THE NOTHOBRANCHIUS SITE

MRAC B2-027-P-0001, holotype, male, 36.9 mm SL; (preserved after 3 months in captivity), Zambia: Luapula Province: ephemeral pool north of Lake Mweru, about 9 km northwest of Chienge village; (8°35.85' S, 29°06.55' E); B. Nagy & F. C. Milvertz, 7 Apr 2012, [field code: Chienge ZM 12-20].

MRAC B2-027-P-2002 (1), B2-027-P-0003-16 (14)

Nothobranchius milvertzi is distinguished from all other species of the N. brieni species group by the unique combination of the following characters in males: caudal fin red with an orange semicircular submarginal band and a wide dark red-brown distal margin in males, head length 29–32 % SL, interorbital width 39–46 % HL, and snout length 18–20 % HL (after Nagy, 2014).

Subgenus: Zononothobranchius

Species group: N. brieni group

Nothobranchius milvertzi was established as a species by Nagy in 2014, and that status has been accorded by all authors since.

Zambia: Luapula province: ephemeral pools north of Lake Mweru, about 9 km northwest of Chienge village; (08°35.85' S, 29°06.55' E).

This species is endemic to seasonal freshwater habitats in northern Zambia. It is known from dembos, ephemeral pools, formed on the floodplain and in the seasonal riverbeds of the Lushiba Marsh in the Lake Mweru basin, Luapula Province, northern Zambia.

Bangweulu–Mweru (544)

928–930 m

Personal observation at collecting sites:

Water temperature: 26.7–28.5 °C

pH: 6.80–6.88

TDS: 28–180 ppm

Conductivity: 56–360 µS

None

This species has an annual life cycle.

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

Maximum size reported: 36.9 mm SL (MRAC B2-027-P-0001, holotype, male)

Diploid chromosome number 2n = 38, NF = 54, karyotype structure 10m+6sm+22st/a (Krysanov & Demidova, 2018).

Karyotype structure unique in the genus.

The specific name is given in honour of Finn Christian Milvertz (Solrød Strand, Denmark), renowned breeder and collector of killifish. 

Endangered B1ab(iii)+2ab(iii) (Nagy & Watters, 2019)

​    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. [taxonomy as Nothobranchius milvertzi; systematics in N. taeniopygus species group]

    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. [systematics in N. brieni species group]

    Nagy, B. 2014. Nothobranchius flagrans, a new species of annual killifish from the Lufira drainage, Democratic Republic of Congo (Cyprinodontiformes: Nothobranchiidae). Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters, 25 (3): 259–276.

    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. & B. R. Watters. 2019. Nothobranchius milvertzi. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: e.T131470925A131470929. [conservation]

    Nagy, B. 2020. Lands of the unknown Nothobranchius. Practical Fishkeeping, 2020 (12): 24–31. [collecting]