Marcusenius macrolepidotus ( Peters, 1852 )

Marcusenius macrolepidotus ( Peters, 1852) View in CoL

( Figure 4A View Figure 4 )

Nominal species in bold face.

Mormyrus macrolepidotus Peters, 1852 a, p. 275 .

Mormyrops macrolepidotus: Marcusen 1864, p. 142 View in CoL .

Gnathonemus macrolepidotus: Boulenger 1898, p. 804 View in CoL .

Gnathonemus macrolepidotus macrolepidotus: Poll and Gosse 1963, p. 93 View in CoL .

Marcusenius macrolepidotus: Taverne 1971a, p. 103 View in CoL .

Gnathonemus okavangensis Pappenheim 1907, p. 354 View in CoL , nomen dubium.

Gnathonemus moeruensis Boulenger, 1915, p. 163 View in CoL ; Jackson 1961, p. 32 (most probably a subspecies of Gnathonemus macrolepidotus )

Marcusenius moeruensis: Taverne 1971a, p. 102 View in CoL .

Gnathonemus graeverti Steindachner, 1914, p. 536 View in CoL (in full: Steindachner 1916); Matthes 1967, p. 4 (synonymy with Gnathonemus macrolepidotus ). Marcusenius graeverti: Taverne 1971a, p. 103 View in CoL .

Type specimens

ZMB 3678 View Materials (lectotype L. Seegers 13.04.1993) from Tete, Lower Zambezi , Mozambique, with paralectotypes ZMB 6730 View Materials (one specimen), 3677 (one specimen), and 32043 (three specimens; Seegers, 1996), all examined .

Non-types, examined:

– Lower Zambezi System: SAIAB 60847 View Materials , coll: Bills R., 1 August 1999, tributary of the Lower Zambezi in the delta region, southeast of Marromeu , 18 ◦ 33’54” S, 35 ◦ 39’46” E, 81 specimens, size range 52–104 mm SL, locality 2 on Figure 1 View Figure 1 GoogleMaps ,

– Buzi System: SAIAB 67369 View Materials , coll: Bills R., 29 September 2002, first tributary of the Lucite River leaving Dombe Nyangapwa Stream , which is part of the middle Buzi River System , on the road east of Dombe , Manica Province, 19 ◦ 58’00” S, 33 ◦ 24’52” E, 25 specimens, size range 70–143 mm SL, locality 3 on Figure 1 View Figure 1 GoogleMaps ,

– Five live specimens from the Buzi System, same location as SAIAB 67369, R. Bills coll., arrived 8 October 2002 in Regensburg , Germany, studied for EOD and meristic characters, size range 79–88 mm SL, still alive .

– Samples examined for genetics. DNA samples are stored at Institute of Pharmacy and Molecular Biotechnology , Heidelberg University ( IPMB). IPMB 22682 View Materials , 22684 View Materials , 22685 View Materials ( SAIAB 67369 View Materials ), Mozambique: Buzi System : Lucite River: Nyangapwa Stream, 19 ◦ 58 ′ 00” S, 33 ◦ 24 ′ 52” E, coll. R GoogleMaps . Bills, S. Chimela and A. Chivindzi, 29 September 2002; IPMB 22686 View Materials ( SAIAB 61592 View Materials ), Mozambique: Lower Zambezi : Marromeu, 18 ◦ 17 ′ S, 35 ◦ 57 ′ E, coll. R GoogleMaps . Bills, 11 August 1999; IPMB 22689 View Materials ( SAIAB 61603 View Materials ), Mozambique: Lower Zambezi : Lagoon behind sugar fields, 18 ◦ 19 ′ S, 35 ◦ 55 ′ E, coll. R GoogleMaps . Bills, 13 August 1999; GenBank accession numbers: ( KC 202222 View Materials - KC 202226 View Materials ) .

Type locality

Mozambique: Lower Zambezi: Tete (no. 1, Figure 1 View Figure 1 ), and tributaries to the Lower Zambezi, also Licuare River (Zambezi delta region). For more detail, Kramer et al. (2007) .

Since Taverne’s (1971b) major revision of several genera of the Mormyridae , there are no members of Gnathonemus in southern Africa. Two subspecies of M. macrolepidotus were recognized ( Poll and Gosse 1963): M. m. macrolepidotus and M. m. angolensis , listed by Gosse (1984). Based on morphology, Kramer et al. (2007) resurrected the latter subspecies as a valid species, and in consequence dropped the former subspecies. The origin of G. moeruensis Boulenger 1915 , a single specimen from Lake Mweru in the Democratic Republic of Congo ( Zaïre)/ Zambia, west of Lake Tanganyika, forms part of the Lualaba/ Congo drainage system, and from morphology the synonymization appears questionable to Kramer et al. (2007). Also synonymized with G. macrolepidotus was G. graeverti Steindachner 1914 whose origin is the Ruaha, an east-flowing river south of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania; the unique holotype is lost; the synonymization is questionable ( Kramer et al. 2007). G. okavangensis Pappenheim 1907 is “not available”.