Chiloglanis carnatus, a new species of riffle-dwelling catfish from the middle Zambezi River system, Zimbabwe is described. Results from this study add to the growing evidence of a high level of undocumented diversity within riffle-dwelling taxa in southern Africa.
Open-access – https://zookeys.pensoft.net/article/114679/
The authors discuss the significance and implications of incomplete documentation of the diversity of rheophilic species in a region where their unique habitats are under-threat from multiple environmental impacts.
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Hidden in the riffles: A new suckermouth catfish (Mochokidae, Chiloglanis) from the middle Zambezi River system, Zimbabwe
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Mutizwa TI, Kadye WT, Braganรงa PHN, Bere T, Chakona A (2024) Hidden in the riffles: A new suckermouth catfish (Mochokidae, Chiloglanis) from the middle Zambezi River system, Zimbabwe. ZooKeys 1197: 57-91. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1197.114679
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The recent surge in the discovery of hidden diversity within rheophilic taxa, particularly in West and East Africa, prompted a closer examination of the extent to which the current taxonomy may obscure the diversity of riffle-dwelling suckermouth catfishes in the genus Chiloglanis in southern Africa.
Currently, the region comprises eight valid species within this genus. Seven of them have relatively narrow geographic distribution ranges except for ๐ถ. ๐๐๐ข๐๐๐๐๐, which is considered to be widely distributed, occurring from the Buzi River system in the south, and its northern limit being the eastward draining river systems in Tanzania. Recent surveys of the middle Zambezi River system revealed Chiloglanis specimens that were distinguishable from the known species of the genus from southern Africa.
Integration of molecular and morphological data indicated that these specimens from the Mukwadzi River represent a new species to science, herein described as Chiloglanis carnatus Mutizwa, Braganรงa & Chakona, sp. nov. This species is readily distinguished from its southern African congeners by the possession of a distinctive extended dermal tissue covering the base of the dorsal fin and the possession of ten mandibular teeth (vs 8, 12, or 14 in the other taxa).
Results from this study add to the growing evidence of a high level of undocumented diversity within riffle-dwelling taxa in southern Africa.
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The specific epithet carnatus means fleshy, referring to the dermal tissue covering the base of the dorsal fin of some of the larger specimens of this species and the general robust body structure of this species compared to its regional congeners.
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Holotype of Chiloglanis carnatus sp. nov., SAIAB 236631 male. Scale bar: 1 cm.
Copyright ยฉ 2024 the Author(s). Published in Zookeys journal. This paper is released under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
