@article {10.3897/zookeys.1129.90287, title = {Mitogenome recovered from a 19th Century holotype by shotgun sequencing supplies a generic name for an orphaned clade of African weakly electric fishes (Osteoglossomorpha, Mormyridae)}, journal = {ZooKeys}, volume = {1129}, year = {2022}, pages = {163-196}, publisher = {Pensoft Publishers}, abstract = {

Heteromormyrus Steindachner, 1866, a genus of Mormyridae (Teleostei: Osteoglossomorpha), has been monotypic since the description of Heteromormyrus pauciradiatus (Steindacher, 1866) from a single specimen. No type locality other than \“Angola\” was given and almost no specimens have been subsequently identified to this species. In order to investigate the relationship of this taxon to fresh specimens collected in Angola and elsewhere, whole genome paired-end sequencing of DNA extracted from the holotype specimen of Heteromormyrus pauciradiatus was performed and a nearly complete mitogenome assembled from the sequences obtained. Comparison of cytochrome oxidase I and cytochrome b sequences from this mitogenome to sequences from recently collected material reveal that Heteromormyrus pauciradiatus is closely related to specimens identified as Hippopotamyrus ansorgii (Boulenger, 1905), Hippopotamyrus szaboi Kramer, van der Bank \& Wink, 2004, Hippopotamyrus longilateralis Kramer \& Swartz, 2010, as well as to several undescribed forms from subequatorial Africa collectively referred to in the literature as the \“Hippopotamyrus ansorgii species complex\” and colloquially known as \“slender stonebashers.\” Previous molecular phylogenetic work has shown that these species are not close relatives of Hippopotamyrus castor Pappenheim, 1906, the type species of genus Hippopotamyrus Pappenheim, 1906 from Cameroon, and are thus misclassified. Hippopotamyrus ansorgii species complex taxa and another species shown to have been misclassified, Paramormyrops tavernei (Poll, 1972), are placed in genus Heteromormyrus and one genetic lineage from the Kwanza and Lucala rivers of Angola are identified as conspecific Heteromormyrus pauciradiatus. Three additional new combinations and a synonymy in Mormyridae are introduced. The morphological characteristics and geographical distribution of the genus Heteromormyrus are reviewed. The electric organ discharges (EODs) of Heteromormyrus species are to be treated in a separate study.

}, keywords = {Angolan freshwater fishes, Heteromormyrus, Hippopotamyrus, historical DNA, mitogenomics, mormyrid, museomics, slender stonebasher}, issn = {1313-2989}, doi = {10.3897/zookeys.1129.90287}, url = {https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1129.90287}, author = {John P. Sullivan and Carl D. Hopkins and Stacy Pirro and Rose Peterson and Albert Chakona and Tadiwa I. Mutizwa and Christian Mukweze Mulelenu and Fahad H. Alqahtani and Emmanuel Vreven and Casey B. Dillman} } @article {481, title = {Cryptomyrus: a new genus of Mormyridae (Teleostei, Osteoglossomorpha) with two new species from Gabon, West-Central Africa}, journal = {ZooKeys}, volume = {561}, year = {2016}, month = {Aug-02-2016}, pages = {117 - 150}, abstract = {

Abstract
We use mitochondrial and nuclear sequence data to show that three weakly electric mormyrid fish specimens collected at three widely separated localities in Gabon, Africa over a 13-year period represent an unrecognized lineage within the subfamily Mormyrinae and determine its phylogenetic position with respect to other taxa. We describe these three specimens as a new genus containing two new species. Cryptomyrus, new genus, is readily distinguished from all other mormyrid genera by a combination of features of squamation, morphometrics, and dental attributes. Cryptomyrus ogoouensis, new species, is differentiated from its single congener, Cryptomyrus ona, new species, by the possession of an anal-fin origin located well in advance of the dorsal fin, a narrow caudal peduncle and caudal-fin lobes nearly as long as the peduncle. In C. ona, the anal-fin origin is located only slightly in advance of the dorsal fin, the caudal peduncle is deep and the caudal-fin lobes considerably shorter than the peduncle. Continued discovery of new taxa within the \“Lower Guinea Clade\” of Mormyridae highlights the incompleteness of our knowledge of fish diversity in West-Central Africa. We present a revised key to the mormyrid genera of Lower Guinea.

R\ésum\é
Nous avons d\émontr\é avec des marqueurs mitochondriaux et nucl\éaires que trois sp\écimens de poissons mormyrid\és faiblement \électriques, collect\és \à trois localit\és au Gabon sur une p\ériode de 13 ans, forment une lign\ée inconnue au sein de la sous famille des Mormyrinae dont nous avons d\étermin\é la position phylog\én\étique. Nous d\écrivons un nouveau genre et deux nouvelles esp\èces pour ces trois sp\écimens. Cryptomyrus, nouveau genre, se distingue des autres genres de mormyrid\és par une combinaison de caract\ères de l\’\écaillure, morphom\étriques, et dentaires. Cryptomyrus ogoouensis, nouvelle esp\èce, se distingue de sa seule esp\èce cong\én\érique par sa nageoire anale qui commence nettement en avant de sa nageoire dorsale, son p\édoncule caudal gracile et les lobes de sa nageoire caudale pratiquement aussi longs que son p\édoncule caudal. Chez Cryptomyrus ona, nouvelle esp\èce, la nageoire anale commence l\ég\èrement en avant de l\’origine de la nageoire dorsale, le p\édoncule caudal est large, et les lobes de la nageoire caudale sont plus courts que le p\édoncule caudal. La d\écouverte ininterrompue de nouveaux taxa dans le \«clade de basse Guin\ée\» des Mormyridae illustre notre connaissance incompl\ète de la diversit\é des poissons de l\’ouest de l\’Afrique centrale. Nous pr\ésentons une cl\é r\évis\ée des genres de Mormyridae de basse Guin\ée.

}, keywords = {African freshwater fishes, DNA, electric organ discharge, EOD, integrative taxonomy, Mormyrinae, phylogeny, rarity, weakly electric fish}, issn = {1313-2989}, doi = {10.3897/zookeys.561.7137}, url = {http://zookeys.pensoft.net/articles.php?id=7137}, author = {John P. Sullivan and S{\'e}bastien Lavou{\'e} and Carl D. Hopkins} } @article {894, title = {Petrocephalus boboto and Petrocephalus~arnegardi, two~new species of African electric fish (Osteoglossomorpha, Mormyridae) from the Congo River basin}, journal = {ZooKeys}, volume = {400}, year = {2014}, month = {04/2014}, pages = {43 - 65}, abstract = {

Abstract A specimen of the African weakly electric fish genus Petrocephalus (Osteoglossomorpha, Mormyridae) collected in the Congo River at Yangambi, Orientale Province, Democratic Republic of Congo, is described as a new species. Petrocephalus boboto sp. n. can be distinguished from other Central African species of Petrocephalus by a combination of the following characteristics: three distinct black spots on the body, one at the origin of the pectoral fin, one at the origin of the caudal fin and one below the anterior base of the dorsal fin; Nakenrosette and Khelrosette electroreceptor clusters distinct on head but Augenrosette cluster reduced in size; 23 branched dorsal rays, 34 branched anal rays, and electric organ discharge waveform triphasic. Petrocephalus boboto sp. n. most closely resembles the holotype of Petrocephalus binotatus but is easily distinguished from it by its smaller mouth. A comparative molecular analysis including 21 other Petrocephalus species shows Petrocephalus boboto sp. n. to be genetically distinctive and to represent a deep lineage in the genus. Two specimens of Petrocephalus collected at Yangambi are morphologically similar and genetically closely related to specimens previously assigned to Petrocephalus binotatus, collected in the northwestern Congo River basin within Odzala-Kokua National Park, Republic of the Congo. This prompts us to formally describe a new species from these collections, Petrocephalus arnegardi sp. n., that, although similar to the holotype of Petrocephalus binotatus, can be distinguished from it by its smaller mouth and shorter interorbital width. R\ésum\é Un sp\écimen de poissons africains \à faible d\écharge \électrique du genre Petrocephalus (Osteoglossomorpha, Mormyridae) collect\é dans le fleuve Congo \à Yangambi, Province Orientale, R\épublique D\émocratique du Congo, est d\écrit comme une nouvelle esp\èce. Petrocephalus boboto sp. n. peut-\être distingu\ée des autres esp\èces de Petrocephalus d\’Afrique Centrale par la pr\ésence de trois distinctes taches noires, l\’une \à la base des nageoires pectorales, la seconde \à la base de la nageoire caudale et la troisi\ème sur chacun des flancs, juste en dessous des premiers rayons de la nageoire dorsale; pr\ésence bien visible de deux rosettes \électror\éceptives sur la t\ête (Nakenrosette et Khelrosette), la troisi\ème rosette (Augenrosette) est de taille r\éduite; 23 rayons branchus \à la nageoire dorsale et 34 rayons \à la nageoire anale; et d\écharge \électrique triphasique. Petrocephalus boboto sp. n. ressemble le plus \à l\’holotype de Petrocephalus binotatus mais s\’en distingue par une bouche nettement plus petite. Une analyse g\én\étique confirme la distinction de Petrocephalus boboto sp. n. parmi un \échantillon de 21 esp\èces. Cette analyse montre \également que cette nouvelle esp\èce repr\ésente une lign\ée distincte de Petrocephalus. Deux autres sp\écimens de Petrocephalus collect\és \à Yangambi sont morphologiquement et g\én\étiquement proches de sp\écimens auparavant identifi\és comme appartenant \à Petrocephalus binotatus, collect\és dans le Parc National d\’Odzala-Kokua, bassin du Congo, R\épublique du Congo. Ceci nous am\ène \à les d\écrire comme une nouvelle esp\èce, Petrocephalus arnegardi sp. n. qui peut-\être distingu\ée de l\’holotype de Petrocephalus binotatus par une bouche plus petite et un espace inter-orbitaire plus court.

}, issn = {1313-2989}, doi = {10.3897/zookeys.400.6743}, author = {S{\'e}bastien Lavou{\'e} and John P. Sullivan} }