Genuses: Scriptaphyosemion A. C. Radda and E. Pürzl, 1987, Callopanchax Myers, 1933 (syn. Roloffia H. S. Clausen, 1966), Archiaphyosemion A. C. Radda, 1977 and Nimbapanchax R. Sonnenberg and E. Busch, 2009.
Genus: Scriptaphyosemion
A. C. Radda and E. Pürzl, 1987.
First description: (Radda og Pürzl, 1987,
p.8).
Type species: Aphyosemion guineense geryi Lambert, 1958.
Etymology: Scriptaphyosemion (Neutral); script- (Latin) = write, written, refers to the pattern of the red pigment on the bodysides.
Defination: R. Romand,
1992, p.594: 
-"Body
pattern with important red spots or stripes over a blue-green pigmentation;
no dark cross bars on the flanks."
Species: Scr. bertholdi, Scr. brueningi, Scr. cauveti, Scr. chaytori, Scr. etzeli, Scr. fredrodi, Scr. geryi, Scr. guignardi, Scr. liberiensis, Scr. roloffi and Scr. schmitti.
Taxonomi: Karyotype. n = 18-21, number of chromosome arms A = 22-30, S = 2,1T-2,5T %. Frontal scalation of the G-Type, neuromasts closed.
Distribution: Senegal, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Mali and Burkino Faso. See distribution map.
Remarks: Many very beutiful species, which resemble Aphyosemion
species in coloration. Marked difference between the two sexes, the male
being the larger and colorful one. DNA studies (Murphy & Collier
1997& Murphy
et al. 1999a) reveal a
close relation to Callopanchax and Archiaphyosemion and a
more distant relation to Nimbapanchax and Epiplatys. Osteology
studies (Costa 2009b), allmost agrees in this phylogeni, but place Aphyosemion/Fundulopanchax
rather than Epiplatys as the sistergroup. See phylogeni.
Some of the species are semi anuelle, with a dry period up to a month, and
the eggs of Scr. liberiense "calabaricus" can even endure
a dry period of 4 months (Roloff, 1967b). Scriptaphyosemion
lives hidden between gras, plants and roots close to the banks of the habitat
during the day. They become active at dusk to hunt for insects at the surface
(Roloff, 1967b), and according to Romand and Cauvet, (#Obs R. Romand
#AKA con video#1998b., Cauvet 200#) Scr. guignardi and Scr. geryi,
remains visible during the night where they can easily be caught in the
light from flashlights. All according to species, they prefers either smaller
brooks, small waterholes with low water or flooded rice fields. The distribution
is clearly divided into lowland and highland species. #Some (all?) Scriptaphyosemion-species
have a yearly cycle, where adults retracts to permanent waters in the dry
period and til temporære vande i regntiden. All species are excellent
jumpers, and #springer ofte over land imellem vandløb/vandhuller
??eller W. Arlt 196# eller Roloff 1967b (G. Wiefel, S. Heidrich & R.
Bech, 1968).
Bodylength (SL) 40-50 mm, exceptionally more than 60 mm (Scr. schmitti and Scr. cauveti).
Genus: Callopanchax Myers, 1933 (synonym Roloffia H. S. Clausen, 1966)
Callopanchax Myers, 1933
First description: Myers, G.S., 1933, p.#180-185.
Etymology: Callo- (from greek: kalos=beautiful) = #"nydelig"nice#neat#pretty# or beutiful. Panchax = Referring to the local (India) name "Pangchak" for killies (Aplocheilus species).
Type species: Aphyosemion sjoestedti (non Lönnberg 1895)
Species: Cal. huwaldi, Cal. monroviae, Cal. occidentale, Cal. sidibeorum, Cal. toddi.
Taxonomi: Karyotype. n =23, number of chromosome arms A = 43-46, S = 2,3M-2,5T %. Frontal scalation of the G-Type, neuromasts closed.
Distribution: Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia. See distribution map.
Remarks: Annual species resembling Fundulopanchax species
in size and behavior. Marked difference between the two sexes, the male
being the larger and colorful one. DNA studies (Murphy & Collier
1997& Murphy
et al. 1999a) reveal closet
relation to Scriptaphyosemion and a more distant relation to Archiaphyosemion,
Nimbapanchax and Epiplatys. Osteology studies (Costa 2009b
), allmost
agrees in this phylogeni, but place Aphyosemion/Fundulopanchax rather
than Epiplatys as the sistergroup. See phylogeni
All species are anuelle, with a #dryperiod of #3-8 months. Cal. monroviae
is the least annual. ##Callopanchax species are often /allways?
found syntopt with Scriptaphyosemion species (#GER,CHY,ETZ,LIB?)
##they inhabit differnt parts of the biotope, and it must? Geisler? Roloff?
Cauvet? be assumed that Callo# predate on Scriptaphyosemion. ########is
hidden between gras, plants and roots close to the #banks, during the day
# langs bredderne, og kommer først frem i skumringen for at jage
insekter (Roloff, 1967b). #Ifølge (Obs R. Romand) #forbliver Scr.
guignardi #fremme om natten##. Alt efter art foretrækker de enten
mindre vandløb, mindre vandhuller med lavt vand, eller oversvømmede
rismarker. Some (all?) Scriptaphyosemion-species have a yearly cycle,
hvor de ##(yngel?) vandrer fra permanente (tørtid) til temporære
vande i regntiden. Alle arter er fremragende springere, og springer ofte
over land imellem vandløb/vandhuller ??eller W. Arlt eller Roloff
1967b (G. Wiefel, S. Heidrich & R. Bech, 1968).
Bodylenght (SL) # mm.
Roloffia, H. S. Clausen, 1966.
First description: H. S. Clausen, 1966, p.## and H. S. Clausen, 1967, p.##
Type species: Aphyosemion occidentale H. S. Clausen 1966.
Etymology: Roloffia = named in honor of the German amateur Ichthyologist Erhard Roloff.
Genus: Archiaphyosemion: A. C. Radda, 1977.
First description: (Radda, 1977, p.214-215).
Type species: Aphyosemion guineense Daget 1954.
Etymologi: Archiaphyosemion (Neutral); archi- (Greek) = original [first in time], beginning, first cause, origin, ancient, primitive, from the beginning, most basic. #and Aphyosemion a genus of distently related species, #author thought ###
Defination: (Original description see Radda & Pürzl,
1977) R. Romand, 1992, p.594:
-"Dark cross bars on the flanks; unpaired fins without apex nor streamer
; caudal fin truncated or rounded ; few red pigments." Sonnenberg &
Busch, 2009, p.#: -"##".
Species: Arch. guineense.
Taxonomi: Karyotype. n = 19-24(25), number of chromosome arms A = 24-28, S = 2,6T-2,9T%. Frontal scalation of the E-Type, neuromast pattern closed.
Distribution: Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia. See distribution map.
Remark: Arterne i underslægten Archiaphyosemion kunne med rette, kaldes for de Epiplatys-lignende Roloffia-arter. Eksempler på dette er R. Romand's defination med mørke tværstriber, Roloff's observationer af R. guineensis adfærd ved Lago i Sierra Leone, Daget GUI-BIF-SPI, PET og MEL ofte forvekslet med Epiplatys før Meinken, 1952, p.# & Scheel, 19##, p.#
Bodylenght (SL) # mm.
Genus: Nimbapanchax: R. Sonnenberg og E. Busch, 2009.
First description: (Sonnenberg og Busch, 2009, p.8-10).
Type species: Nimbapanchax leucopterygius Sonnenberg & Busch, 2009.
Etymologi: Nimbapanchax (masculine); Nimba = #bjerg plateau
i grænseområdet imellem Liberia og Guinea. Panchax; =
Efter det lokale (Indien) navn "Pangchak" for killier (Aplocheilus)..
#Named after the Mount Nimba region, around which most of the included species
are found, in combination with Panchax Valenciennes in Cuvier and Valenciennes,
1846, a junior synonym of Aplocheilus McClelland, 1839, an aplocheiloid
genus, often used in the last century for several African species as common
name. Gender masculine.#
Defination: (#Oprindelig beskrivelse se Radda & Pürzl, 1977)
R. Romand, 1992, p.594: -"Mørke tværstriber på kropssiderne;
uparrede finner uden forlængelser; hale finnen tilspidset eller afrundet;
sparsomt rødt pigment."
p.8-10 Type species.
Nimbapanchax leucopterygius, new species, by original designation. Diagnosis.
In addition to their genetic distinctness, the species of this new genus
differ from A. guineense by several morphological characters. In Nimbapanchax
the frontal squamation is usually of the G-type, which might be the plesiomorphic
state in Nothobranchiidae, versus the exceptional E-type in A. guineense
(Scheel 1968; Wildekamp 1993). However, Huber (1978) reported an E-type
pattern for some individuals of Diapteron georgiae and Raddaella kunzi and
we found in N. melanopterygius, new species, several individuals with an
E-type pattern and in one case one of the E-scales is covered by the G-scale
and the other one is above the G-scale.
We found in Nimbapanchax a slightly lower mean number of scales along the
lateral line than in Archiaphyosemion (see Tables 3–5); however, Daget
(1954) gives the range from 30–34 scales so the upper number found
in Nimbapanchax overlaps with the lowest in Archiaphyosemion. Nimbapanchax
can also be diagnosed by lower numbers of transverse scales (8–10 vs.
11–12) and circumpeduncular scales (12–14 vs. 15–17) without
overlapping ranges (Tables 3–5).
Nimbapanchax usually has lower vertebrae counts as Archiaphyosemion (vertebrae
with pleural ribs 13–14, vertebrae with haemal spines 14–16 [total
numbers 27–30] vs. 14–15 + 16–17 [total numbers 30–31])(Table
5). Overlap in total vertebrae numbers is currently only known between N.
leucopterygius new species (29–30) and A. guineense (30–31), the
remaining Nimbapanchax species have counts between 27–29 vertebrae.
The color pattern in the male caudal fin consists mostly of dark blotches
or dots, stripes, if present, only short in posterior part versus contrasting
light and dark stripes, usually from root of caudal to posterior fin margin
between or along fin rays and no dots or blotches in A. guineense. Adult
Nimbapanchax species do not reach, according the literature and own observations,
the maximum total length of adult A. guineense (60 mm vs. 65 mm, Wildekamp
& Van der Zee 2003).
Both Nimbapanchax and Archiaphyosemion are separated from the related
Callopanchax and Scriptaphyosemion by the combination of the following characters:
lower dorsal and anal fin counts as Callopanchax (D: 11–15, A: 14–18
[Archiaphyosemion], D: 8–14, A: 13–18 [Nimbapanchax] vs. D: 14–23,A:
17–20 in Callopanchax [data from Wildekamp & Van der Zee 2003]),
origin of dorsal fin posterior to origin of anal fin versus origin of dorsal
and anal fin nearly at the same level in Callopanchax; body brown to reddish
brown, in males with metallic blue to blue-greenish on sides, only rarely
red pigmentation (mainly in some populations of A. guineense, in N. petersi
and N. viridis) and no red submarginal stripes in dorsal and upper caudal
fin versus an intensive blue or green background on side in males with red
lines, dots or blotches and red submarginal stripes in all unpaired fins
in Scriptaphyosemion, except for a red margin on anal fin instead of a red
submarginal stripe in some populations.
Included species. Nimbapanchax jeanpoli (Berkenkamp & Etzel, 1979),
N. leucopterygius new species, N. melanopterygius new species, N. petersi
(Sauvage, 1882), and N. viridis (Ladiges & Roloff, 1973).
Distribution. With the exception of N. petersi, which inhabits the coastal
plain in southeastern Ivory Coast and southwestern Ghana, all remaining
species are found around the Mount Nimba region in southeastern Guinea,
northern Liberia, and western Ivory Coast in the upper region of the coastal
rivers drainage systems (Mano to Sassandra Rivers) (Fig. 1) (Berkenkamp
& Etzel 1979; Etzel 1974a, b, 1992, 1993; Huber 1982, 2000; Paugy et
al. 1990; Teugels et al. 1988; Wildekamp & Van der Zee 2003).
Etymology. Named after the Mount Nimba region, around which most of the
included species are found, in combination with Panchax Valenciennes in
Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1846, a junior synonym of Aplocheilus McClelland,
1839, an aplocheiloid genus, often used in the last century for several
African species as common name. Gender masculine.
Remarks. We erect Nimbapanchax as new genus to include all former Archiaphyosemion
species except the type species of Archiaphyosemion Radda, 1977, A. guineense
(Daget, 1954), because the molecular data, supported by morphology, indicate
that the latter is only distantly related to the species included in the
new genus. The monophyly of Archiaphyosemion in the current usage is not
supported and the former 'Roloffia' group is represented in the molecular
genetic data by four distinct lineages where Archiaphyosemion is the sister
group to Scriptaphyosemion and Callopanchax, and Nimbapanchax probably the
sister group to a clade formed by these three genera.
Arter: Nimbapanchax jeanpoli, Nim#. leucopterygius, Nim#. melanopterygius, Nim#. petersi, Nim#. viridis.
Taxonomi: Karyotype. n = 19-24(25), Zahl der Arme A = 24-28, S = 2,6T-2,9T%. Hovedskælsmønster af G-Typen (E-type hos Archiaph. guineense), neuromast mønster lukket (Variablet hos Archiaph. maeseni ifølge J.J. Scheel, 19##, p.#).
Phylogeni: (Sonnenberg & Busch, 2009, p.5-8) DNA analysis: Nimbapanchax
petersii# is sister taxon to two species pairs including on one side
Nim. jeanpoli
and Nim. viridis and on the other side Nim. leu# .
Udbredelse: Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Elfenbenskysten, Ghana. Se endvidere udbredelseskort.
Bemærkning: Arterne i slægten Archiaphyosemion kunne
med rette, kaldes for de Epiplatys-lignende Callopanchina-arter.
Eksempler på dette er R. Romand's defination med mørke tværstriber,
Roloff's observationer af Archiaph. guineense adfærd ved Lago
i Sierra Leone, Daget's observationer af Archiaph. guineense som
økologisk modpart til Epiplatys bifasciatus og Epiplatys
spilargereus#, og endelig det factum at Archiaph. petersi og
Archiaph. melantereon blev identificeret som Epiplatys før
Meinken, 1952, p.# & Scheel, 19##, p.# fik dem placeret rigtigt.
Ingen af arterne er anuelle #, adfærd meget
Kropslængde (SL) 40-50# mm, undtagelsesvis over 60 mm (Archiaph. guineense).
Totallængde (TL): #.