A re-evaluation of the species-level diversity within the catfish genus Auchenoglanis (Siluriformes: Claroteidae)

Abstract

The taxonomic history of the African catfish genus Auchenoglanis includes eight nominal species, with two of these, Auchenoglanis biscutatus and Auchenoglanis occidentalis, being recognized as valid by most authors. The validity of all eight species was recently established based on mainly pigmentation-related characters and the shape of the premaxillary tooth plates. As these results opposed previous works but lacked any mention of these, the species diversity in the genus was re-evaluated based on biometric, meristic and other morphological data. It reconfirms the status of only two valid species within the genus. Auchenoglanis occidentalis ranks among the African fish species with very large distribution areas, being present from Senegal to Tanzania. Auchenoglanis biscutatus is distinguished from A. occidentalis by a postorbital head length that is greater than the preorbital head length, an adipose fin that rises abruptly, and a maxillary barbel with a tip not darker than the head colour.

Keywords:

• Auchenoglanidinae
• osteology
• revision
• systematics
• taxonomy

Acknowledgements

We cordially thank Miguël Parrent (MRAC) for his assistance with the collections. We thank Giuliano Doria, Astrid Maetens and Tobias Musschoot for photos we were allowed to use. Thanks to Mark Allen (AMNH) and the All Catfish Species Project (http://silurus.acnatsci.org/), Mélyne Hautecoeur (MNHN), Peter Rask Møller (ZMUC), and Radim Blažek (Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic) for the pictures of several specimens. T.G. is a postdoctoral researcher of the fund for scientific research Flanders, Belgium (FWO-Vl).