Sandelia

The Eastern Cape rocky, Sandelia bainsii, is an anabantoid endemic to a handful of river systems in the southeastern Cape, South Africa. Listed as endangered by the IUCN since 1994, it occurs in short sections of only half a dozen rivers. A conservation project begun in 1991 at the Blaauwkrantz Nature Reserve has released captive-bred fish at several sites. Sandelia spp. have a less well-developed labyrinth organ than their relatives.

The Cape kurper, Sandelia capensis, is an anabantoid endemic to the Cape Province, South Africa, found in the middle to lower reaches of many rivers. Its habitats are being destroyed and its numbers declining through introduced predators, damming, pollution and climatic changes. Genetic studies have revealed at least two, possibly several, deep lineages, and these would appear to indicate multiple species.