Classification / Names
Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa
Teleostei (teleosts) >
Cyprinodontiformes (Rivulines, killifishes and live bearers) >
Nothobranchiidae (African rivulines)
Etymology: Nothobranchius: Greek, nothos = false + Greek, brangchia = gill (Ref. 45335); sainthousei: The specific name honours Ian Sainthouse, renowned breeder and collector of killifish, for his special longstanding dedication to researches on the genus Nothobranchius; a noun in genitive (Ref. 116789).
Eponymy: Ian Sainthouse is a British aquarist and killifish enthusiast. He was honoured as a: “… renowned breeder and collector of killifish” and for “…his special longstanding dedication to researches on the genus Nothobranchius”. (Ref. 128868), visit book page.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Freshwater; benthopelagic. Tropical
Africa: ephemeral pools in riverbed of Chimbembe River, Luapula River drainage, in Zambia (Ref. 116789).
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 4.1 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 116789); 3.0 cm SL (female)
Short description
Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 15 - 19; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 15 - 19; Vertebrae: 29. Diagnosis: Nothobranchius sainthousei is distinguished from the other Nothobranchius species from the drainages of the Upper Congo in northern Zambia and Katanga province of DRC, except N. rosenstocki, by having broad orange-brown posterior scale margins on the trunk, vs. red, and an anal fin with orange-brown margin, vs. light blue or yellow or red-brown or black (Ref. 116789). It is distinguished from N. rosenstocki by having dorsal and anal fins with orange-brown spots, vs. irregular orange-brown bars; furthermore, N. sainthousei is distinguished from all members of the N. brieni group by head length, 25.1-29.3% of standard length vs. 29.6-38.7%, and head width, 71-79% of head length vs. 52-62% (Ref. 116789).
Found in ephemeral habitats in the floodplain between the small seasonal Chimbembe and Kusake rivers; about 5 km southwest of the confluence of the Luapula with the Luongo (Ref. 116789). The ephemeral pools were about 5-10 m wide, and less than 1 m deep at the deepest point; the aquatic habitat was heavily overgrown with grass (Ref. 116789). The water of pH 6.98 contained 15 ppm of total dissolved solids; it was brown and turbid, so the pool substratum was only visible at shallower depths; the water temperature measured at midday was 23.0°C (Ref. 116789). The conservation status of Nothobranchius sainthousei is uncertain, but appears to qualify as vulnerable (Ref. 116789). Stomach contents of adult wild-caught specimens show that N. sainthousei is a micropredator, feeding on small aquatic crustaceans, worms, insect larvae and other zooplankton (Ref. 116789).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Nagy, B., F.P.D. Cotterill and D.U. Bellestedt, 2016. Nothobranchius sainthousei, a new species of annual killifish from the Luapula River drainage in northern Zambia (Teleostei: Cyprinodontiformes). Ichthyol. Explor. Freshwat. 27(3):233-254. (Ref. 116789)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Tools
Special reports
Download XML
Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01000 (0.00244 - 0.04107), b=3.04 (2.81 - 3.27), in cm total length, based on all LWR estimates for this body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.2 ±0.4 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (10 of 100).
