The identity of Barbus capensis Smith, 1841 and the generic status of southern African tetraploid cyprinids (Teleostei, Cyprinidae)

  • Paul H. Skelton South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity, Somerset Street, Grahamstown 6140
  • Ernst R. Swartz South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity, Somerset Street, Grahamstown 6140
  • Emmanuel J. Vreven Vertebrate Section, Ichthyology, Royal Museum for Central Africa, Leuvensesteenweg 13, 3080 Tervuren
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2018.410
Keywords: taxonomy, genera, mtDNA, tetraploids, Smiliogastrini

Abstract

The identity of Barbus capensis, as described by Andrew Smith (1841), is reviewed following a careful examination of the lectotype in the Natural History Museum, London. Evidence shows clearly that it represents a specimen of the Berg-Breede River whitefish or ‘witvis’ and not the species known as the Clanwilliam yellowfish, to which it was attributed until recently. The original illustration of the species is shown to be a composite of these two different species. A replacement name for the Clanwilliam yellowfish is drawn from the earliest described synonym, Labeobarbus seeberi (Gilchrist & Thompson, 1913). Following widespread recognition that the genus Barbus Daudin, 1805 does not occur in sub-Saharan Africa, the generic status of the Berg-Breede River whitefish (witvis) and other tetraploid cyprinines of southern Africa is reviewed, taking genetic and morphological characters into account. Five distinct lineages, each representing a genus, are recognized, including the genera Pseudobarbus Smith, 1841 and Cheilobarbus Smith, 1841, and three new genera described herein: Amatolacypris gen. nov., Sedercypris gen. nov. and Namaquacypris gen. nov.

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Published
2018-03-02
How to Cite
Skelton, P. H., Swartz, E. R., & Vreven, E. J. (2018). The identity of Barbus capensis Smith, 1841 and the generic status of southern African tetraploid cyprinids (Teleostei, Cyprinidae). European Journal of Taxonomy, (410). https://doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2018.410
Issue
No. 410 (2018): The identity of Barbus capensis Smith, 1841 and the generic status of southern African tetraploid cyprinids (Teleostei, Cyprinidae)
Section
Zoology
Copyright (c) 2018 Paul H. Skelton, Ernst R. Swartz, Emmanuel J. Vreven

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