Redescription of Enteromius eutaenia ( Boulenger , 1904) ( Cyprinidae, Smiliogastrinae ) and the description of two new species of Enteromius from the Cunene River , southern Africa

Abstract

The orangefin barb, Enteromius eutaenia – a small‐sized smiliogastrin barb characterised by orange/yellow fins, a thickened and serrated last unbranched dorsal‐fin ray, a dark mid‐lateral stripe and a sheath of enlarged scales at the base of dorsal fin – is considered widely distributed across southern Africa. Distinct phenotypic groups suggest unrecognised species‐level diversity, but taxonomic progress has been limited by the poor knowledge of true E. eutaenia. Here, we re‐examine the type specimens of E. eutaenia and a collection of E. eutaenia‐ like fishes from the Cunene River system to clarify their taxonomic status, using morphometric/meristic data and mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) sequences. Based on these data, we redescribe E. eutaenia and describe two new species: Enteromius bieensis sp. nov. (found in sympatry with E. eutaenia in the Upper Cunene River close to Huambo, situated on the Bié Plateau, Angola) and Enteromius ruacanaensis sp. nov. (found in the Lower Cunene River, Ruacana Gorge, below the Ruacana Falls at the border between Namibia and Angola).

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