Pronothobranchius, RADDA, 1969

GENUS PRONOTHOBRANCHIUS RADDA, 1969 View in CoL View at ENA

Synonyms: None.

Type species: Nothobranchius kiyawensis Ahl, 1928 . By original designation.

Diagnosis: Posterior margin of premaxillary ascending process perpendicular to its main axis, resulting in sub-rectangular process [5.1] (vs. oblique, forming subtrapezoidal process); anterior and posterior ceratohyals separated by broad cartilaginous interspace [47.1] (vs. narrow interspace); proximal extremity of first epibranchial wide, about seven times distal extremity [49.1] (vs. narrow, about four times or less); interarcual cartilage long, longer than first epibranchial [50.2] (vs. shorter); articulatory cartilaginous head of proximal process of third epibranchial broad, about twice as broad as other third epibranchial cartilaginous heads [53.1] (vs. nearly equal or slightly broader); anterior condyle of second pharyngobranchial forming angle>90° [57.2] (vs. <or ~90°); neural spine of second vertebra broad, about four times wider than neural spine of third vertebra [79.1] (vs. about twice wider); dorsal and ventral margins of hypural plate forming angle>90° [82.1] (vs. <90°); and presence of pointed expanded flap on anterior portion of cleithrum [92.1] (vs. flap absent).

Included species and distribution: Pronothobranchius kiyawensis ( Ahl, 1928) , first described from northern Nigeria, has been considered as the single valid species (e.g. Wildekamp et al., 1986), including in its synonymy two nominal species, Pronothobranchius gambiensis (Svensson, 1933) from the Gambia river basin, and Pronothobranchius seymouri (Loiselle & Blair, 1971) from the Accra plains in Ghana. In a recent aquarium journal publication ( Valdesalici, 2013), the three nominal species appear as valid, and a fourth species, Pronothobranchius chirioi Valdesalici, 2013 from the Niger river basin, is described. As those nominal species cannot be distinguished on the basis of available data, only P. kiyawensis ( Ahl, 1928) is considered here as valid, although it probably constitutes a species complex in need of a taxonomic revision. Pronothobranchius occurs in a vast area of West Africa, including the main rivers basins of Niger, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Senegal and Gambia.