Haplochromis kimondo, Vranken & Steenberge & Heylen & Decru & Snoeks, 2022

Vranken, Nathan, Steenberge, Maarten Van, Heylen, Annelies, Decru, Eva & Snoeks, Jos, 2022, From a pair to a dozen: the piscivorous species of Haplochromis (Cichlidae) from the Lake Edward system, European Journal of Taxonomy 815, pp. 1-94 : 44-48

Haplochromis kimondo sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:24F01142-A596-458D-9887-D5BC8E68A275

Figs 1–2 , 23–25 ; Table 1

Differential diagnosis

Species with a piscivorous morphology; head blunt and with convex dorsal outline; cheek deep [ChD 27.1–35.2 (mean 30.9) % HL]; outer oral teeth many and small [UOT 43–70 (median 56)]; dominant males grey dorsally and yellow ventrally.

Amongst piscivorous species from the Lake Edward system, H. kimondo sp. nov. differs from H. latifrons sp. nov., H. mentatus , H. rex sp. nov., H. simba sp. nov., H. glaucus sp. nov., and H. aquila sp. nov. by the combination of a broader head [HW 42.9–48.0 (45.1) vs 36.8–43.7 (39.2–42.0) % HL], small vs large outer oral teeth, and a larger number of outer upper jaw teeth [UOT 43–70 (56) vs 22–47 (27–36)].

It differs from H. falcatus sp. nov., H. curvidens sp. nov., H. pardus sp. nov., H. quasimodo sp. nov., and H. squamipinnis by the combination of body pyriform vs oval to rhomboid, and snout blunt vs (very) acute in dorsal view.

It further differs from H. falcatus sp. nov. and H. curvidens sp. nov. by the combination of deeper cheeks [ChD 27.1–35.2 (30.9) vs 22.4–28.0 (23.2–26.0) % HL], broader jaws [LJW 44.7–53.3 (49.3) vs 38.5–45.5 (40.8–42.5) % LJL], and a slightly broader head [HW 42.9–48.0 (45.1) vs 39.9–44.4 (42.6– 43.4) % HL]; further from H. falcatus sp. nov. by dominant males grey dorsally and yellow ventrally vs olive-green with an orange-red anterior part of flank; further from H. curvidens sp. nov. by presence vs absence of a well-defined mid-lateral band in all specimens.

It further differs from H. pardus sp. nov., H. quasimodo sp. nov., and H. squamipinnis by a steeper sloping snout (40–50° vs 30–40°) and dominant males grey dorsally and yellow ventrally vs speckled to uniformly black, light grey dorsally and blue-black ventrally, or slate blue, respectively; further from H. pardus sp. nov. and H. quasimodo sp. nov. by a broader interorbital area [IOW 49.2–58.5 (52.8) vs 39.3–48.7 (43.9–44.6) % HW]; further from H. squamipinnis by absence vs presence of minute scales on proximal part of dorsal and anal fins.

Etymology

Specific name from the Swahili ‘kimondo’ for ‘meteor’; referring to blunt head, pyriform body with mid-lateral band, and yellow colouration of ventral part of body.

Material examined

Holotype UGANDA • ♂, 152.4 mm SL; Lake Edward, Kayanja offshore; 0°05′34.8″ S, 29°45′28.8″ E; 21 Mar. 2019; HIPE4 exped. leg.; RMCA 2019.002.P.0015 .

Paratypes DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO • 1 ♀, 158.2 mm SL; “Lac Edouard: au large de la riv. Kigera” [Lake Edward: offshore of the Kigera River ]; 0°29′42″ S, 29°38′14″ E (inferred); 25 May 1953; KEA exped. leg.; IRSBN 13477 • 1 ♂, 1 ♀, 149.9, 171.3 mm SL; “Lac Edouard: 2–3 km à l’Ouest de Kiavinionge” [Lake Edward: 2–3 km west of Kiavinionge]; 0°11′39″ S, 29°32′31″ E (inferred); 1 Jun. 1953; KEA exped. leg.; IRSBN 13482 .

UGANDA – Lake Edward • 1 ♀, 146.4 mm SL; Rwenshama ; 0°24′05.7″ S, 29°46′35.1″ E; 8 Nov. 2016; HIPE1 exped. leg.; rocky shore; RMCA 2016.035.P.0226 • 3 ♀♀, 103.8–124.4 mm SL; Rwenshama ,; 0°24′05.7″ S, 29°46′35.1″ E; 26 Mar. 2017; HIPE2 exped. leg.; rocky shore; RMCA 2017.006.P.0360 to 0362 • 1 ♀, 1 ♂, 106.4–131.1 mm SL; Kayanja offshore; 0°05′34.8″ S, 29°45′28.8″ E; 31 Mar. 2017; HIPE2 exped. leg.; RMCA 2017.006.P.0363 to 0364 • 2 ♂♂, 1 ♀, 81.6–118.4 mm SL; same collection data as for preceding; RMCA 2017.006.P.0365 to 0367 • 1 ♂, 2 ♀♀, 89.6–115.9 mm SL; Kayanja offshore; 0°05′31.2″ S, 29°45′30.3″ E; 20 Jan. 2018; HIPE3 exped. leg.; RMCA 2018.008.P.0358 to 0360 • 2 ♂♂, 2 ♀♀, 128.1–146.8 mm SL; 0°24′16.0″ S, 29°46′24.8″ E; 24 Jan. 2018; HIPE3 exped. leg.; bought at Rwenshama landing site; RMCA 2018.008.P.0361 to 0364 • 1 ♀, 142.9 mm SL; Rwenshama ; 0°24′05.7″ S, 29°46′35.1″ E; 24 Jan. 2018; HIPE3 exped. leg.; rocky shore; RMCA 2018.008.P.0357 .

Description

Based on 21 specimens (81.6–171.3 mm SL); body shallow ( Table 1 ) and pyriform ( Fig. 23 ). Head long, stout, average in width in comparison to generalised H. elegans (but broad for a piscivorous species), and with a convex dorsal outline; eye small; interorbital area average in width; cheek and lacrimal deep. Snout long, blunt, and slopes at 40–50°; premaxillary pedicel long and slightly prominent. Jaws isognathous to slightly prognathous, long, relatively stout, rounded in dorsal view, and narrow; gape large and slopes at 25–30°; maxilla extends to vertical through pupil. Lower jaw with a straight ventral outline in lateral view, mental prominence absent or weakly developed, and lower jaw side nearly flat with an inclination of 15–30° to horizontal in anterior view. Upper jaw weakly expanded anteriorly. Lips and oral mucosa large. Neurocranium average in depth, ethmo-vomerine block decurved, preorbital region average in depth (23–25% NL), orbital region average in depth (31–33% NL), and supraoccipital crest shallow and wedge-shaped ( Fig. 24b ).

Outer oral teeth numerous and very small. Necks stout, conical, and straight; crowns recurved and unicuspid in large specimens (> 85 mm SL), bicuspid in small specimens (<85 mm SL); major cusps acutely pointed; minor cusps small. Dental arcades rounded. Outer teeth closely and regularly set with neck-distances of ½–1 neck-width. In upper jaw, 2–3 posteriormost teeth enlarged. Inner teeth small, weakly recurved, unicuspid in large specimens (> 100 mm SL), weakly tricuspid in small specimens (<100 mm SL), and acutely pointed in all specimens. Tooth bands very slender crescent-shaped with 1–3 rows of inner teeth, and narrow posteriorly until only outer row remains past ⅔ length of tooth band in lower jaw, past ¾ length of tooth band in upper jaw. Inner teeth closely and regularly set on ½–1 outer neck-width from outer row; implantation erect; size uniform throughout tooth band.

Lower pharyngeal bone average in length, triangular, slim, and shallow with a slightly deeper keel ( Fig. 25 ). Pharyngeal teeth relatively large and relatively stout; major cusps acutely pointed; cusp gaps concave; minor cusps and cusp protuberances very small. Teeth in two median longitudinal rows equal in size and form to lateral teeth, 10 in each row. Posterior transverse row with 18–19 teeth, implanted erectly with a lateral inclination; major cusps recurved, bluntly pointed, and laterally compressed; minor cusps mostly absent.

Chest scales small; transition to larger flank scales gradual. Minute scales on proximal half of caudal fin.

Caudal fin emarginate to subtruncate; dorsal and anal fins reach to between verticals through one scale anterior to and one scale posterior to caudal-fin base. Pectoral fin reaches to genital opening; pelvic fin reaches to between genital opening and first anal-fin spine in females, to between first and second analfin spines in males; first branched pelvic-fin ray slightly elongated in all specimens.

Ceratobranchial gill rakers in outer row of first gill arch short, stout, and simple; posteriormost rakers mostly anvil-shaped. Epibranchial gill rakers relatively slender and simple.

Colouration in life

Dominant males: dorsal parts of both body and head grey; ventral half of body, operculum, cheek, and lips yellow; flank with a blue sheen ( Fig. 24c ). Lower jaw, preoperculum, and branchiostegal membrane black; belly and chest speckled black; eye with (dark) grey outer ring and silver-yellow inner ring. flank often with a well-defined mid-lateral band, very faint dorsal-lateral band and 6–7 very faint vertical stripes. Lacrimal stripe broad and well-defined, vertical preopercular stripe well-defined, and nostril and interorbital stripes faint. Pelvic fin black; pectoral fin hyaline. Dorsal fin hyaline and with black lappets; caudal fin dusky dorsally and crimson ventrally; posterior part of dorsal fin and dorsal part of caudal fin maculated crimson. Anal fin crimson and with dusky base and posterior part, black distal border and lappets, and 2–4 small orange egg-spots with dusky rings.

Females and juveniles: dorsal part of body, flank, operculum, cheek, and lips light-grey; ventral part of body, belly, chest and branchiostegal membrane white to yellow; eye with (dark) grey outer ring and silveryellow inner ring ( Fig. 24d ). Flank often with a well-defined mid-lateral band and a faint dorsal-lateral band. Snout and lacrimal dusky. Nostril, interorbital, and lacrimal stripes faint, mental blotch present. Pectoral fin yellowish, pelvic fin yellow, dorsal fin hyaline and with black lappets, anal fin yellow and with 1–3 small spots resembling egg-spots, and caudal fin dusky dorsally and yellow ventrally.

Preserved colouration

Dorsal part of body brown; ventral part of body yellowish in females, speckled black in dominant males ( Fig. 24a ). Cheek light yellow in females, brown in dominant males; lower jaw and preoperculum black in dominant males; snout dusky in all specimens. Flank often with a well-defined mid-lateral band, a faint dorsal-lateral band and 6–7 vertical stripes. Nostril and interorbital stripes faint, lacrimal stripe broad and well-defined, mental blotch present, and vertical preopercular stripes well-defined in dominant males. Pectoral fin hyaline, pelvic fin dusky in females and black in dominant males, dorsal fin dusky and with black lappets and maculated posterior part. Anal fin whitish in females, while hyaline, with dark base and posterior part, and 2–4 small egg-spots in dominant males. Caudal fin with dusky and maculated dorsal part and hyaline ventral part.

Distribution and ecology

Only known from Lake Edward, found over sandy substrates. Based on its morphology, most probably a piscivorous species.

Figures

Fig. 1. The Lake Edward system, consisting of Lakes Edward and George that are connected through the Kazinga Channel. The catch localities of all examined specimens are indicated: Haplochromis sp. ‘latifrons’ (), H. mentatus Regan, 1925 (), H. sp. ‘rex’ (), H. sp. ‘simba’ (▼), H. sp. ‘glaucus’ (), H. sp. ‘aquila’ (), H. sp. ‘kimondo’ (●), H. sp. ‘falcatus’ (), H. sp. ‘curvidens’ (), H. sp. ‘pardus’ (), H. sp. ‘quasimodo’ (▲), and H. squamipinnis Regan, 1921 (█). The type localities of H. mentatus and H. squamipinnis are not shown as the exact locations are unknown.

Fig. 2. a. Differences in total number of outer teeth and premaxillary dentition between the macro- and microdontic groups of piscivores from the Lake Edward system.b. Schematic presentation of the dominant male colour patterns in life, in the various groups studied. For H. sp. ‘latifrons’ the female and for H. sp. ‘curvidens’ the non-dominant colour patterns are shown, as those of dominant males are unknown.

Fig. 23. Haplochromis kimondo sp. nov., holotype, ♂, 152.4 mm SL (RMCA 2019.002.P.0015). Drawn by N. Vranken.

Fig. 24. Haplochromis kimondo sp. nov. a. Photograph of preserved holotype (RMCA 2019.002.P.0015; 152.4 mm SL). b. X-ray image of holotype.c–d. Photographs of freshly caught specimens.c. Holotype, a dominant male. d. Female (RMCA 2018.008.P.0364; 128.1 mm SL) to illustrate the live colour patterns. The contrast was slightly enhanced.

Fig. 25. Haplochromis kimondo sp. nov. (RMCA 2018.008.P.0364; 128.1 mm SL). a. Dorsal view of the lower pharyngeal jaw. b. Lateral view of the lower pharyngeal jaw.