@article {501, title = {Petrocephalus leo, a new species of African electric fish (Osteoglossomorpha: Mormyridae) from the Oubangui River basin (Congo basin)}, journal = {Zootaxa}, volume = {4121}, year = {2016}, month = {06/2016}, pages = {319-330}, type = {original}, chapter = {319}, abstract = {

A new species of the African weakly electric fish genus Petrocephalus (Osteoglossomorpha: Mormyridae: Petrocephalinae) is described from the Oubangui (Ubangi) River basin, the principal right-bank tributary of the Congo River. Petrocephalus leo sp. nov. is one of the most distinctive species of Petrocephalus as it combines (among other characteristics) the absence of electroreceptive rosettes on the head with a unique melanin pattern. Only four other species of Petrocephalus lack all electroreceptive rosettes: Petrocephalus microphthalmus, Petrocephalus haullevillii, Petrocephalus schoutedeni, and Petrocephalus zakoni. Petrocephalus leo sp. nov. can be distinguished from these four species in having a distinctive black mark at the base of the pectoral fins (versus absent in P. microphthalmus, P. haullevillii and P. schoutedeni) and no subdorsal black mark (versus present in P. zakoni). A phylogenetic analysis using mitochondrial cytochrome b gene sequences shows haplotypes of P. leo sp. nov. are distinct, but are unexpectedly nested within P. zakoni haplotypes, making this latter species paraphyletic. To investigate this conflict between morphology and mitochondrial cytochrome b, a nuclear marker, the first intron of the gene coding for the S7 ribosomal protein, was sequenced. The presence of four diagnostic indels between P. zakoni and P. leo sp. nov. sequences supports the reciprocal monophyly of these two species. This is the first reported case of conflict between morphology and mitochondrial phylogeny within the genus Petrocephalus. Finally, three species of Petrocephalus are reported for the first time from the Oubangui region bringing the total of Petrocephalus species in this region to 12.

}, keywords = {Africa, cytochrome b, fish, molecular phylogeny, morphology, nuclear S7 intron, Petrocephalinae}, doi = {http://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4121.3.6}, author = {S{\'e}bastien Lavou{\'e}} } @article {496, title = {Marcusenius desertus sp. nov. (Teleostei: Mormyridae), a mormyrid fish from the Namib desert}, journal = {African Journal of Aquatic Science}, year = {2016}, month = {Jul-03-2016}, pages = {1 - 18}, abstract = {

We critically compared Marcusenius specimens from the mouth of the Cunene River on the Namibia/Angola border, a harsh desert environment on the Atlantic Ocean coast virtually devoid of aerial insects with aquatic larvae which are an important food item, with Marcusenius multisquamatus Kramer \& Wink, 2013 from the escarpment region of that same river, in a relatively rich and productive subtropical savannah environment. River mouth specimens were differentiated in morphology and electric organ discharges, as determined by ANOVA/MANOVA comparisons, principal component and discriminant analyses on morphological and electrophysiological characters, and genetics, including sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene, indicating reproductive isolation. Specimens from the river mouth differed from M. multisquamatus, their closest relatives, by having a shorter snout, a smaller eye diameter, and smaller nares separation. River mouth specimens were also differentiated from other, increasingly less-close relatives, such as M. altisambesi Kramer et al., 2007 from the Okavango River, Botswana, and from M. krameri Maake et al., 2014 from the Limpopo System, South Africa. We therefore designate the new species Marcusenius desertus sp. nov. for the Cunene River mouth population.

}, keywords = {ecology, electric organ discharges, genetic differentiation, morphology, phylogeography, speciation}, issn = {1608-5914}, doi = {10.2989/16085914.2015.1137855}, url = {http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.2989/16085914.2015.1137855}, author = {Bernd Kramer and F. Herman van der Bank and Michael Wink} }