

MSNG 51837, holotype, male, 41.1 mm SL; DR Congo: Katanga province: lower Lufira drainage: Lufwa system: Kanvungwe, 09°28.66' S, 27°17.08' E; Game warden staff of 'Parc National de l'Upemba', 17 Jun 2002.

MRAC A3-28-P-1 (1), A3-28-P-2 to P-3 (2), A3-28-P-4 (1); MSNG 51838-40 (3), 51841-42 (2), 51843-44 (2)

Nothobranchius hassoni is distinguished from all other species of the genus by the following combination of unique characters: absence of ctenii on the rays of the dorsal and anal fins and no ctenii on the body scales, male coloration consisting of an alternating pattern in anal- and caudal-fins comprising of traverse bands in a combination of more than two colors (Valdesalici & Wildekamp, 2004)

Subgenus: Zononothobranchius

Species group: N. brieni group

Nothobranchius hassoni was established as a species by Valdesalici & Wildekamp in 2004, and that status has since been accorded by all authors.

DR Congo: Katanga province: lower Lufira drainage: Lufwa system: Kanvungwe, 09°28.66' S, 27°17.08' E.

This species is endemic to seasonal freshwater habitats in south-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is known from temporary pools and swamps in the middle Lufira drainage, Katanga province, Democratic Republic of Congo.

Upper Lualaba (545)

883–1031 m

Personal observation at collecting site:

Water temperature: 27.5 °C

pH: 7.07

TDS:  130 ppm

Conductivity: 260 µS

None

This 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: 43.7 mm SL (MRAC B0-013-P-0001–14, 5 males)

Diploid chromosome number 2n = 36, NF = 52, karyotype structure 8m+8sm+20st/a (Krysanov & Demidova, 2018). 

Karyotype structure unique in the genus.

The specific name is given in honor of Belgian conservationist Michel Hasson, for his assistance to obtain the type specimens, additional information, and for his support to help the National Park of Upemba.

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

Previous assessment: Data Deficient (Moelants, T. 2010)

    Valdesalici, S. & R. H. Wildekamp. 2004. A new species of the genus Nothobranchius Peters, 1868 from the Lufwa river basin, Katanga province, Democratic Republic of Congo (Pisces, Cyprinodontiformes, Aplocheilidae). Annali del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale Giacomo Doria, 96: 241–251. [taxonomy as Nothobranchius hassoni]

    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. [systematics, morphology]

    Nagy, B. 2015. More on the search for Nothobranchius brieni. Journal of the American Killifish Association, 48 (1-2): 1–24. [collecting]

    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. & B. R. Watters. 2019. Nothobranchius hassoni. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: e.T182054A58328677. [conservation]