Acta Ichthyologica et Piscatoria 45(1): 109-112, doi: 10.3750/AIP2015.45.1.14
Presence of Acapoeta tanganicae (Actinopterygii: Cypriniformes: Cyprinidae ) within the Lake Rukwa catchment supports historic riverine connectivity with Lake Tanganyika
expand article infoM.J. Genner, G.F. Turner, A. Smith, S. Mzighani, B.P. Ngatunga

Corresponding author: M.J. Genner

© M.J. Genner, G.F. Turner, A. Smith, S. Mzighani, B.P. Ngatunga.
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Citation: Genner M, Turner G, Smith A, Mzighani S, Ngatunga B (2015) Presence of Acapoeta tanganicae (Actinopterygii: Cypriniformes: Cyprinidae ) within the Lake Rukwa catchment supports historic riverine connectivity with Lake Tanganyika. Acta Ichthyologica et Piscatoria 45(1): 109-112. https://doi.org/10.3750/AIP2015.45.1.14
Open Access
Abstract
Freshwater fish biogeography can provide insight into past connectivity of river systems. Here we report the first discovery of the large-bodied cyprinid Acapoeta tanganicae (Boulenger, 1900) inside the Lake Rukwa catchment. Previously this species was thought to be endemic to Lake Tanganyika and immediately proximate sections of connected rivers. This shared distribution supports a scenario of direct connectivity of the two catchments during Holocene high stands of Lake Rukwa.
Keywords
biogeography, freshwater vicariance, Cyprinidae, freshwater biodiversity, Tanzania