Aphyosemion cameronense (Boulenger 1903)
Djoum. Photo Courtesy of Ed Pürzl
| Meaning of Name |
After the country it inhabits - Cameroon. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| First Description |
Boulenger G.A. 1903. Descriptions of New Cyprinodont Fishes from Southern Cameroon. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. Series 7, 12 (70): 435-441, 1903. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Size |
5.5 cm. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Meristics |
D = 11-13, A = 14-17, D/A = 1/6, ll = 30-33. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Karyotype |
n = 12-17, A=21-23 (Scheel 1974). Very variable between populations. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sub-Genus |
Mesoaphyosemion | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Group |
A.cameronense | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Synonyms |
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Populations
Ref: KCF website
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Listed here are some of the older collection locations too for reference purposes. Doubtful if any are still in captivity. ABC 06/88 - Campo Maan Akoabas - Amiet collected fish here in February 1981. The location is 25kms southwest of Oveng on the road to Nsak & Minvoul, northern Gabon. Akometam -
Assendjick (Assandjick) - Amiet mentions this in his 1987 book. Location is probably 8kms southeast of Ambam on the road to Eboro. Asseng - Collected by Amiet about 10kms west of Ma'an on the road to Nyabéssan (Nyabizan).
BDBG 04/4 - Yen.
Bengbis -
Bibouleman - Imported into Germany from south Cameroon in the early 1990's. Location probably on the road from Ebolowa to Kribi between Mefo & Akom II. No information on who collected them or even if this is the true collecting point. Bikok - Amiet collected here. This was a small town south of Yaoundé, 7kms west of the Yaoundé - Mbalmayo road. BLLMC 05/18 - Meyo Nyaka. CSK 95 / 9 - Mindourou - Ndjoo River subsystem.An easy population to breed compared to other populations.Prefers peat fibre as a spawning medium. Fry will not be eaten by the parents. Diang - Probably collected & brought back to Europe early 1990's. The collection was soon lost in the hobby. Amiet reports collecting here in March 1985 but none were sent to Europe. Located 46 kms west of Bértoua on the road to Nanga Eboko. Djoum -
GBL 85/31 -
GEMHS 00/3 -
GEMLBJ 03 / 14 -
K 99 - K standing for Koubeck. A commercial collector in Gabon operating 1998 - 2001. No precise data on collection site, just 'North west Congo near Gabon border'. Known to have been imported to South Africa at least.
Lalara -
Lolodorf -
LEC 93 / 3 - Ebé. Nkogh'essy stream about 200 metres northeast of the village. 48kms east of Koumaméyong & 8kms west of Ovan. Pap in Wildekamp's book of 1981 mentions A.maculatum coming from this village but this species could not be found. Males & females appear to be aggressive. Females if not ready to lay are able to defend themselves. More eggs have been found in peat fibre rather than mops. Parents will not harm their young if they are left. LEC 93 / 11 - 5km west
of Ovan near the village of Ayol. Collected on 10th January in
the Méyang stream. Reportedly not as aggressive as LEC
93 / 3. Madang I - Collected by Amiet & sent to France. Situated 7kms north of Lolodorf on the road to Eséka. Next village to Ngoyang.
Mefou (Mefo, Méfo) - Radda mentions this in his 1976 publication 'Der Aphyosemion cameronense Komplex'. A stream in the rainforest near Mefou on the road from Ebolowa to Kribi. Melen - Confusing name as many villages are to be found on maps. Could possibly be 8km east of Nyabéssan, Cameroon. Mentanye - Collected a few kms south of this small village about 10kms south of the Nyong river on the road from Eséka to Lolodorf road. Seems to have been imported into the hobby summer 1990 but thought to have died out. Minkok - Amiet mentions this in his 1987 book. Situated 20kms as the crow flies from Ambam on one of the minor roads to the east. Minlongo - Collected in southern Cameroon by Bas Vlijm et al summer 1990. Village on the Eséke to Lolodorf road. The Minlongo stream crosses the road here. Phenotype 9. Ngoyang Chantier - Ngoyang is French for work site. This is the timber camp for the company Chantier. Eberl tried to find ths inAugust 1990 but it no longer existed. Collected mid '80's & brought back to Europe. Photographed by Maurice Chauche. Also collected by Uwe Kämpf, Wolfgang Eberl & Andreas Kliesch, January 1998 (KEK 98). Another collection from Ngoyang (PEG 90/2) may still be in the hobby but it is not sure if this & the original collection came from the same stream. The PEG 90/2 collection look to have slightly more red spots on the body but I have only seen one photo of this collection. Regarded as being Phenotype 9.
Nsomi (Nsimi) - Radda mentions this in his 1971 publication 'Cyprinodontiden Studien im Südlichen Kamerun'. A stream near Nsomi in the Zoétele District. Nsessoum - Amiet collected here in
March 1985. This village is about 9kms southeast of Méyo
Centre on the road to Ambam. Eberl et al found this location in
1990 (EMS 90/4) & brought back live fish to Europe.
Nyezam - Collected by Amiet. Apparently 2 villages exist with this name & the exact one is not known. Oveng -
Oyém - When originally collected in the mid 1970's this growing urban area was quite small. It is thought the original collecting area in the south of the town has been swallowed up with development. PEG 93 / 16 - Collected on 14th July 1993. Followed an old forest road near Zomoko for several kms to a stream. Reportedly lays well on fibrous peat but does not take to mops. Parents eat their fry so either take eggs or fish out after spawning. Sangmelima -
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| Type Locality |
Very vague description. It is not possible to find the exact location. Several specimens were took from the Kienke (then Kribi) River & one specimen from the Dja River. Dja may refer to a stream or tributary or even an old name for a village. Scheel considered the type locality most likely to be Efoulan. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Distribution |
The Inland Plateau of southern Cameroon, Rio Muni & northern Gabon. Inhabits the drainage systems of the Boumba, Boume, Dja, Lobo, Nyong, Sanaga & Upper Ivindo rivers. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Habitat |
Found in slow moving rainforest streams near the banks. They are reported to be very numerous in the wild.
Biotope of A.exiguum & A.cameronense near Zoetele, Cameroon Photo: Courtesy of Ed Pürzl. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Distinguishing Characteristics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Colour/Pattern Variability | High | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| History |
In 1903 Boulenger had 8 specimens from the Kribi (now Kienke) River & 1 from the Dja River, southern Cameroon, which were collected by Bates. Boulenger gives the following collectors / locations in his 1915 Catalogue.
In 1913 A.ahli (which were probably A.australe) were imported from Cap Lopez, Gabon. Another sp. was included in this shipment said to have been caught in Gabon. They arrived under the label Rivulus urophthalmus (or R.rubra which is not a recognised zoological name). These fish were identified as Haplochilus cameronensis by Arnold. Scheel & Clausen collected the species in the 1960's. Scheel in ROTOW 1 states that he had seen 9 specimens from the Nyong River which were collected by Bates. Again these were identified as Haplochilus cameronensis by Boulenger. In the beginning of the 1970's many authors made collecting trip - Böhm, Bochtler, Haas, Herzog, Gaspers. et al. Radda collected in 1971. In late 1975-1976 Radda & Pürl with the support of Haller collected them in many localities. Towards the end of the 1970's Heinemann & Lenz collected in southern Cameroon/ northern Gabon. Live fish were brought back to Europe. Collected by Jan Pap 1980. Collected by Marice Chauche et al in 1985, Also Bardin & Lombard in the same year. Collected by Bardin, Houdu & Lombard in 1986. January 1986 Wagner &Wendel collected (GWW).
Only location GWW 86/2 was returned alive to Europe. 1987, Amiet made collections. 1990, Eberl, Vlum et al. 1991, Grell, Eberl. Grell 1992. Legros, Cerfontaine & Eberl 1993 (January) & Passaro & Eberl 1994 (August). The history of this sp. is confusing. They have been imported in the past as A.australe & A.ahli & have been confused with many sp. including A.labarrei & A.louessense. History of the synonym Fundulus beauforti AHL 1924 Named after the Dutch Ichthyologist
Dr. L.F. de.Beaufort. Collected by Schreiner at Sangmelima (then Sangmelina).
This location is the same as another synonym, Panchax
bellicauda Ahl 1924. History of the synonym Panchax microstomus AHL 1924 Ahl used 4 specimenscollected by Zenker to describe the species. Information on the type locality for these fish from Cameroon was not published. Holly placed these fish as a synonym for A.cameronense in 1930. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Breeding Notes |
Wild imports are regarded as a little more difficult to breed although fish of F1 or later are regarded as easier to breed. Some populations are easier to breed than others apparently although I do not know which these are. Success has been reported using the natural method of a well planted tank & letting nature take it's course. Fry are safe with the parents & can be netted out to their own tank after a few weeks. Growth is slow & they can take 8 months to reach sexual maturity. Rudiger Wagner in BKA Killinews No.290 (November
1989) reported leaving a pair to over winter at 13°C. When the temperature
rose in the spring to 15-16°C 5-6 eggs were found daily. At 18°C
egg laying ceased. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Diameter of Egg | 1·2 mm | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Remarks |
Young fish are regarded as sensitive to metabolic
waste build up in the water. Also, sudden water changes can be equally
harmful. Small regular water changes have been found to be the ideal
method of maintenance. For further reference to this species please refer to the book 'Faszination Killifische: Die Aphyosemion cameronense Gruppe' by Dadaniak, Lütje & Eberl. This is in German but an English transcript booklet is available. |
