Description of five new rheophilic Orthochromis species (Teleostei: Cichlidae) from the Upper Congo drainage in Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Abstract

Five new rheophilic haplochromine cichlid species are described from the Upper Congo drainage of Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo: Orthochromis mporokoso sp. nov. and O. katumbii sp. nov. from the Bangwelu-Mweru ecoregion, O. kimpala sp. nov. and O. gecki sp. nov. from the Upper Lualaba ecoregion, and O. indermauri sp. nov. from the Lufubu River of the Lake Tanganyika ecoregion. Orthochromis kimpala sp. nov, O. gecki sp. nov., and O. indermauri sp. nov. are distinguished from all currently valid species of the genus Orthochromis Greenwood 1954, except for O. torrenticola (Thys van den Audenaerde 1963), by the presence of eggspots or eggspot-like maculae on the anal fin (vs. no eggspots). The three species can be easily distinguished from O. torrenticola by having three anal spines (vs. four anal spines). Moreover, all five new species can be individually distinguished from all currently known rheophilic taxa placed in the genera Orthochromis, Schwetzochromis Poll 1948 and the rheophilic species of the genus Haplochromis Hilgendorf 1888 (e.g. H. bakongo Thys van den Audenaerde 1964, H. snoeksi Wamuini Lunkayilako & Vreven 2010, H. vanheusdeni Schedel et al. 2014) either based on meristic values, morphometric distances and colouration patterns, or on a combination of them.

Six new species of Cichlidogyrus Paperna, 1960 (Platyhelminthes: Monogenea) from the gills of cichlids (Teleostei: Cichliformes) from the Lomami River Basin (DRC: Middle Congo)

“…The parasites already described from T. sparrmanii, S. macrocephalus and O. katumbii are all intermediate generalists (C. consobrini and C. halli) or generalists (C. dossoui, C. papernastrema, C. quaestio, C. sclerosus and C. zambezensis) [29,43]. This may suggest that the host range of the species of Cichlidogyrus that were described in this study as strict specialists may expand with the parasitological examination of more fish species.…”

“…The only species of Cichlidogyrus described from Orthochromis spp. is C. consobrini on Orthochromis katumbii Schedel, Vreven, Manda, Abwe, Manda & Schliewen, 2018 from the Kiswishi River (DRC), where it was also found to infect the Sargochromis mellandi species complex [29,43].…”

“…Tilapia sparrmanii is known to harbour seven species, of which three are described in the present study. The discovery of new species of Cichlidogyrus is not surprising, given the high species richness of this genus and the limited amount of studies reporting gill parasites from these hosts [21,43].…”

Enteromius thespesios (Teleostei: Cyprinidae): a new minnow species with a remarkable sexual dimorphism from the south‐eastern part of the Upper Congo River

“…Although the Chambeshi River remains poorly explored (Van Steenberge et al ., ), major threats to its fish fauna such as the rapidly growing human populations and their encroachment, overfishing and deforestation of the surrounding areas are also increasing (Scott, ). Thus, it is hoped that the present description of yet another recently discovered new fish species (see also Raiamas marqueti Katemo Manda, Snoeks, Chocha Manda & Vreven 2018 [Katemo Manda et al ., ], Orthochromis kimpala Schedel, Vreven, Katemo Manda, Abwe, Chocha Manda & Schliewen 2018 [Schedel et al ., ] and Distichodus polli Abwe, Snoeks, Chocha Manda & Vreven [Abwe et al ., ]) for the UNP will further raise awareness amongst the national and international institutions concerned with nature conservation in the region.…”

Preface: advances in cichlid research III: behavior, ecology, and evolutionary biology

“…For decades, much of the research on African cichlid fishes has focused on the species-rich assemblages in the Great Lakes, and only recently the cichlid faunas of rivers and smaller lakes have received increasing attention (e.g., Stelkens & Seehausen, 2009;Hermann et al, 2011;Egger et al, 2015;Malinsky et al, 2015;Decru et al;2017;Moser et al, 2018). It emerges that the cichlid diversity and degrees of endemism in these water bodies are much higher than previously assumed (e.g., Koblmüller et al, 2012;Genner et al, 2015;Schedel et al, 2018).…”