Aphyosemion

Also known by the vernacular names You might also see it for sale as 'golden lyretail' or 'lyretail panchax, A. australe was among the first killifishes to become popular in the hobby and still a favourite today. There exist a number of wild forms which tend to be labelled with place and year of collection in order to preserve bloodlines and avoid hybridisation, as well as several ornamental strans including 'orange', 'gold', 'chocolate', and 'albino'.

This species is widely-distributed in lowland, coastal regions of Togo, Benin and Nigeria as far as the Cross River delta, and occurs at some inland localities along the lower Niger River. Populations in Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon are now considered to represent other species.

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 a rainforest stream near the settlement of Mintoum, northern Gabon and has a wider distribution in the upper Ivindo River basin, a tributary of the larger Ogooué system. Thi species was considered synonymous with the congener A. herzogi Radda 1975 for a number of years but is currently recognised as distinct.

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.

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.

The type material was derived from a commercial shipment of fishes from Leopoldville, now Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, and presumed to have been collected in the vicinity. The precise extent of its distribution unknown but appears extensive in the middle and lower Congo regions, with specimen collected from Lac Fwa (Sankuru River drainage, a Congo River tributary), many hundreds of kilometres west of Kinshasa, identified as belonging to this species.

The type series was derived from a commercial shipment and this species' natural range remains unconfirmed. It may be restricted to the area between the Kwango and Gamba rivers, the latter a tributary of the former, in western Democratic Republic of Congo. The Kwango is itself a tributary of the Kasai, an affluent of the Congo.

Type locality is the settlement of Bessou, Lobaye prefecture, Central African Republic, which lies within the Ubangi (also spelled Oubangui) River basin. The Ubangi is a major tributary of the Congo River and this species appears restricted to its middle section and thus probably extends into northern Republic of Congo and Democratic Republic of Congo.

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 Río Muni, Equatorial Guinea and appears endemic to south-western parts of the country, with additional collections having occurred in the Río Aye, Río Ecucu and lower Río Benito drainages.

A. gabunense is a good beginner's killifish as it is not an annual species, being found in permanent bodies of water in nature. It exists in several geographical colour forms which are sometimes referred to the subspecies Aphyosemion gabunense gabunense, A. g. boehmi and A. g. marginatum. The latter two are slightly smaller with a maximum standard lenth around 45 mm, and all three can be told apart by differences in colour pattern.

Type locality is Malinga, located in the middle of the Du Chaillu mountain range in Ngounié province, southern Ghana. This lies very close to Republic of the Congo, and the species may also occur across the border.

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.

Described from a minor tributary of the Mvé River running through the village of Akoga, northwestern Gabon and has been recorded in other headwater drainages of the region including the Abanga, Mbei, Komo and Nkam. May occur across the border in southeastern Equatorial Guinea.

This species is not an annual fish, being found in permanent bodies of water in nature. Over 20 different forms of it have been discovered at different localities and a handful have been given subspecific names. The most popular in the aquarium hobby include A. o. ottogartneri and A. o. pyrophore, both of which were initially described as separate species.

Known only from the Batéké plateau region and surrounding area in southeastern Gabon where it's been recorded from the Léconi-Djouya and upper Mpassa rivers, these forming a portion of the much larger Ogooué basin. Type locality is '6 km west of Léconi', the latter presumably referring to the settlement of that name.

This fish may be synonymous with the congener A. castaneum. Collected for the aquarium hobby in 1991 from close to the town of Oyo, Cuvette department, Republic of the Congo. The town lies on the Alima River, a right bank tributary of the middle Congo system.

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.

Appears restricted to the area between the lower Mitmele River, Equatorial Guinea and the lower Ogooué basin in Gabon, including coastal drainages such as the Mbei, Komo and Gabon watersheds in between. Type locality is 'Abanga River, between first and second rapids, Ogowe River system, Gabon', corresponding to the Abanga River bas...