@article {898, title = {Variation of electric organ discharge in Mormyrus kannume (Mormyridae) from south-western Ethiopia in relation to individual size, sex and reproductive status}, journal = {Journal of Ichthyology}, volume = {54}, year = {2014}, month = {3/2014}, pages = {177 - 185}, abstract = {

Five variables of the electric organ discharge (EOD) were studied in 132 freshly caught individuals of Mormyrus kannume from the Gibe and Gojeb rivers (the enclosed Omo-Turkana system) and Baro River (the White Nile system) in south-western Ethiopia, East Africa. Most individuals exhibited the typical biphasic EODs with an initial head-positive phase followed by a head-negative phase exceeding initial one in the relative amplitude. In three repeated samples from the Gibe, stable differences in the discharge variables between females and males were found, while no sex differences were observed in other samples. In three cases, a positive correlation between the individual size and discharge duration was found: in two male subsamples from the Gibe and in a mixed sample of both sexes from the Gojeb. In most samples studied, some males exhibited the outstandingly long EOD duration. At the same time, no relationships between the discharge variables and reproductive status of individuals were found. The possible influence of individual and intra-individual variations on the results of inter-population and interspecific comparisons of the discharge variables in mormyrids are highlighted.

}, issn = {1555-6425}, doi = {10.1134/S0032945214020039}, url = {http://link.springer.com/10.1134/S0032945214020039http://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1134/S0032945214020039}, author = {Alexander Golubtsov and Orlov, A. A.} } @article {881, title = {Descriptions of three new species of Marcusenius Gill, 1862 (Teleostei: Mormyridae) from South Africa and Mozambique}, journal = {Zootaxa}, volume = {3780}, year = {2014}, month = {03/2014}, pages = {455}, abstract = {

Morphological and genetic studies of mormyrid fishes belonging to the genus Marcusenius from South Africa and Mozambique revealed four species of which three are described as new. Marcusenius pongolensis is widespread throughout the Incomati, Pongola and Kosi river systems, and sparsely represented in the Limpopo River system in South Africa. Marcusenius krameri sp. nov. is endemic to the Limpopo River system, and is the sister taxon of M. caudisquamatus sp. nov. from the Nseleni and Mhlatuze river systems in the KwaZulu-Natal Province of South Africa. The Ruvuma specimens were well differentiated from all southern and eastern African species of Marcusenius, and are therefore recognised as M. lucombesi sp. nov. Phylogenetic analysis of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene showed that the three new species and M. altisambesi form a monophyletic lineage that is sister to a group containing M. pongolensis and M. macrolepidotus. Marcusenius krameri and M. lucombesi seems to prefer slow flowing reaches of rivers, whereas M. pongolensis and M. caudisquamatus seems to mainly inhabit rapid flowing sections of rivers with a rocky substrate. A key to the southern African species of Marcusenius is provided.

}, issn = {1175-5326}, doi = {10.11646/zootaxa.3780.3.2}, author = {Pholoshi A. Maake and Ofer Gon and Ernst Swartz} } @article {894, title = {Petrocephalus boboto and Petrocephalus~arnegardi, two~new species of African electric fish (Osteoglossomorpha, Mormyridae) from the Congo River basin}, journal = {ZooKeys}, volume = {400}, year = {2014}, month = {04/2014}, pages = {43 - 65}, abstract = {

Abstract A specimen of the African weakly electric fish genus Petrocephalus (Osteoglossomorpha, Mormyridae) collected in the Congo River at Yangambi, Orientale Province, Democratic Republic of Congo, is described as a new species. Petrocephalus boboto sp. n. can be distinguished from other Central African species of Petrocephalus by a combination of the following characteristics: three distinct black spots on the body, one at the origin of the pectoral fin, one at the origin of the caudal fin and one below the anterior base of the dorsal fin; Nakenrosette and Khelrosette electroreceptor clusters distinct on head but Augenrosette cluster reduced in size; 23 branched dorsal rays, 34 branched anal rays, and electric organ discharge waveform triphasic. Petrocephalus boboto sp. n. most closely resembles the holotype of Petrocephalus binotatus but is easily distinguished from it by its smaller mouth. A comparative molecular analysis including 21 other Petrocephalus species shows Petrocephalus boboto sp. n. to be genetically distinctive and to represent a deep lineage in the genus. Two specimens of Petrocephalus collected at Yangambi are morphologically similar and genetically closely related to specimens previously assigned to Petrocephalus binotatus, collected in the northwestern Congo River basin within Odzala-Kokua National Park, Republic of the Congo. This prompts us to formally describe a new species from these collections, Petrocephalus arnegardi sp. n., that, although similar to the holotype of Petrocephalus binotatus, can be distinguished from it by its smaller mouth and shorter interorbital width. R\ésum\é Un sp\écimen de poissons africains \à faible d\écharge \électrique du genre Petrocephalus (Osteoglossomorpha, Mormyridae) collect\é dans le fleuve Congo \à Yangambi, Province Orientale, R\épublique D\émocratique du Congo, est d\écrit comme une nouvelle esp\èce. Petrocephalus boboto sp. n. peut-\être distingu\ée des autres esp\èces de Petrocephalus d\’Afrique Centrale par la pr\ésence de trois distinctes taches noires, l\’une \à la base des nageoires pectorales, la seconde \à la base de la nageoire caudale et la troisi\ème sur chacun des flancs, juste en dessous des premiers rayons de la nageoire dorsale; pr\ésence bien visible de deux rosettes \électror\éceptives sur la t\ête (Nakenrosette et Khelrosette), la troisi\ème rosette (Augenrosette) est de taille r\éduite; 23 rayons branchus \à la nageoire dorsale et 34 rayons \à la nageoire anale; et d\écharge \électrique triphasique. Petrocephalus boboto sp. n. ressemble le plus \à l\’holotype de Petrocephalus binotatus mais s\’en distingue par une bouche nettement plus petite. Une analyse g\én\étique confirme la distinction de Petrocephalus boboto sp. n. parmi un \échantillon de 21 esp\èces. Cette analyse montre \également que cette nouvelle esp\èce repr\ésente une lign\ée distincte de Petrocephalus. Deux autres sp\écimens de Petrocephalus collect\és \à Yangambi sont morphologiquement et g\én\étiquement proches de sp\écimens auparavant identifi\és comme appartenant \à Petrocephalus binotatus, collect\és dans le Parc National d\’Odzala-Kokua, bassin du Congo, R\épublique du Congo. Ceci nous am\ène \à les d\écrire comme une nouvelle esp\èce, Petrocephalus arnegardi sp. n. qui peut-\être distingu\ée de l\’holotype de Petrocephalus binotatus par une bouche plus petite et un espace inter-orbitaire plus court.

}, issn = {1313-2989}, doi = {10.3897/zookeys.400.6743}, author = {S{\'e}bastien Lavou{\'e} and John P Sullivan} } @article {893, title = {De novo assembly and characterization of the skeletal muscle and electric organ transcriptomes of the African weakly-electric fish Campylomormyrus compressirostris (Mormyridae, Teleostei)}, journal = {Molecular Ecology Resources}, year = {2014}, month = {03/2014}, pages = {n/a - n/a}, keywords = {cSSR, electric fish, electric organ, skeletal muscle, transcriptome}, doi = {10.1111/1755-0998.12260}, author = {Lamanna, Francesco and Frank Kirschbaum and Ralph Tiedemann} } @article {823, title = {Marked differentiation in a new species of dwarf stonebasher, Pollimyrus cuandoensis sp. nov. (Mormyridae: Teleostei), from a contact zone with two sibling species of the Okavango and Zambezi rivers}, journal = {Journal of Natural History}, year = {2014}, month = {12/2013}, pages = {1 - 35}, issn = {1464-5262}, doi = {10.1080/00222933.2013.807950}, author = {Bernd Kramer and F. Herman van der Bank and Michael Wink} }