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Emmanuel Vreven
Biology
Vertebrates
Vertebrates
Publication details
De Weirdt, D., Huyghe, C. & Vreven, E. 2021. ‘Synodontis abditus(Teleostei: Mochokidae),a new squeaker catfish from the Ogooué basin, Gabon’. Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters 31(1): pp. 69-82. München : Verlag Dr. Friedrich Pfeil. DOI: http://doi.org/10.23788/IEF-1170. URL: http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:C0521C3A-12B0-4B7E-A8C4-3C65A7F8EB7E (PR).
Article in a scientific Journal / Article in a Journal
Synodontis abditus, new species, is described from the Ivindo and the Ngounié rivers, respectively a right and a
left bank affluent of the Ogooué River (Gabon) in the Lower Guinea (LG) ichthyofaunal province. The new species
is readily distinguished from all its congeners from the LG ichthyofaunal province by: the lack of serrations
on the anterior side of the dorsal spine; 63-76 mandibular teeth; and 16-28 serrations on the posterior side of the
pectoral spine. This discovery illustrates the importance of submitting collections to thorough alpha-taxonomic
research in order to screen them for harbouring hidden species richness. The type locality of S. abditus is the
stretch of the Loa Loa Rapids on the Ivindo River, which border the Ivindo National Park. In contrast, the other
sub-basin where the new species has been found, the Ngounié River, is currently not near to any Protected Area
(PA). Nevertheless, the main anthropogenic threats for these sub-basins are deforestation, over-fishing and pollution
from nearby towns and iron-ore mining activities. As such, the discovery of yet another Synodontis species,
endemic to the LG ichthyofaunal province, further stresses the need and importance for the installation of
a well-documented, and extended network of PAs for the effective protection of the Ogooué basin ichthyofauna
in particular and its freshwater fauna at large.