RE: KillieTalk Digest V4 #445

[owner-killietalk at aka_org (by way of Barry Cooper <bjc3 at cornell_edu>)]

Can anyone provide the basic details of Costa's recent assignment of myersi
to the genus Simpsonichthys and of the "red" whitei to a new species?

Lee Harper
Media, Pa

Lee,

I looked over the paper by Costa last night from the Icthyological
Exploration of Freshwaters.  As for the difference between Nematolebias
whitei and papilliferus I examined the photos and checked both of my stocks
that are labeled "whitei" and discovered that I had both fish.  Costa does
give a way to distinguish differences but after examining the photos and
looking at the fish it was blatantly obvious they are different.  Nem.
whitei is distinguished in the males by patterns of the gold pearl spots on
the flanks of the body.  Although the pattern seems regular, on the Nem.
papilliferus those spots form vertical bars.  Further differentiating
species, what are patterned rows of pearl spots on the unpaired fins of Nem.
whitei become solid stripes between the rays in Nem. papilliferus.

What separates "myersi" into Simpsonicthys is not very obvious and the
reasons are primarily dorsal fin ray patterns.  Which, guess what, is
suggesting further review of Simpsonicthys and potential further
splitting!!!!

The fish that have been distributed as Nem. whitei Barra de Sao Joao (U.S.
source was Dan Nielsen) are Nem. papilliferus.  A few years ago I received
some Nem. whitei red from Matt Hirvonen shortly after he moved from Madison,
WI which were labeled F3's.  Observing this fish, it definitely is Nem.
whitei.  Whether the "red" form that others have is "whitei" needs to be
determined.  A map accompanied the article.  In the immediate area around
Cabo Frio one finds Nem. whitei, both north and south of the town along the
coast and on several sites north of the "lagoon" created by the barrier
beach immediately to the west and south west of Cabo Frio.  However, as one
approaches closer to Rio de Janerio one finds the Nem. papilliferus (it
looks like near the towns of Bunche and Manca to the west of Manoel Ribeiro
which is on the north side of that particular lagoon and on the north west
side of the next series of lagoons immediately to the east, between Jacone
and Sampalo Correia).

I hope you find this useful.

Dave Koran


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