THE NOTHOBRANCHIUS SITE

MRAC 97-83-P-18, holotype, male, 34.3 mm SL; Tanzania: Ifakara, interconnected pools in a flooded grassy area, 2 km south of the town of Ifakara on the side of the road to the ferry across the Kilombero River, (08°10' S, 36°42' E); I. F. N. Sainthouse, B. R. Watters & R. H. Wildekamp, 7 Jun 1995, [Ifakara TAN 95-4].

MRAC 97-83-P-19-21(3)

Nothobranchius kilomberoensis is distinguished from all other species of the genus by the following combination of characters: 13-17 dorsal-fin rays; 15-16 anal-fin rays; male with dark red spots on lower part of head and throat; wide white-blue to light blue margins on the dorsal and anal fins; plain red caudal fin; head, body and unpaired fins of the females spotted (Wildekamp et al. 2002).

​Subgenus: Adiniops

Species group: N. guentheri group

Nothobranchius kilomberoensis was established as a species by Wildekamp, Watters & Sainthouse in 2002, and that status has since been accepted by all authors.

Tanzania: Ifakara, interconnected pools in a flooded grassy area, 2 km south of the town of Ifakara on the side of the road to the ferry across the Kilombero River, (08°10' S, 36°42' E).

This species is endemic to seasonal freshwater habitats in coastal Tanzania. It is known from small seasonal bodies of water associated with the Kibasira swamps in the Kilombero River drainage, eastern Tanzania (Wildekamp et al. 2002, Watters 2016).

Coastal East Africa (564)

251–347 m

Water parameters based on Watters (personal data) are as follows: temperature of 24–26°C; pH of 7.0–7.9; conductivity of 20–160 µS; and typically turbid (Nagy & Watters, 2019).

N. lucius - 83%

N. geminus - 50%

N. lourensi - 50%

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: 41.3 mm SL (MRAC 97-83-P-19-21, paratypes, 3 females)

Diploid chromosome number 2n = 32, NF = 46, karyotype structure 8m+6sm+18st/a (Krysanov & Demidova, 2018).

Karyotype structure unique in the genus.

The specific name is in reference to the Kilombero River, in which floodplain this species was found. An adjective.

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

Previous assessment: Vulnerable D2 (IUCN Red List 2006)

​    Wildekamp, R. H., B. R. Watters & I. F. N. Sainthouse. 2002. Two new species of the genus Nothobranchius (Cyprinodontiformes: Aplocheilidae) from the Kilombero River basin, Tanzania. Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters, 13 (1): 1–10. [taxonomy as Nothobranchius kilomberoensis]

    Nagy, B. & B. R. Watters. 2019. Nothobranchius kilomberoensis. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019: e.T61220A47240673. [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]