THE NOTHOBRANCHIUS SITE

Holotype

MRAC B3-14-P-70, holotype, male, 47.6 mm SL; Tanzania: roadside ditch, artificially dammed, 49 km east of Mwanza in the direction of Nyalikungu on road B6 (02°35' S, 33°19' E); B. R. Watters, I. Sainthouse & M. Agnew, 14 May 1993, [field code: Nyalikungu TAN 93-9].

Paratypes

MRAC B3-14-P-71-72 (2)

Diagnosis

Nothobranchius serengetiensis is distinguished from all other members of the N. neumanni species group by the following combination of characters: In the male, a relatively straight dorsal profile and a marked angular transition between the head and body, which is concave in older males. The anal fin has two horizontal red bands of variable width that are, less commonly, irregular in shape. Usually, a yellow or white band, also of variable width, separates the red bands. The proximal part of the fin is light blue-gray and the margin is white to blue. The caudal fin is red, less commonly with a dark red or black margin and, occasionally, with a narrow blue, gray or yellow submargin (Wildekamp et al., 2014).

Classification

Subgenus: Zononothobranchius

Species group: N. neumanni group

Taxonomic status

Populations of this species were regarded as N. aff. neumanni in Wildekamp (2004) before morphometric and molecular analyses confirmed it to be a distinct species and it was described as Nothobranchius serengetiensis in Wildekamp et al. in 2014.

Type locality

Tanzania: roadside ditch, artificially dammed, 49 km east of Mwanza in the direction of Nyalikungu on road B6 (02°35' S, 33°19' E).

Distribution

This species is endemic to seasonal freshwater habitats in northern Tanzania. It is known from ephemeral pools and swamps in the drainages in the systems of the Grumeti and lower Mbalageti rivers, and the lower Duma, Simiyu and Mata rivers, in the south-eastern Lake Victoria basin, northern Tanzania.

Ecoregion

Lake Victoria basin (521)

Elevation

1143–1323 m

Ecology

Water parameters (Watters & Nagy, personal data) are as follows: temperature of 23–28°C; pH of 6.9–8.0; conductivity of 100–270 µS; and typically turbid (Nagy & Watters, 2019).

Syntopic congeners

N. sagittae - 10%

N. attenboroughi - 5%

N. ottoschmidti - 5%

Reproduction

This species has a semi-annual life cycle.

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

Size

Maximum size reported: 47.6 mm SL (MRAC B3-14-P-70, holotype, male)

Chromosomes

Not known

Etymology

The specific name is given in reference to the Tanzanian national park of the same name in which, and in the vicinity of which, this species occurs.

Conservation status

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

Previous assessment: Near Threatened (FishBase team RMCA & Geelhand, 2016)

References

    Wildekamp, R. H., B. R. Watters & K. M. Shidlovskiy. 2014. Review of the Nothobranchius neumanni species group with descriptions of three new species from Tanzania (Cyprinodontiformes: Nothobranchiidae). Journal of the American Killifish Association, 47 (1): 2–30. [taxonomy as Nothobranchius serengetiensis, distribution, phylogeny]

    Rosenstock, J. 2011. 30 years of collecting Nothobranchius. Nothobranchius Archives, 2: 3–24. [discovery and collecting as N. neumanni Serengeti in 1992]

    Nagy, B. & B. R. Watters. 2018. Fishes that 'fall from the sky with rain'. Pp 59–60 in: C. A. Sayer, L. Máiz-Tomé & W. R. T. Darwall. Freshwater biodiversity in the Lake Victoria Basin: Guidance for species conservation, site protection, climate resilience and sustainable livelihoods. Cambridge, UK and Gland, Switzerland: IUCN. xiv +226pp. [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, 29 (3): 239–278. [phylogeny]

    Nagy, B. & B. R. Watters. 2019. Nothobranchius serengetiensis. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: e.T88026470A131472543. [conservation]