Redescription of Nothobranchius lucius and description of a new
species from Mafia Island, eastern Tanzania (Cyprinodontiformes,
Aplocheilidae). Zoosystematics and Evolution, 93 (1): 35–44.
Abstract
Examination of specimens listed in the original description of
Nothobranchius lucius revealed that they belong to two species.
Nothobranchius lucius is redescribed based on the type series and
other specimens collected in the type locality area, the Kibasira Swamp
area, Rufiji River basin, Tanzania, at elevations between 250 and 300 m.
Nothobranchius insularis sp. n. is described on the basis of specimens
collected in the north part of Mafia Island, Tanzania, at about 10–15 m
elevation. Nothobranchius lucius and N. insularis are considered
closely related species based on the shared presence of long jaws;
caudal fin, in males, with a broad dark grey to black band on its
posterior margin; black dots over the whole flank, in females;
metapterygoid curved, with its middle and dorsal portions separated
from the sympletic by a broad interspace; and posterior process of the
quadrate shorter than the ventral length of the quadrate without
process. Characters useful to distinguish them include premaxillary
dentition, caudal fin shape, colour pattern of flank and unpaired fins in
females, fin length, and number of neuromasts of the posterior section
of the anterior supraorbital series. Both species are members of a
group that also includes N. elongatus, N. hengstleri, N. interruptus, N.
jubbi, N. krammeri, and N. melanospilus, which are all diagnosed by
the presence of two neuromasts in the anterior section of th anterior
supraorbital series