Two new killifish species are described in the latest volume of the journal ‘Bonn zoological Bulletin’ this week.

Aphyosemion pseudoelegans © Sonnenberg & Van der Zee

Aphyosemion pseudoelegans Sonnenberg & Van der Zee 2012 is native to the middle Congo region where it occurs in tributaries of the main Congo River’s left bank, an area known as Cuvette or Cuvette Centrale.

Prior to description it was considered a phenotype of the congener A. elegans, from which it differs primarily in possession of a dark red to black dorsal-fin, vs. dorsal-fin with small red spots on a light background. The only species sharing a comparable dorsal-fin pattern is A. congicum, but that species has only a few red spots on the flanks and anal-fin whereas A. pseudoelegans has many such spots.

For further information please refer to the full, open access paper: Sonnenberg, R. and J. R. van der Zee. 2012. Aphyosemion pseudoelegans (Cyprinodontiformes: Nothobranchiidae), a new killifish species from the Cuvette centrale in the Congo Basin (Democratic Republic of Congo). Bonn zoological Bulletin 61 (1): 3–1.

Scriptaphyosemion wiesae © Sonnenberg & Busch

Scriptaphyosemion wiesea Sonnenberg & Busch 2012 was first collected as long ago as 1993 and its description is interesting insofar that breeding experiments conducted by aquarists were involved in proving it to be distinct from S. bertholdi, it’s closest relative. Subsequent morphological and DNA studies demonstrated this to be true, and both males and females also exhibit differences in colour pattern compared with all other members of the genus.

S. wiesea is known from just three localities in northern Sierra Leone and named for Barbara Wiese who co-collected the species on two occasions and first recognised it to be distinct.

For further information please refer to the full, open access paper: Sonnenberg, R. and E. Busch. 2012. Description of Scriptaphyosemion wieseae (Cyprinodontiformes: Nothobranchiidae), a new species from northern Sierra Leone. Bonn zoological Bulletin 61 (1): 13–2.