Two new species of Chromaphyosemion killifishes have been described from the coastal plain of Equatorial Guinea in west central Africa by Rainer Sonnenberg.
The two new species are named Chromaphyosemion ecucuense and Chromaphyosemion erythron in the latest issue of Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters.
Chromaphyosemion ecucuenseChromaphyosemion ecucuense is distinguished from other members of the genus in having a combination of male colour characters: an orange to copper body colour, unpaired fins with red dots, orange coloured anal fin, and an usually uninterrupted and often broad red submarginal line with vertically distributed red streaks between the fin rays in the lower third or half of the anal fin.
This species is named after the Ecucu River, from whose drainage it is found.
Chromaphyosemion erythronThis species is distinguished from other members of the genus in having the following colour characteristics in males: a thin and uninterrupted red submarginal stripe on the anal fin, the absence or only small traces of a red submarginal stripe in the pelvic fin, light blue to blue-grey colour on the sides with nearly regular rows of red dots from head to caudal peduncle, and orange and blue colour in the centre of the unpaired fins with greenish only in the centre of the caudal fin.
Chromaphyosemion erythron is named after the nearly regular rows of red spots on the sides of the body and the red spotted fins of males (Greek erythros = red).
For more information, see the paper: Sonnenberg, R (2007) Two new species of Chromaphyosemion (Cyprinodontiformes: Nothobranchiidae) from the coastal plain of Equatorial Guinea. Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters 18, pp. 359"373.