A new species of redfin (Teleostei, Cyprinidae, Pseudobarbus) from the Verlorenvlei River system, South Africa.

Albert Chakona,Paul H. Skelton,Ernst R Swartz

doi:10.3897/zookeys.453.8072

Abstract

Pseudobarbus verloreni, a new species, is described from material collected in the Verlorenvlei River system on the west coast of South Africa. It differs from its congeners (except Pseudobarbus skeltoni, Pseudobarbus burchelli, and Pseudobarbus burgi) by the presence of two pairs of oral barbels. Pseudobarbus verloreni sp. n. can be distinguished from the three currently described double barbeled Pseudobarbus species by the following combination of characters: pigment pattern, generally deeper body relative to standard length, a longer intestine associated with the deeper body form, shorter snout relative to head length, and much shorter anterior barbels relative to head length. The new species is distinguished from Pseudobarbus burgi in the neighbouring Berg River system by its longer head and longer pre-dorsal length. It seems as if Pseudobarbus verloreni sp. n. has been extirpated from the Langvlei River system and face several threats to its survival in the Verlorenvlei River system.

Highlights

IntroductionSpecies of the cyprinid genus Pseudobarbus (commonly referred to as “redfins”) are distinctly pigmented small-to-medium sized riverine fishes endemic to southern Africa (Skelton 1988)
Species of the cyprinid genus Pseudobarbus are distinctly pigmented small-to-medium sized riverine fishes endemic to southern Africa (Skelton 1988)
It shows the phylogenetic relationships among double barbeled redfins based on the mitochondrial cytochrome b data, and shows the position of the new species that is distinct from the three described double barbeled redfin species, including the three previously identified lineages of P. burchelli (Swartz et al 2009, 2014)

Summary

Introduction

Species of the cyprinid genus Pseudobarbus (commonly referred to as “redfins”) are distinctly pigmented small-to-medium sized riverine fishes endemic to southern Africa (Skelton 1988). The most prominent diagnostic characters for members of this tetraploid genus (Naran et al 2006) are the presence of bright red fins, a soft or flexible primary dorsal spine, and males develop prominent head and body tubercles during the breeding season. During his taxonomic revision of Pseudobarbus, Skelton (1988) recognised seven species, namely P. afer (Peters, 1864), P. asper (Boulenger, 1911), P. burchelli (Smith, 1841), P. phlegethon (Barnard, 1938), P. quathlambae (Barnard, 1938), and P. tenuis (Barnard, 1938). We describe a ninth species of Pseudobarbus from the Verlorenvlei River system, which was identified as a unique genetic lineage of P. burgi following a phylogeographic study by Bloomer and Impson (2000)

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