A Review of Morphomeristic Characterization and Classification of Genus Enteromius spp in Africa

Authors

  • H. Jepleting Department of Biological Sciences, School of Science, University of Eldoret, P.o. Box 1125, Eldoret, Kenya
  • J. Wanga Department of Biological Sciences, School of Science, University of Eldoret, P.o. Box 1125, Eldoret, Kenya
  • E. J. Chemoiwa Department of Biological Sciences, School of Science, University of Eldoret, P.o. Box 1125, Eldoret, Kenya
  • J. Barasa Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, University of Eldoret, P.o. Box 1125, Eldoret, Kenya

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.2200/aerj.v5i2.266

Keywords:

Morphomeristics, Enteromius spp., Classification, Conservation

Abstract

Enteromius is currently represented by 350 valid species, making it the most speciose and widely distributed cyprinid genus on the African continent. The Enteromius represents one of the most common genera occurring in almost all river systems across the continent, these fishes are generally difficult to identify because of their very similar body morphology and color pattern, coupled with the lack of revision within the group. Despite this, there are many challenges to adequately conserve the Enteromius because of unsatisfactory taxonomic knowledge of important portions of the genus. In this review, distinctive morphometric characteristics, general characterization and classification of the genus Enteromius occurring in Africa was analyzed. It was established that many species under the genera Enteromius have been mis-identified giving a false impression among the taxa richness. Genus Enteromius is distinguished from other small African diploid smiliogastrin genera distributed in African water bodies (Barboides, Clypeobarbus Barbopsis) based on differences in morphomeristic characteristics. Most occurring differences among Enteromius species are dorsal-fin placement in comparison to anal-fin origin, number of dorsal-fin rays, number of paired nostrils on either side of the snout, eye size, placement in the orbital rim and pigmentation pattern, shape and pattern of mid-lateral scale row. Isolated studies with focusing on a single geographical location resulting to double identification. Since fish under the genera Enteromius spp are sensitive to habitat quality and occurs mostly in small water bodies and headwater streams, the need to conserve catchments to enhance biodiversity.

References

Acosta, A. A., Netherlands, E. C., Retief, F., de Necker, L., du Preez, L., Truter, M., ... & Smit, N. J. (2020). Conserving freshwater biodiversity in an African subtropical wetland: South Africa’s lower Phongolo river and floodplain. In Managing wildlife in a changing world. London, UK: IntechOpen.

Ahmed, N., & Turchini, G. M. (2021). The evolution of the blue-green revolution of rice-fish cultivation for sustainable food production. Sustainability Science, 16(4), 1375-1390.

Binta, E. P. G. B., Tanoh, M. K., Kouassi, B. K., Siaka, B. E. R. T. E., & Essetchi, P. K. (2019). The spatio-temporal dynamics of the fish assemblage of the man-made Lake Buyo (Cote d'Ivoire, West Africa). International Journal of Fisheries and Aquaculture, 11(3), 72-85.

Chemoiwa, E. J., Abila, R., Njenga, E. W., & Barasa, J. (2017). Morphological Characterization and Relationship between Morphometric Parameters and Standard Length Barbus altianalis (Boulenger, 1904) Populations in Lake Victoria Drainage Basin, Kenya. Annual Research & Review in Biology, 1-11.

Decru, E., Vranken, N., Maetens, H., Mertens De Vry, A., Kayenbergh, A., Snoeks, J., & Van Steenberge, M. (2022). DNA barcoding the Lake Edward basin: high taxonomic coverage of a tropical freshwater ichthyofauna. Hydrobiologia, 849(8), 1743-1762.

Decru, E., Vranken, N., Maetens, H., Mertens De Vry, A., Kayenbergh, A., Snoeks, J., & Van Steenberge, M. (2022). DNA barcoding the Lake Edward basin: high taxonomic coverage of a tropical freshwater ichthyofauna. Hydrobiologia, 849(8), 1743-1762.

Decru, E., Vreven, E., & Snoeks, J. (2013). A revision of the Lower Guinean Hepsetus species (Characiformes; Hepsetidae) with the description of Hepsetus kingsleyae sp. nov. Journal of fish biology, 82(4), 1351-1375.

Englmaier, G. K., Tesfaye, G., & Bogutskaya, N. G. (2020). A new species of Enteromius (Actinopterygii, Cyprinidae, Smiliogastrinae) from the Awash River, Ethiopia, and the re-establishment of E. akakianus. ZooKeys, 902, 107.

Folk, R. A., Sun, M., Soltis, P. S., Smith, S. A., Soltis, D. E., & Guralnick, R. P. (2018). Challenges of comprehensive taxon sampling in comparative biology: Wrestling with rosids. American Journal of Botany, 105(3), 433-445.

Gichuru, W., Ojha, S., Smith, S., Smyth, A. R., & Szatkowski, L. (2019). Is microfinance associated with changes in women’s well-being and children’s nutrition? A systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ open, 9(1), e023658.

Günther, A. C. L. G. (1868). Catalogue of the Fishes in the British Museum: Physostomi: Heteropygii, Cyprinidœ, Gonorhynchidœ, Hyodontidœ, Osteoglossidœ, Clupeidœ, Chirocentridœ, Alepocephalidœ, Notopteridœ, Halosauridœ. 1868 (Vol. 7). The Trustees.

Harvey, M. S., Ralph, G. M., Polidoro, B. A., Maxwell, S. M., & Carpenter, K. E. (2021). Identifying key biodiversity areas as marine conservation priorities in the greater Caribbean. Biodiversity and Conservation, 30(13), 4039-4059.

Hayes, M. (2020). Molecular Investigations of the Diversity of Freshwater Fishes across Three Continents. (Doctoral Dissertation. Auburn University).

Hayes, M. M., & Armbruster, J. W. (2017). The taxonomy and relationships of the African small barbs (Cypriniformes: Cyprinidae). Copeia, 105(2), 348-362.

Kambikambi, M. J., Kadye, W. T., & Chakona, A. (2021). Allopatric differentiation in the Enteromius anoplus complex in South Africa, with the revalidation of Enteromius cernuus and Enteromius oraniensis, and description of a new species, Enteromius mandelai (Teleostei: Cyprinidae). Journal of Fish Biology, 99(3), 931-954.

Kambikambi, M. J. (2020). Taxonomic, ecological and biogeographic re-evaluation of temperate stream fishes in Southern Africa: a case study of the enteromius anoplus complex. (Doctoral Dissertation. Rhodes University).

Kanu, U. C., Liang, C., Nwafor, C. C., Shen, J., & Zhang, E. (2022). Phylogenetic Analyses of Cyprinid Species from the Rokel River Basin of Sierra Leone, West Africa: Taxonomic, Biogeographic, and Conservation Implications. Diversity, 14(4), 299.

Lean, C. H. (2019). Ecological Kinds and the Units of Conservation (Doctoral dissertation, The Australian National University (Australia).

Levin, B. A., Casal‐López, M., Simonov, E., Dgebuadze, Y. Y., Mugue, N. S., Tiunov, A. V., ... & Golubtsov, A. S. (2019). Adaptive radiation of barbs of the genus Labeobarbus (Cyprinidae) in an East African river. Freshwater Biology, 64(10), 1721-1736.

Levin, B., Simonov, E., Franchini, P., Mugue, N., Golubtsov, A., & Meyer, A. (2021). Adaptive radiation and burst speciation of hillstream cyprinid fish Garra in African river. BioRxiv.

Lo, M., Reed, J., Castello, L., Steel, E. A., Frimpong, E. A., & Ickowitz, A. (2020). The influence of forests on freshwater fish in the tropics: A systematic review. BioScience, 70 (5), 404-414.

Lubanga, H. L., Manyala, J. O., Sitati, A., Yegon, M. J., & Masese, F. O. (2021). Spatial variability in water quality and macroinvertebrate assemblages across a disturbance gradient in the Mara River Basin, Kenya. Ecohydrology & Hydrobiology, 21 (4), 718-730.

Makaure, J., & Stewart, D. J. (2022). Biogeographic and β-diversity patterns for southern Africa’s native freshwater fishes: a synthesis. Frontiers of Biogeography.

Martin, M. B., & Chakona, A. (2019). Designation of a neotype for Enteromiuspallidus (Smith, 1841), an endemic cyprinid minnow from the Cape Fold Ecoregion, South Africa. ZooKeys, 848, 103.

Masese, F. O., Achieng’, A. O., Raburu, P. O., Lawrence, T., Ives, J. T., Nyamweya, C., & Kaunda‐Arara, B. (2020). Distribution patterns and diversity of riverine fishes of the Lake Victoria Basin, Kenya. International Review of Hydrobiology, 105(5-6), 171-184.

Mashego, S. N., & Matlou, K. S. (2018). A new Dactylogyrus species (Dactylogyridae: Monogenea) from Enteromius mattozi, Cyprinidae, at Piet Gouws Dam, South Africa. African Zoology, 53(3), 107-111.

Mipounga, H. K., Cutler, J., Mve Beh, J. H., Adam, B., & Sidlauskas, B. L. (2019). Enteromius pinnimaculatus (Cypriniformes: Cyprinidae), a new species from Southern Gabon. Journal of Fish Biology.

Mipounga, H. K., Cutler, J., Mve Beh, J. H., Adam, B., & Sidlauskas, B. L. (2020). Enteromius pinnimaculatus sp. nov.(Cypriniformes: Cyprinidae) from southern Gabon. Journal of fish biology, 96(5), 1218-1233.

Mipounga, H. K., Cutler, J., Mve Beh, J. H., Adam, B., & Sidlauskas, B. L. (2019). Enteromius pinnimaculatus (Cypriniformes: Cyprinidae), a new species from Southern Gabon. Journal of Fish Biology. https://doi.org/10.1111/jfb.13995

Petrosino, G., Tancioni, L., Turani, M., Rakaj, A., Ciuffardi, L., & Rossi, A. R. (2022). Phylogeography of Sarmarutilus rubilio (Cypriniformes: Leuciscidae): Complex Genetic Structure, Clues to a New Cryptic Species and Further Insights into Roaches Phylogeny. Genes, 13(6), 1071.

Popoola, M. O., Schedel, F. D. B., Hebert, P. D., & Schliewen, U. K. (2022). First DNA barcode library for the ichthyofauna of the Jos Plateau (Nigeria) with comments on potential undescribed fish species. Peer J, 10, e13049.

Prokofiev, A. M., Levin, B. A., & Golubtsov, A. S. (2021). A new species of Enteromius from the Bale Mountain Region, southeastern Ethiopia (Teleostei: Cyprinidae). Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters/ IEF-1161 / pp. 1-19

Rahel, F. J., & McLaughlin, R. L. (2018). Selective fragmentation and the management of fish movement across anthropogenic barriers. Ecological Applications, 28 (8), 2066 - 2081.

Raphahlelo, M. E., Přikrylová, I., & Matla, M. M. (2020). Dactylogyrus spp.(Monogenea, Dactylogyridae) from the gills of Enteromius spp.(Cypriniformes, Cyprinidae) from the Limpopo Province, South Africa with descriptions of three new species. Acta Parasitologica, 65(2), 396-412.

Ren, Q. (2015). Phylogenetics and evolution in select groups of cyprinid fishes from Asia and Africa (teleostei: cypriniformes) (Doctoral dissertation, Saint Louis University).

Rennie, C. L. (2021). The diversity and dry season habitat associations of fish communities in the Kabompo River Basin, Upper Zambezi, Zambia. (Master of Science of Rhodes University).

Schmidt, R. C., & Bart Jr, H. L. (2015). Nomenclatural changes should not be based on equivocally supported phylogenies: Reply to Yang et al. 2015. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 90, 193-194.

Schmidt, R. C., Bart Jr, H. L., & Nyingi, W. D. (2018). Integrative taxonomy of the red-finned barb, Enteromius apleurogramma (Cyprininae: Smiliogastrini) from Kenya, supports recognition of E. amboseli as a valid species. Zootaxa, 4482(3), 566-578.

Schmidt, R. C., Dillon, M. N., Kuhn, N. M., Bart Jr, H. L., & Pezold, F. (2019). Unrecognized and imperilled diversity in an endemic barb (Smiliogastrini, Enteromius) from the Fouta Djallon highlands. Zoologica Scripta, 48(5), 605-613.

Seara, T., Owens, A., Pollnac, R., Pomeroy, R., & Dyer, C. (2022). Lessons learned from a natural resource disaster: The long-term impacts of the Long Island Sound lobster die-off on individuals and communities. Marine Policy, 136, 104943.

Skelton, P. H. (2016). Name changes and additions to the southern African freshwater fish fauna. African Journal of Aquatic Science, 41 (3), 345-351.

Skelton, P. W., Nolan, S. C., & Scott, R. W. (1990). The Maastrichtian transgression onto the northwestern flank of the Proto-Oman Mountains: sequences of rudist-bearing beach to open shelf facies. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 49(1), 521-547.

Sonet, G., Snoeks, J., Nagy, Z. T., Vreven, E., Boden, G., Breman, F. C., ... & Verheyen, E. (2019). DNA barcoding fishes from the Congo and the Lower Guinean provinces: Assembling a reference library for poorly inventoried fauna. Molecular ecology resources, 19 (3), 728-743.

Tan, M., & Armbruster, J. W. (2018). Phylogenetic classification of extant genera of fishes of the order Cypriniformes (Teleostei: Ostariophysi). Zootaxa, 4476 (1), 6-39.

Tesema, M., Asefa, A., & Delelegn, Y. (2022). Assessment: Ranking Major Threats Impacting Ethiopia’s. Addis Ababa. https://www.biodev2030.org/wpcontent/uploads/2022/04/Ethiopia-National-Biodiversity-Threat-Assessment_Final-Report_Mekbeb-and-Addisu_10_02_2022.pdf

Truter, M., Smit, N. J., Malherbe, W., & Přikrylová, I. (2022). Description of Gyrodactylus paludinosus sp. nov. (Monogenea: Gyrodactylidae) from the Straightfin Barb, Enteromius paludinosus (Peters, 1852), in South Africa. Acta Parasitologica, 67(1), 446-453.

Turyahabwe, R., Mulinya, C., & Shivoga, W. A. (2022). Relationships between land use, habitat quality, physicochemical water quality and fish communities in the Sironko River Catchment, a mountainous tropical stream flowing into the Lake Kyoga in Eastern Uganda. Lakes & Reservoirs: Research & Management, 27(2), e12406.

Van As, JG & Basson, L. (1984). Checklist of freshwater fish parasites from southern Africa. South African Journal of Wildlife Research-24-month delayed open access, 14(2), 49-61.

Voet, I., Denys, C., Colyn, M., Lalis, A., Konečný, A., Delapre, A., ... & Cornette, R. (2022). Incongruences between morphology and molecular phylogeny provide an insight into the diversification of the Crocidura poensis species complex. Scientific reports, 12(1), 1-13.

Weber, F. W. (1897). Jewish theology based on the Talmud and related writings: summarized. Dörffling & Franke.

Weyl, O., Van der Walt, K. A., Swartz, E. R., & Woodford, D. (2017). Using genetics to prioritise headwater stream fish populations of the Marico barb, Enteromius motebensis Steindachner 1894, for conservation action. Koedoe: African Protected Area Conservation and Science, 59 (1), 1-7.

Yang, L., Sado, T., Hirt, M. V., Pasco-Viel, E., Arunachalam M., Li, J., Wang, X., Freyhof, J., Saitoh, K., Simons, A. M., Miya, M., He, S., & Mayden, R. L. (2015). Phylogeny and polyploidy: Resolving the classification of cyprinine fishes (Teleostei: Cypriniformes). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 85: 97–116.

Downloads

Published

2022-11-19

How to Cite

Jepleting, H. ., Wanga, J. ., Chemoiwa, E. J. ., & Barasa, J. . (2022). A Review of Morphomeristic Characterization and Classification of Genus Enteromius spp in Africa. Africa Environmental Review Journal, 5(2), Pg 232–245. https://doi.org/10.2200/aerj.v5i2.266