THE NOTHOBRANCHIUS SITE

MRAC B5-027-P-0001, holotype, male, 32.9 mm SL; Zambia: Luapula Province: Luapula drainage: seasonal pools formed in small riverbed on floodplain of small seasonal Chimbembe River, about 5 km southwest from influx of Luongo into Luapula, near Mweshi village (10°43.51' S, 28°38.22' E); B. Nagy & F. Milvertz, 6 Apr 2012, [field code: Mweshi ZM 12-19].

MRAC B5-027-P-0005-11 (7), B5-027-P-0002-4 (3)

Nothobranchius sainthousei is distinguished from the other Nothobranchius species from the drainages of the Upper Congo in northern Zambia and Katanga province of DRC (except N. rosenstocki) by having broad orange-brown posterior scale margins on the trunk (vs. red) and an anal fin with orange-brown margin (vs. light blue or yellow or red-brown or black). It is distinguished from N. rosenstocki by having dorsal and anal fins with orange-brown spots (vs. irregular orange-brown bars). Furthermore, N. sainthousei is distinguished from all members of the N. brieni species group by head length (25.1-29.3 % SL vs. 29.6-38.7) and head width (71-79 % HL vs. 52-62) (Nagy et al., 2016).

Subgenus: Zononothobranchius

Species group: N. brieni group

Nothobranchius sainthousei was established as a species by Nagy, Cotterill & Bellstedt in 2016.

Zambia: Luapula Province: Luapula drainage: seasonal pools formed in small riverbed on floodplain of small seasonal Chimbembe River, about 5 km southwest from influx of Luongointo Luapula, near Mweshi village, 10°43.51' S, 28°38.22' E.

This species is endemic to freshwater habitats in northern Zambia. It is currently known only from the type locality, within dambos (ephemeral pools) formed in the riverbed of the small Chimbembe River, Zambia.

Bangweulu–Mweru (544)

1034 m

Personal observation at type locality:

Water temperature: 23.0 °C

pH: 6.98

TDS:  15 ppm

Conductivity: 30 µS

None

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: 40.8 mm SL (MRAC B5-027-P-0002-4, paratype, male)

Karyotype structure unique in the genus (Krysanov, pers. comm.).

The specific name honours Ian Sainthouse, renowned breeder and collector of killifish, for his special longstanding dedication to researches on the genus Nothobranchius. A noun in genitive.

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

    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. [taxonomy as Nothobranchius sainthousei, distribution, ecology, phylogeny]

    Nagy, B. & B. R. Watters. 2019. Nothobranchius sainthousei. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: e.T131471838A131471849. [conservation]

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