09-07-2025
‘Large'-eyed creature found in murky water of shrinking pond. It's a new species
On a floodplain in the Democratic Republic of the Congo sat a shrinking pond, doomed to eventually dry up. Inside its murky waters swam a scaly blue creature with 'large' yellow eyes. Something about it caught the attention of passing scientists — and for good reason.
It turned out to be a new species.
Béla Nagy and a team of 'colleagues from the University of Lubumbashi' spent seven years visiting rivers in southern Africa to survey 'seasonal' fish known as killifish, Nagy wrote in a study published June 30 in the peer-reviewed journal Ecology and Diversity.
Native to Africa, killifish live in 'ephemeral wetlands' of the savanna, the study said. They have short lifespans to survive the 'periodic drying out of their natural habitats.' Every wet season, they hatch, breed and bury their eggs before dying off during the dry season in an annual cycle.
During their 2023 surveys, researchers found a few unfamiliar-looking killifish, the study said. They took a closer look at the animals, analyzed their DNA and realized they'd discovered a new species: Nothobranchius katemomandai, or Katemo Manda's seasonal killifish.
Katemo Manda's seasonal killifish are considered 'medium sized,' reaching about 1.7 inches in length, the study said. Males are 'robust,' while females are 'slightly more slender.' Both have 'short' heads with 'slightly pointed' snouts, 'slightly curved' teeth and 'large' yellow eyes.
Males and females of the new species vary in coloring. Photos show the females, which have silvery gray scales, and the males, which have 'light blue' scales edged with 'red-brown.'
Katemo Manda's seasonal killifish live in 'remnant pools in small ephemeral riverbeds,' the researchers said. These ponds are less than 3 feet deep, 'overgrown by grass' and murky.
A few Katemo Manda's seasonal killifish were kept in an aquarium for 'observation of breeding behaviour and biology,' the study said. These fish were successfully bred, and their eggs were 'slightly oval.'
Researchers said they named the new species after their friend Bauchet Katemo Manda, 'a professor at the University of Lubumbashi,' because he first discovered it and because of 'his dedication' to studying fish in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
So far, the new species has only been found at one site in the southern Democratic Republic of the Congo. The country is in central Africa and borders nine countries: Angola, Burundi, Central African Republic, the Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.
Researchers considered Katemo Manda's seasonal killifish to be a vulnerable and at-risk species because of their annual life cycle, limited distribution and proximity to 'human populations.'
The new species was identified by its DNA, coloring, body proportions and other subtle physical features, the study said.
Nagy also discovered three more new species of seasonal killifish and one new species of lampeye fish.
