THE NOTHOBRANCHIUS SITE

BMNH 1962-7-9; 4, holotype, male, 44.5 mm SL; Kenya: pool along the road to Garsen, 17 miles north of Malindi on the Kenyan coastal lowlands; collected by J. H. E. Leaky, Jul 1962.

BMNH 1962.7.9.5-14 (10), 1965.8.14.1 (1)

Nothobranchius jubbi is a polychromatic species, with blue-caudal and red-caudal forms, as well as intermediate forms. Males have a light blue body colouration, with broad red-brown scale borders. The red-caudal phenotype has a plain red caudal fin, with a slender dark grey subdistal band and a narrow light blue distal band. The blue-caudal phenotype has a brown-grey caudal fin with yellow dots and, in some specimens, yellow irregular stripes, and usually also with a narrow light blue distal band. Males of the intermediate forms have a red blotch on a brown-grey caudal fin.

Females have grey crossbars on the posteroventral area and also, in some cases, on the dorsal part of body.

Subgenus: Adiniops

Species group: N. melanospilus group

Nothobranchius jubbi jubbi was established as a subspecies by Wildekamp & Berkenkamp in 1979. Seegers (1981) regarded Nothobranchius jubbi as valid species and that status has since been accepted by all authors.

The blue-caudal phenotype was described as Nothobranchius cyaneus by Seegers (1981). After cytological study of 5 populations carried out by Scheel (1981), as well as comparative morphological study of 20 populations made by Wildekamp, including the red-caudal, blue-caudal and intermediate phenotypes from Kenya and Somalia, Wildekamp (1986) regarded N. cyaneus as junior synonym of N. jubbi, and that status has since been accepted by all authors.

Nothobranchius cyaneus Seegers, 1981

Type locality: 4 km N of Gongoni, eastern Kenya (approx. 03°02' S 40°08' E)

"Tümpel an der Straße nach Garsen, 17 Meilen nördlich von Malindi, im Küstentiefland Kenias."

[Pool along the road to Garsen, 17 miles north of Malindi, in the coastal lowlands of Kenya (03°02' S, 40°30' E).]

This species is endemic to seasonal freshwater habitats in eastern and coastal Kenya, and in southern and south-eastern coastal Somalia. It is known from temporary pools, marshes and ditches in the drainages of the Ewaso Ng’iro in eastern Kenya, the lower Tana and Sabaki rivers in coastal Kenya, and in the lower and middle Uebi Scebeli, the lower and middle Juba, and the lower Descech Uama river systems in southern Somalia. The blue caudal phenotype of N. jubbi can be found over the entire area of distribution, whereas the red caudal phenotype is found only in the southern part of the range, in Kenya. Intermediate color forms may be present in populations in the southern and central parts of the distribution range.

Shebelle–Juba (531)

Tana, Athi, and Coastal drainages (567)

4–205 m

Personal observation at collecting sites (21 locations):

Water temperature: 25.2–36.1 °C (average: 28.6)

pH: 6.63–8.52 (average: 7.60)

TDS:  113–352 ppm (average: 195)

Conductivity: 226–716 µS (average: 391)

N. patrizii - 18%

N. microlepis - 16%

N. bojiensis - 2%

N. willerti - 1%

This species has a semi-annual life cycle.

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

Maximum size reported: 67.9 mm SL (in Wildekamp, 1986; Halima Adai, Somalia, collector R. Haas) 

Diploid chromosome number 2n = 34 (Scheel, 1981; Wildekamp, 1982 [as N. jubbi and N. spec. Warfa Blue]; Wildekamp, 1986; Scheel, 1990 [as N. jubbi cyaneus]); NF = 46, karyotype structure 4m+8sm+22st/a (Krysanov & Demidova, 2018).

Karyotype structure unique in the genus.

The specific name is given in honor of Dr Reginald Arthur Jubb, South African ichthyologist at the Albany Museum, Grahamstown, for his special dedication to and pioneering taxonomic work on the genus Nothobranchius.

Least Concern (Nagy & Watters, 2019);

Previous assessments: Least Concern (Getahun & Hanssens, 2010);

Least Concern (2006)

​    Wildekamp, R. H. & H. O. Berkenkamp. 1979. Untersuchungen zur Identität von Nothobranchius neumanni (Hilgendorf, 1905) aus Tansania, mit der Beschreibung einer neue Art und einer Unterart aus dem Küstentiefland Kenias. Deutsche Killifisch Gemeinschaft Journal 11 (5): 65–75. [taxonomy as Nothobranchius jubbi jubbi]

    Seegers, L. 1981. Nothobranchius cyaneus spec. nov., ein neuer Prachtgrundkärpfling aus Kenia. Die Aquarien und Terrarien Zeitschrift, 34 (11): 365–368. [systematics as Nothobranchius jubbi valid sp; taxonomy as Nothobranchius cyaneus]

    Wildekamp, R. H. 1986. Notes sur le poisson annuel Nothobranchius jubbi Wildekamp & Berkenkamp, 1979 (Cyprinodontiformes; Nothobranchiinae) du nord-est du Kenya et de Somalie du Sud. Revue Francaise d'Aquariologie Herpetologie, 134: 99–106 [systematics N. cyaneus as junior synonym]

    Nagy, B. 2007. Collecting Nothobranchius - My special Souvenir from Kenya 2007. Journal of the American Killifish Association, 40 (4): 97–113. [collecting]

    Nagy, B. 2009. Distribution of Nothobranchius species in the coastal part of Kenya. Journal of the American Killifish Association, 42 (5): 194–214. [collecting, distribution]

    Nagy, B. & K. Shidlovsky. 2012. Phylogenetic relationships and biogeography of the Nothobranchius species of coastal Kenya. Journal of the American Killifish Association, 45 (2): 34–51. [phylogeny, distribution]

    Nagy, B. & B. R. Watters. 2019. Nothobranchius jubbi. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: e.T60439A47189266. [conservation]