Epiplatys togolensis Loiselle 1971

E.togolensis Benin. Photo courtesy of Ed Pürzl.

Meaning of Name

After the country of origin - Togo.
First Description

Loiselle P.V. 1971. (Epiplatys sexfasciatus togolensis).

The biology of Epiplatys sexfasciatus Gill 1862 (Teleostomi: Cyprinodontidae: Rivulinae) in southeastern Dahomey & the Togo Hills.

Journal of the American Killifish Association (JAKA) 7 (2): p 29-53, figures, map.
Size

61 mm (Standard Length, as given in the original description).
Meristics
  • D = 10-12, A = 15-18, ll = 28-32 Loiselle 1971, as for original description)
  • D = 9-13, A = 14-19, ll = 27-32 (Loiselle 1971, as in other populations)
  • D = 10-11, A = 16-17, ll = 28-29 (Scheel 1974)
Karyotype

n = 24, A = 25 (Scheel 1974, 1990)
Sub-Genus

Epiplatys
Group

sexfasciatus
Synonyms
  • Haplochilus sexfasciatus Stansch 1909
  • Aplocheilus sexfasciatus Fowler 1919 (in part)
  • Panchax sexfasciatus Rachow 1928
  • Epiplatys sexfasciatus Arnold & Ahl 1936
  • Epiplatys sexfasciatus togolensis Loiselle 1971
  • Aplocheilus sexfasciatus togolensis Scheel 1990
  • Epiplatys togolensis Etzel 1995
Populations
  • Agbara
  • Amakpavé (southern Togo)
  • Benin
  • Cotonou
  • Djigbé
  • DKG Strain
  • Etoé
  • Igolo
  • Isiokpo
  • Iwo - (aff..togolensis) NTC 2007 / 1
  • Lagos (southwestern Nigeria)
  • Ogbado River State
  • Ondo
  • Palimé - (southeastern Togo) (Kpalimé ?)
  • Tailor Creek
  • Tchékpoé Dédékpoé
  • Tsévié
  • Ughelli - CI 2002
  • Wamé
  • NTC - 2007 / 1
  • TMBB - 90 / 11
  • TAAG - 2004 / 5
  • Wli Falls - GS 16 / 01
  • CJ 05 - Niger Delta
  • 10km on the road from Ikeja to Lagos
  • RT 85 / 11
  • RT 85 / 18 - Tsevié
  • RT 85 / 23 - Kpalimé (Palimé ?)

Male collected near Palimé, Togo.
Photo courtesy of Ed Pürzl.

Male from Birmingham auction 2023. Bag marked 'Loiselle 1971'
Photo courtesy of William King

TAAG 2004 / 5

Male from Birmingham auction 2023. Bag marked 'Loiselle 1971'

Female from Birmingham auction 2023. Bag marked 'Loiselle 1971'
Photo courtesy of William King

Female collected near Palimé, Togo.
Photo courtesy of Ed Pürzl.


Cotonou - Probable first collection in the 1980's. These were distributed in Germany from Vienna, probably collected by Ed Pürzl.

Djigbé - Collected by Armbruster in the 1980's.

DKG Strain - In the 1980's a form of E.sexfasciatus circulated in the DKG thought to be E.togolensis.

Igolo - Collected by Armbruster in the 1980's.

RT 11 - Etzel & Putz collected this location in the 1980's from Togo & distributed in Germany. Reported as being very similar to the Cotonou population brought back by Pürzl.

RT 18 - Thought to be extenct in the hobby by 2009. Photo in DKG Newsletter 42 (5).

E.aff.togolensis IWO - NTC 07 / 1 - Seen on Aquabid April 2009.


I had this fish at auction as 'Mile 11'. This could be togolensis - Possibly Palimé

Loiselle 1971 - This one was probably called E.sexfasciatus togolensis & described as such by Loiselle in 1971. Now regarded as a synonym.
At an auction in the UK (Birmingham, March 2023) some bags were marked up as 'Loiselle 1971'). I bought some & they started laying eggs on the 2nd day. I doubt this is a line from the original description. Not known what the history is on these.
Type Locality

Given as the 'Headwaters of the Hedjo (Todzie) River in the coffee plantation of the chief of Eyo, a small village 8 km north of the town of Palimé in the Republic of Togo'.
Distribution

Coastal rainforest from Togo through the Niger Delta to the Cross River in southeastern Nigeria.

http://homepage.uibk.ac.at/homepage/c102/c102mr/epiplaty/togolens.htm
Habitat

Small rivers & brooks. Also quieter parts of larger rivers.
Distinguishing Characteristics  
Colour/Pattern Variability High
History

Loiselle, P.V. 1971. The Biology of Epiplatys sexfasciatus Gill, 1862 (Teleostomi, Cyprinodontidae, Rivulinae) in Southeastern Dahomey and the Togo Hills. J. Amer. Killifish Assoc., 7 (2): 37, fig. 2. - This is the reference to the original description.

Jan Pap collected this sp. in the early 1980's in Gabon. A population from Cotonou circulated in Germany in the 1980's. Pürzl collected them from Somakak.
In 1986 Gartner & Hofmann collected them in Togo. These were reported as being 'the most beautiful form so far discovered'.
Breeding Notes

Most populations are easy to breed. It has been reported that some are more difficult but no details were given. This is a typical top spawner laying in floating mops. I incubated eggs in a seperate container. Water incubation takes around 14 days. I have put eggs on wet peat & hatched one month later without problem. The Lagos population commonly seen can be prolific. Growth is quite fast with sexual maturity being attained around 5-6 months.

The wild fish I had in 2004 were put one pair to each tank. Eggs appeared on mops which were taken out but lots of fry could be seen with the parents which seemed to go unmolested. Fry were easily raised on brine shrimp.

Young fish at 20 mm from above.
Diameter of Egg  
Remarks