THE NOTHOBRANCHIUS SITE

MRAC 2018.015.P.0001, holotype, male, 25.3 mm SL; Uganda: upper Nile drainage: ephemeral swamps of the Apapi River system, about 75 km northwest of Soroti town, 02°00' N, 34°05' E; B. Nagy, K. Østergaard & G. Petneházy, 3 Jun 2017, [field code: Apapi UGN 17-9].

MRAC 2018.015.P.0003-6 (4), MRAC 2018.015.P.0002 (1), BMNH 1970.1-22: 1-3 (3), BMNH 1971.10.18.75-83 (9)

Nothobranchius taiti is distinguished from all other species of the genus by the following characters in males: body coloration light blue with seven to ten red-brown irregular vertical stripes; anal and caudal fins light blue with brown spots proximally, with brown median band, followed by a light blue subdistal band and a black distal band; dorsal fin golden with brown spots and brown irregular stripes and with narrow black distal band (after Nagy, 2019).

​Subgenus: Zononothobranchius

Species group: N. rubroreticulatus group

When populations of this species were first found east of Lake Kyoga in Uganda by Tait in 1969 and 1971, they were referred to as N. cf. 

taeniopygus, based on some affinities shown in male colouration. The locality of the population from Uganda is, however, far-removed from the known northern limits of N. taeniopygus in central Tanzania (Wildekamp 1990) but without more recent collections, the taxonomic position of the Ugandan population remained uncertain (Wildekamp, 1994, 2004). Finally, morphometric and molecular analyses confirmed it to be distinct and Nothobranchius taiti was established as a species by Nagy in 2019, based on material collected in 2017.

Uganda: upper Nile drainage: ephemeral swamps of the Apapi River system, about 75 km northwest of Soroti town (02°00' N, 34°05' E).

This species is endemic to seasonal freshwater habitats in eastern Uganda. It is known from temporary pools and swamps formed on the seasonal floodplains of Apapi River system. The Apapi River is part of the Lake Kyoga basin in the upper Nile drainage in eastern Uganda.

Lake Victoria basin (521)

1063 m

Water parameters at the type locality are as follows: temperature of 30°C; pH of 7.3; conductivity of 104 μS; and turbid (Nagy, 2019) .

N. ugandensis

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: 35.3 mm SL (MRAC 2018.015.P.0002, paratype, male).

Not known

The specific name is given in honour of Colin C. Tait, a South African of Scottish parentage, for discovering the population in the Apapi drainage northeast of Soroti. Tait was a fish ranger in Africa who, according to Trewavas (1983), presented expert local knowledge in the field. According to Thomson (2018), he was marvellous company to have in the long dark nights in the bush, with his love of jokes, and his fund of songs and stories. Tait (1965) published his field observations about Nothobranchius habitats in Zambia, as well as notes on behaviour of Nothobranchius fishes when kept in captivity (Nagy, 2019).

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

Previous assessment: Vulnerable D2 (Twongo & Hanssens, 2004) [as N. aff. taeniopygus]

    Nagy, B. 2017. Searching for a mystery Nothobranchius in Uganda.  Journal of the American Killifish Association, 50 (6): 162–174. [collecting as Nothobranchius sp. Apapi]

    Nagy, B. & B. R. Watters. 2018. Distribution and habitat conditions of Nothobranchius fishes in Uganda. Journal of the American Killifish Association, 51 (5–6): 176–192. [distribution, ecology as Nothobranchius sp. Apapi]

    Nagy, B. 2019. Nothobranchius taiti, a new species of annual killifish from the upper Nile drainage in Uganda (Teleostei: Nothobranchiidae). Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters, 29 (1): 19–31. [taxonomy as Nothobranchius taiti]

    Nagy, B. & B. R. Watters. 2019. Nothobranchius taiti. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: e.T147371744A147371764. [conservation]