THE NOTHOBRANCHIUS SITE

MRAC A4-039-P-0078, holotype, male, 31.2 mm SL; Mozambique: 12 km S of Nicuadala in direction of Quelimane, Licungo River system, (17°39.5' S, 36°51.5' E), B. Watters, B. Cooper, R. Wildekamp, J. Jordaan, J. Bornman & J. Ippel, 6 Apr 2004, [field code: Nicuadala MOZ 04-10].

MRAC 04-039-P-0079-0080 (2), 04-039-P-0073-0077 (5)

Nothobranchius krysanovi is distinguished from other species of the genus by the following combination of characters: males with bright colouration consisting of alternating light blue and orange-red oblique bars on body, and dorsal and anal fins, and an orange-brown caudal fin with an orange subterminal band and a black terminal band. The female has faint brown oblique bars on the posterior part of flanks (Shidlovskiy et al., 2010).

Subgenus: Nothobranchius s.s.

Species group: N. rachovii group

Nothobranchius krysanovi was established as a species by Shidlovskiy, Watters & Wildekamp in 2010, and that status has since been accepted by all authors. When first observed in 1973, populations of this species were regarded as belonging to N. rachovii until Shidlovskiy et al. (2010) published the redescription of this latter species, restricting its distribution to the lower Pungwe, lower Zambezi and lower Shire rivers, and separating the populations from the Kwa-Kwa (Cuacua) and Licuare river systems into a new species as N. krysanovi.

Mozambique: 12 km S of Nicuadala in direction of Quelimane, Licungo River system, (17°39.5' S, 36°51.5' E).

This species is endemic to seasonal freshwater habitats in east-central Mozambique. It is known from temporary pools and marshes on floodplains in coastal lowlands from the drainage of Kwa-Kwa (Cuacua) and Licuare rivers and tributaries, north of the lower Zambezi River in east-central Mozambique.

Coastal East Africa (564)

1–87 m

Water parameters based on Watters (personal data) are as follows: temperature of 29–32°C; pH of 6.9–7.3; conductivity of 100–1480 µS; and typically turbid. Grass vegetation is usually found near the habitat margins. (Nagy & Watters, 2019).

N. orthonotus - 87%

This species has an annual life cycle.​​

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

Maximum size reported: 31.2 mm SL (MRAC A4-039-P-0078, holotype, male)

Diploid chromosome number 2n = 18 (Shidlovskiy et al., 2010; Safranova & Krysanov, 2015), NF = 34, karyotype structure 8m+8sm+2st/a (Krysanov & Demidova, 2018).

Diploid chromosome number and karyotype structure unique in the genus.

The specific name is given "in honour of Prof. Eugeny Y. Krysanov, a scientist at the Russian Academy of Science, who carried out cytological studies on Nothobranchius species, as well as the effects of radiation on their chromosomes in the Chernobyl area" (Shidlovskiy et al., 2010).

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

​    Shidlovskiy, K. M., B. R. Watters & R. H. Wildekamp. 2010. Notes on the annual killifish species Nothobranchius rachovii (Cyprinodontiformes; Nothobranchiidae) with the description of two new species. Zootaxa, 2724: 37–57. [taxonomy as Nothobranchius krysanovi, distribution, phylogeny]

    Nagy, B. & B. R. Watters. 2019. Nothobranchius krysanovi. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019: e.T53904009A58340359. [conservation]