Claroteidae, Bleeker, 1862

Neumann, Dirk, Obermaier, Henriette & Moritz, Timo, 2016, Annotated checklist for fishes of the Main Nile Basin in the Sudan and Egypt based on recent specimen records (2006 - 2015), Cybium 40 (4), pp. 287-317 : 296

Claroteidae

The taxonomic identity of Chrysichthys rueppellii Boulenger, 1907 is unclear. The species was repeatedly synonymised with C. auratus ( Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1809) . This is likely attributed to the strong sexual dimorphism in Chrysichthys in general and to the observed variability in C. auratus in particular. Comparison of two Chrysichthys specimens from the Lower Egyptian Nile (ZSM 38803, 2) share general features of C. turkana Hardman, 2008 (M. Hardman, pers. comm., Jan. 2014) and basically agree with photos of the syntypes of C. rueppellii (BMNH 1850.7.29.17, 1; 1907.12.2.2131-2132, 2) originating from Lake Menzaleh in the Nile Delta. Even though a detailed redescription of C. rueppellii is warranted to allow proper identification and taxonomic confirmation, we suppose the specimens in ZSM 38803 confirm an abberant Chrysichthys population in the Nile Delta, which might be conspecific with C. rueppellii . Two additional SAPM specimens are labelled with C. rueppellii : Nile at Aswan (SAPM-PI-00195, 1 [1986]) and Rosetta branch in the western delta at Bani Salamah / Merimde-Beni Salame excavation site below Cairo (SAPM-PI-00196, 1 [1986]). These specimens, however, are prepared, disarticulated bones, thus it was not possible to confirm identifications.