Freshwater Fishes in South Africa

The plight of freshwater fishes in southern Africa: addressing the taxonomic impediment - about 215 described species - high regional endemism - many areas remain largely unexplored Tweddle et al. (2009) Freshwater fishes have become increasingly imperiled by multiple impacts Fig 1. Five major threat categories and their established or potential interactive impact on freshwater biodiversity. [Dudgeon et al. 2006] • Barbus andrewi Clark et al. (2009) • Langvlei redfin? • Eerster redfin • Langvlei Galaxias? - most well studied region of southern Africa - diversity and distribution generally well known Tweddle et al. (2009) Incomplete knowledge of diversity and distribution: “taxonomic impediment” Pseudobarbus Galaxias Galaxias Sandelia Marcusenius Many of the lineages are narrow range endemics Chakona et al. (2013) ’Giant redfin’ – last refuges Alien threatens CR fish in Protected Area? Values? Pseudobarbus afer species complex Swartz et al. (2007) Sandelia capensis species complex Chakona et al. (2013) Galaxias zebratus species complex Swartz et al. (in prep) Hex River December 2007 Hex River March 2008 Nameless and vulnerable Humphry Greenwood 1992 “Since taxonomy and systematics are basic to all ichthyological research, I would consider the latter situation (poverty of practicing taxonomists) to be one of the major non-environmental threats to the world of fishes” Greenwood, P.H. 1992. Are the major fish faunas well-known? Netherlands Journal of Zoology 42, 131-138. Current taxonomy impedes conservation of freshwater fishes in southern Africa Waters & Cambray (1997) Only five species of freshwater fishes described from South Africa between 1997 and 2015 What are the issues? 1. Reduced taxonomic capacity 2. State of type specimens and access • Type specimens form the basis of any taxonomic investigation – Most types are very old, many are no longer in good condition, others have been lost – Type material not readily accessible for researchers from developing countries – most have been deposited in museums overseas – DNA cannot be extracted from these specimens – sequences of types are required to verify whether the taxon that one is looking at is indeed new 3. Challenges with accessing original descriptions • Old literature difficult to find – Any new description requires reference to original description – Access to this literature is difficult for students and researchers from developing countries • Language barrier – Many old descriptions are not in English 4. Vague original locality details • Some type localities are vague – Clear streams of the Cape – Tugela River • Lack of human capacity 5. Pitfalls of barcoding blindly • Emphasis should be placed on generating reference topogenetypes SAIAB’s Topotypes Project • Identify all type localities of freshwater fishes and frogs described from SA • Provide original descriptions (including any illustrations) • Collect topotypic material (vouchers and tissues) – this includes synonyms • Generate DNA barcodes of all topotypes • Provide morphometric and meristic data of holotypes and topotypes • Provide photos and X-rays of Holotypes/Syntypes/Neotypes • Live colour pictures and x-rays of topotypes • Photos, GPS coordinates and directions to type localities (Google maps) • Capacity building • All data will be made openly available Acknowledgements • NRF-FBIP for funding • SAIAB • CapeNature, Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency and the Department of Economic Development and Environmental Affairs (Eastern Cape Province) for sampling permits • Riaan Van der Walt • Richard Simbelani • Land owners Thank you Giant redfin: Pic by Riaan Van der Walt .

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