THE NOTHOBRANCHIUS SITE

MRAC 73-24-P-952, holotype, male, 40 mm TL, 30.0 mm SL; DR Congo: Katanga province: lower Luapula drainage: 1.5 km east of Kabiasha, (10°16' S, 28°08' E), collected by F. Malaisse, University of Lubumbashi, 9 Apr 1969.

MRAC 73-24-P-914-919 (6), 73-24-P-947-951 (5), 73-24-P-953 (1)

Nothobranchius malaissei can be easily distinguished by colour pattern from all other known species, with the exception of N. brieni, with which a certain resemblance exists. It can be distinguished from N. brieni by the pattern of the caudal fin and zoogeographical reasons (after Wildekamp, 1978).

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Nothobranchius malaissei males are characterized by a light blue body coloration and red-brown scale margins, that create a reticulation and irregular crossbars on the body; the dorsal fin is light blue and completely spotted with red-brown spots; the anal fin is light blue with red-brown spots proximally, an orange to light blue subdistal band and a red-brown distal band; the caudal fin is also completely spotted with a light blue distal margin.

Subgenus: Zononothobranchius

Species group: N. brieni group

Nothobranchius malaissei was established as a species by Wildekamp in 1978, and that status has been accorded by all authors since.

DR Congo: Katanga province: lower Luapula drainage: 1.5 km east of Kabiasha, (10°16' S, 28°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 marshes in the drainages of the Luizi and Lutshipuka rivers of the lower Luapula plain, in south-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

Bangweulu–Mweru (544)

1019–1039 m

Personal observation at collecting site:

Water temperature: 23.9 °C

pH: 6.20

TDS: 35 ppm

Conductivity: 70 µS

None

This species has an annual life cycle

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

Maximum size reported: 43.2 mm SL (MRAC)

Diploid chromosome number 2n = 48, NF = 62, karyotype structure 4m+10sm+34st/a (Krysanov & Demidova, 2018).

Karyotype structure unique in the genus.

The specific name is given in honor of Prof. François Malaisse, Belgian ecologist from University of Lubumbashi in Democratic Republic of Congo, who collected the types.

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

Previous assessment: Data Deficient (IUCN Red List 2009)

​    Wildekamp, R. H. 1978. Redescription of Nothobranchius brieni Poll, 1938 and the description of three new Nothobranchius species (Pisces, Cyprinodontidae) from the province of Shaba, Zaire. Revue de Zoologie Africaine, 92 (2): 341–354. [taxonomy as Nothobranchius malaissei]

    Nagy, B. 2014. Nothobranchius milvertzi, a new species of killifish from the Lushiba Marsh in the Lake Mweru drainage, Zambia (Teleostei: Cyprinodontiformes: Nothobranchiidae). Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters, 24 (4): 347–360. [morphology]

    Nagy, B. 2014. Nothobranchius chochamandai, a new species of annual killifish from the Luapula drainage, Democratic Republic of Congo (Cyprinodontiformes: Nothobranchiidae). Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters, 25 (2): 167–183. [morphology, systematics in N. brieni species group]

    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. 2017. Collecting Killies in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Tropical Fish Hobbyist, #724, May/June 2017, 65 (5): 46–52. [collecting]

    Nagy, B. & B. R. Watters. 2019. Nothobranchius malaissei. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019: e.T181908A58327962. [conservation]