THE NOTHOBRANCHIUS SITE

PF 994 (Grahamstone), holotype, male, 37.5 mm SL; Malawi: pool adjacent to the Likangala River, which forms a part of the Lake Chilwa endoreic drainage basin (15°40' S, 35°30' E); R. G. Kirk, 21 July 1966.

AMG P995 [incl. AMG P784] (9)

In the colour pattern of an adult breeding male Nothobranchius kirki comes nearest to the closely related N. guentheri and N. palmqvisti, but differs entirely in the colour pattern of the dorsal and anal fins. It also differs from its western relatives, N. rubroreticulatus from the Chad basin and the N. kiyawensis group (after Jubb, 1969).

Nothobranchius kirki males have light blue scales, with red-brown posterior scale margins, creating a reticulated pattern on the body; the red caudal fin has an orange-red hue on distal portion; the posterior half of caudal peduncle is red; the anal fin is red with a light blue proximal stripe.

Nothobranchius kirki was established as a species by Jubb in 1969, and that status has been accepted by all authors since. Populations that are currently identified as N. wattersi, have been previously referred to as N. kirki or N. aff. kirki (Seegers 1997, Wildekamp 2004). The species listed as N. kirki by Bills (2004) has been described as a new species, N. niassa, by Valdesalici et al. (2012).

Malawi: pool adjacent to the Likangala River, which forms a part of the Lake Chilwa endoreic drainage basin (15°40' S, 35°30' E).

This species is endemic to freshwater habitats in south-eastern Malawi and adjacent part of north-western Mozambique. It is known from temporary pools and marshes on the floodplains of rivers associated with the Lake Chilwa and Lake Chiuta basins in south-western Malawi and north-western Mozambique.

Lakes Chilwa and Chiuta

626–679 m

Water parameters (Watters, 1991):

water temperature 30–34 °C;

pH 6.9–7.9;

total dissolved solids 50–90 ppm.

None

This species has an annual life cycle.​​

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

Maximum size reported: 37.5 mm SL (PF 994, holotype, male)

Diploid chromosome number 2n = 36, NF = 50, karyotype structure 2m+12sm+22st/a (Krysanov & Demidova, 2018).

Karyotype structure unique in the genus.

The specific name is given in honour of Mr R. G. Kirk, fish biologist at the Agricultural Research Services, Ministry of Natural Resources in Malawi, the discoverer of this species.

Vulnerable B1ab(iii)+2ab(iii) (Nagy, Watters & Tweddle, 2018);

Previous assessment: Least Concern (Bills, R. & J. Engelbrecht, 2007)

    Jubb, R. A. 1969. The Nothobranchius (Pisces, Cyprinodontidae) of southern Africa and a new species from Lake Chilwa, Malawi. Annals of the Cape Provincial Museums (Natural History), 8 (1): 1–9. [taxonomy as Nothobranchius kirki]

    Nagy, B., B. R. Watters & D. Tweddle. 2018. Nothobranchius kirki. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2018: e.T135618361A47245332. [conservation]

    Watters, B. R., B. Nagy, P. D. W. van der Merwe, F. P. D. Cotterill & D. U. Bellstedt. 2019. Review of the Nothobranchius taeniopygus species group from central and western Tanzania with descriptions of five new species and redescription of Nothobranchius taeniopygus (Teleostei: Nothobranchiidae). Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters, IEF-1110, pp. 1–41. [phylogeny]