Cameroon

There exist several different colour forms of this species depending on collection locality, and these should not be kept together in order to prevent hybridisation and preserve bloodlines. It has been classified in the subgenus Chromaphyosemion by some authors who consider that nominal grouping to represent a monophyletic branch of a paraphyletic Aphyosemion.

This species is still very rare in the hobby although it has built up something of a following among enthusiasts of planted 'nano' aquaria and you may see it on sale under the trade names of 'dwarf amber/ember barb'. Its small adult size evolved via a process known as miniaturisation characterised by sexually mature adults with a significantly reduced size of less than 20mm SL. Among bony fishes cyprinids are one of the few groups in which this phenomenon occurs repeated...

A stylish-looking but rare barb in the hobby and unfortunately little information is available regarding its captive care. Forum member Andy Rushworth has kept a lone individal and told us it was a perfect aquarium inhabitant in terms of behaviour and maintenance. He also mentioned that the fish he had looked exactly like the specimen in our images but that he has seen at least one batch of what appeared to be a different species imported under the same na...

This species is native to Central West Africa where it is principally found in the great Ogooué and Congo River systems. It therefore has an extensive range and has been recorded at numerous localities right across the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) from the Ituri River in the far east of the country to the Luki River basin in the extreme west. The Congo River appears to represent the southernmost limit of its range as a...

Although gregarious by nature it is a shoaling rather than schooling species which develops a distinct pecking order between males. It should ideally be maintained in a group of 8 or more but the tank must be of a sufficient size which will allow weaker individuals some respite from dominant conspecifics and decorated in such a way that many broken lines of sight are provided. Conversely if kept singly, in a very small group or in cramped conditions it can become withdrawn and subdominant fish may be bullied incessantly.

The genus Barbus is in something of a confused state classification-wise. While there exist almost 340 putative species the vast majority of them do not appear to be closely-related to the genus Barbus sensu stricto. Berrebi et al. (1996) proposed that only the European, Southwest Asian and North African representatives should be included in Barbus (around 20 species) and that 'all species of Barbus sen...

Described from Assinie-Mafia in south-eastern Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), western Africa but currently accepted to be extensively distributed in coastal river drainages of central western Africa from the Saint John River, central Liberia to the Cross River drainage, in southeastern Nigeria and southwestern Cameroon. It also occurs in the Niger and its major tributary the Benue (Bénoué) and has thus been recorded from Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria and Togo.

Following Bonou and Teugels (1985), P. africana can be distinguished from congeners by the following combination of characters: colour pattern unique, comprising a series of 8-11 dark, chevron-shaped markings extending along the body posterior to the pectoral fins; 19-24 scales in the transverse series; lateral line complete with 73-83 pored scales; 45-48 dorsal-fin rays 45-48; 32-35 anal-fin rays.

Tetraodon pustulatus

Described from a small stream in Mambanda, near Kumba, western Cameroon, and appears restricted to parts of the central Mungo River basin in that region.

This species' currently accepted range stretches from eastern Nigeria (Mbam River) across central Cameroon (via the Sanaga River system of which the Mbam is a tributary) and across the border into Central African Republic (upper Mambéré basin). It was described from 'Jade Plateau, Cameroon', this apparently corresponding to the Lebo River which lies in what is now the Central African Republic and presumably forms part of the Mambéré headwaters.

Described from northern Gabon, close to 'Zoumoukou', which is seeen on modern maps as 'Zomoko', but has a much wider distribution extending into Equatorial Guinea (upper parts of some Benito River tributaries), and southern Cameroon (Ntem River), as well as the Ivindo and Okano drainages in Gabon, the latter pair both tributaries of the much larger Ogooué system.

Described from the 'Kribi', now known as Kienké, river, southwestern Cameroon and has a wider distribution in the region, occurring in the Lokundje and Nyong drainages.

This species is also known as 'Gardner's Killi' and 'blue lyretail' and the commonly-available aquarium forms are perhaps among the best choices for those new to keeping killifishes being relatively hardy, colourful and easy to breed. A number of ornamental strains have also been line-bred by aquarists including 'gold' and 'albino'.

Known only from a relatively small area near the villages of Takwai I and II, Atebong Wire and Edjuingan in wester Cameroon, with records existing from the Bagwor and Mack river systems both of which are tributaries within the upper Cross River basin, western Cameroon. Type locality is 'West Cameroon, 5°34'N, 9°50'E'. Collections of wild fish are generally lab...

Type locality is close to a waterfall on the Ndian River in southwestern Cameroon, and appears restricted to the coastal plains either side of the border between Cameroon and Nigeria, including the Korup and Cross River National Parks.

Described from 'Buala, Cameroon', which corresponds to modern-day Bouala in Central African Republic. It's known distribution includes parts of northern Cameroon, western Central African Republic, southeastern Chad and possibly eastern Nigeria in the upper Benue and Mayo Kébbi river systems. The specific name was mis-used to refer to various populations of the congener A. elberti prior to 1990, and we've been unable to confirm if the specimen pictured here is correctly identified or not. It is listed as 'endangered' by the IUCN.