Designation of a neotype for Enteromius pallidus (Smith, 1841), an endemic cyprinid minnow from the Cape Fold Ecoregion, South Africa

By

Martin, Melissa
Chakona, Albert

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2019

Original Publication

ZooKeys

Volume

848

Pages

103-118

Subjects

Baakens River , Eastern Cape Province , Enteromius , freshwater fish , Southern Africa

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.848.32211

 

Abstract

Enteromiuspallidus was described by Smith in 1841 without a designated type specimen for the species. Herein, we designate a specimen from the Baakens River system as a neotype for E.pallidus and provide a thorough description for this species to facilitate ongoing taxonomic revisions of southern African Enteromius. Enteromiuspallidus can be distinguished from the other minnows in the “goldie barb group” by having an incomplete lateral line, lack of distinct chevron or tubular markings around lateral line pores, absence of a distinct lateral stripe, absence of wavy parallel lines along scale rows and lack of black pigmentation around the borders of the scales. We provide mtDNA COI sequences for the neotype and an additional specimen from the Baakens River as DNA barcodes of types and topotypes are a fundamental requirement for further taxonomic studies.