RE: [Killietalk] N. Kafuensis Mambova, etc.

["Brian R. Watters" <bwatters at sasktel_net>]

RuevenM at aol_com wrote:

>
>      I'm curious about the new population of kafuensis from
> Mambova. I have
> the fish and I would say the are the most spectacular of the
> various beautiful
> kafuensis populations in the hobby. Can you tell us anything about the
> collection of the species and its wild habitat?
>

This population was discovered last year in southwestern Zambia by myself,
Johan Ippel and Johan Bornman. As you say, it is indeed a spectacular
population and there are two aspects that make this one quite special:

Firstly, it is the only known mixed/intermediate population of N. kafuensis
in that it includes specimens of the blue form, the "red" form and an
intermediate form. All previously known populations were either of the "red"
or blue forms (never mixed) and no intermediate specimens were known.
Incidentally, at the Mambova location the intermediate form is by far the
most common form. "Red" form males are quite rare in this population and
differ somewhat to the well-known Chunga and Nega Nega populations. No
differences among females can be detected.

Secondly, this is the first population of N. kafuensis to be found outside
of the Kafue River drainage system (it occurs in the Zambezi River system).

>
> Also, a question  about the orthonotus
> population pictured in Bob Morenski's AKA gallery -- MOZ 99-8. It
> reminds me
> of the super red population of orthonotus that came into the
> hobby in 1970 and
> was called the Villa Macho Notho or U-4 (I think). U-3 and U-5 were both
> orthonotus locations too. Any thoughts on this possibility? The
> 99-8 has to be the reddest orthonotus I have ever seen.
>

Bob may be able to comment on this but, so far as I am concerned, the bright
red color of the fish in Bob's photo is not true. I have had various
generations of this particular population, including wild specimens (Bob got
eggs from me) and it is not a particularly striking fish, having the fairly
dull, wine-red/maroon coloration typical of most populations of N.
orthonotus. In fact, some of the wild fish were almost verging on a "green"
form of the species. The location of that population is in southern
Mozambique (Lower Limpopo River system) and a long way from the town that
was previously known as Vila Machado (now Nhamatanda, west of Beira).

I have only seen a photo of the Vila Machado Notho so I cannot really
comment on that one, however, of all the populations I have seen, the one
that is by far the reddest and the most striking is the Kruger National Park
(Pumbe Picket) population.

>
> Another question, I noticed on Vasco
> Gomes webpage a population of sp. Mansa called Katanga(?). It looks a bit
> different from the Mansa but is very nice. Any ideas on where
> this second location came from?
>

This is the Kasanka (National Park) population of N. sp. Mansa. The
population presently in the hobby was collected (twice) by a Danish
development worker who sent specimens to John Rosenstock. The strain in the
hobby stems one of these collections. It has also been collected in the
Kasanka area by a Dutch ichthyologist but that did not lead to an
introduction into the hobby. In 1992 I collected a population of the same
species not too far away, north of Kapalala (my N. sp. ZAM 92-4).
___________________________________________
Brian R. Watters
University of Regina
Regina, Sask. S4S 0A2, Canada
Ph: (306) 584-9161 (home); (306) 585-4663 (work)
Fax: (306) 585-5433
E-mail: bwatters at sasktel_net



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