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| Pollimyrus ibalazambai Pollimyrus krameri Pollimyrus weyli Dierickx, Lunkayilakio, Bills & Vreven, 2024 |
Abstract
Mormyridae, a species-rich family endemic to Africa, remains taxonomically understudied. This has been the case for the genus Pollimyrus Taverne, 1971, which hinders further understanding of the distribution, ecology, and conservation of its species. Therefore, an in-depth morphometric comparison of all currently valid species is carried out using most of the available type specimens. Species delineations were re-evaluated, and four species new to science described: Pollimyrus ibalazambai sp. nov. (the Luki River, the Democratic Republic of the Congo), Pollimyrus krameri sp. nov. (the Lugenda River, Mozambique), Pollimyrus vanneeri sp. nov. (the Kouilou-Niari River, the Republic of the Congo), and Pollimyrus weyli sp. nov. (the Buzi River, Mozambique). In this study, Pollimyrus guttatus is confirmed to belong to Pollimyrus, whereas Pollimyrus eburneensis and Cyphomyrus plagiostoma seem more similar to species allocated to other genera. No or only little morphological differences were found between the type series of several species, which could indicate the need for synonymization of these species (Pollimyrus cuandoensis with Pollimyrus marianne and Pollimyrus nigripinnis with Pollimyrus pulverulentus). As such 20 species are currently morphologically identifiable in the genus Pollimyrus. The present study highlights the critical need for further synthetic efforts and new collecting efforts across Africa for this and other Mormyridae genera.
Keywords: morphology, Pollimyrus ibalazambai sp. nov., Pollimyrus krameri sp. nov., Pollimyrus vanneeri sp. nov., Pollimyrus weyli sp. nov., taxonomy
Class Actinopterygii Klein, 1885
Order Osteoglossiformes Berg, 1940
Family Mormyridae Bonaparte, 1831
Subfamily Mormyrinae Bonaparte, 1831
Genus Pollimyrus Taverne, 1971
Pollimyrus Taverne, 1971: 140
(type species: Mormyrus isidori Valenciennes, 1847, by original designation).i
Pollimyrus ibalazambai sp. nov.
Etymology: The specific epithet is a noun honoring Professor Dr. Armel Ibala Zamba (1975–) (Université Marien Ngouabi, the Republic of the Congo) for his contributions to African ichthyology and his work in the Luki River basin (DRC) within the framework of his PhD (2005–2010).
Pollimyrus krameri sp. nov.
Etymology: The specific epithet is a noun honoring Professor Dr. Bernd Kramer (1943–) (University of Regensburg, Germany) for his contributions to ichthyology and study of weakly electric fish, southern African Mormyridae in particular.
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| Photograph of dead, but not yet fixed, holotype specimen of Pollimyrus krameri sp. nov. (South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity [SAIAB] 73892: 45.6 mm SL [standard length]) from the Lugenda River (by R.B., August 22, 2003). Photograph of dead, but not yet fixed, holotype of Pollimyrus weyli sp. nov. (South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity [SAIAB] 67639: 51.43 mm SL [standard length]) from the Mussapa River (by R.B., September 27, 2002). Photograph of a live type specimen of Pollimyrus ibalazambai sp. nov. from the Luki River, near the Kimbozi Bridge (by S.W.L., Mbisa-Congo I, August 10, 2016). |
Pollimyrus vanneeri sp. nov.
Etymology: The specific epithet is a noun honoring Professor Dr. Wim Van Neer (1954–) (Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels, and KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium) for his contributions to ichthyoarchaeology in Europe and northern Africa.
Pollimyrus weyli sp. nov.
Etymology: The specific epithet is a noun honoring the late Professor Dr. Olaf L.F. Weyl (1972–†2020) (SAIAB) for his contributions to African ichthyology and his work in the Buzi River system within the framework of his PhD, expanding the collections housed at SAIAB and increasing the understanding of the biodiversity in the region.
Katrien Dierickx, Soleil Wamuini Lunkayilakio, Roger Bills and Emmanuel Vreven. 2024. Morphometric Synthesis of Pollimyrus (Teleostei, Mormyridae) with the Description of Four New Species. Journal of Fish Biology. DOI: doi.org/10.1111/jfb.15983
