Pseudobarbus kubhekai Zarei, Mathebula & Chakona, 2025, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Zarei, Fatah
name: Mathebula, Xiluva
name: Chakona, Albert
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2025
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Cypriniformes
Cyprinidae
Pseudobarbus
Pseudobarbus kubhekai

description: Pseudobarbus kubhekai sp. nov.
Figs 5, 7
Pseudobarbus quathlambae (non-Barnard) — Kubheka et al. 2017: 303; Swartz et al. 2023: 301.
Proposed common name.
Umzimkhulu Redfin (English); Umzimkhulu Rooivlerkie (Afrikaans).
Holotype.
SAIAB 204589 (tag number F 91), male, 60.5 mm SL, Umzimkhulu River system (exact locality not indicated due to conservation sensitivities), collected by A. Chakona, N. Mazungula, S. Kubheka, and N. Ntuli, 25 May 2017.
Paratypes
(n = 12). SAIAB 246079 (tag numbers F 85 – F 90 & F 92 – F 94), 9 unsexed, 45.9–62.9 mm SL, same locality information and collectors as holotype. Paragenetype: SAIAB sequence IDs: SB 12344 (tissue ID: AC 16 FT- 264; GenBank number: PQ 367261), SB 12345 (tissue ID: AC 16 FT- 268; GenBank number: PQ 367262), and SB 12346 (tissue ID: AC 16 FT- 288; GenBank number: PQ 367263). SAIAB 246080 (tag numbers F 111 – F 113), 3 unsexed, 47.2–78.3 mm SL, same locality information as holotype, collected by P. S. Kubheka and N. S. Ntuli, 26 May 2017.
Additional non-type materials
(n = 2). SAIAB 246079, 2 unsexed, 39.1–40.6 mm SL, same locality information and collectors as for the holotype.
Diagnosis.
Pseudobarbus kubhekai sp. nov. is easily distinguishable from P. burchelli, P. burgi, P. skeltoni, and P. verloreni by possessing a single pair of oral barbels (vs. two pairs). The new species differs from all currently recognized congeners by having 51–56 scales in lateral-line series (vs. 60–72 in P. quathlambae and 25–45 in other species). It further differs from its closest relative, P. quathlambae, by having fewer vertebrae (36–37 vs. 38–40) and lacking dark spots on its back (vs. presence of 2–4 rows of dark spots on back; Figs 5 – 7 for comparison).
Description.
All morphometric values in the text are presented as holotypes first and paratypes, if different, in parentheses. The following description is based on holotypes and paratypes from the Umzimkhulu River system.
General morphology. Body proportions and meristics are given in Table 5. Body moderately elongate, fusiform, its depth in front of dorsal-fin origin (deepest) 4.7 (4.4–4.7) in SL, body laterally compressed. Caudal peduncle shallow, its depth half of caudal peduncle length. Head large, length 3.6 (3.6–3.7) in SL, depressed, depth 6.0 (5.7–6.1) in SL and 0.8 (0.7–0.8) of body depth. Dorsal profile of head posterior to orbit steep. Snout blunt, short, oblique, its dorsal profile convex, longer than eye, length 1.6 (1.3–1.6) of eye diameter and 2.9 (2.7–3.0) in head length. Eyes large, diameter 4.7 (4.0–4.7) in head length, and dorsolateral, not extending above dorsal profile, located closer to tip of snout than posterior margin of operculum. Interorbital wide and flat, 1.4 (1.0–1.4) of eye diameter. Mouth sub-terminal, sickle-shaped, its corner reaching vertical through middle of nares. Mouth with a single pair of short maxillary barbels, barbel length 0.6 (0.4–0.7) of orbit diameter, not reaching vertical through middle of eye pupil.
* Counts based on radiographs of the holotype and nine paratypes. ** Counts based on radiographs of 18 specimens, including three topotypes.
Tuberculation. Snout, lips, barbels, top of head, operculum, preoperculum, suborbital, cheek, and head ventrally covered with numerous minute tubercles in all specimens (Fig. 8). Bands of minute tubercles present on pectoral-fin rays. In specimens larger than 50 mm SL (except two paratypes), larger tubercles present on top of head. In holotype, minute tubercles found on all scales (2–5 tubercles per scale), as well as on dorsal- and pectoral-fin rays.
Scales. Lateral-line scales (LL) 51–56 (holotype: 52; paratypes: 51: 5, 52: 2, 53: 1, 54: 2, 55: 1, 56: 1), LD 9–11 (holotype: 10; paratypes: 9: 1, 10: 6, 11: 5), LP 8–10 (holotype: 8; paratypes: 8: 6, 9: 5, 10: 1), LA 7–9 (holotype: 7; paratypes: 7: 4, 8: 6, 9: 2), CP 22–25 (holotype: 24; paratypes: 22: 4, 23: 4, 24: 3, 25: 1), PDS 27–30 (holotype: 29; paratypes: 27: 4, 28: 2, 29: 4, 30: 2). Nape, opercle, and cheek naked. Predorsal scales between posterior edge of head and dorsal-fin origin embedded and smaller than flank scales. Triangular naked patch between the gill covers and anterior base of pectoral fins; ventral scales between pectoral-fin base and pelvic-fin origin reduced and embedded. All scales cycloid.
Fins. Dorsal-fin elements iii / 7; anal-fin elements iii / 5; pectoral-fin elements 15–17 (holotype: 17; paratypes: 15: 1, 16: 9; 17: 2); pelvic-fin elements 8; caudal-fin principal rays 10 + 9. Dorsal fin situated almost in the center of the body (including caudal fin), origin slightly behind vertical through origin of pelvic fin, distal margin slightly convex, tip of depressed dorsal fin reaches within 1–3 scales to vertical through posterior base of anal fin. Pectoral fins fan-shaped, length variable, reaches or slightly extending beyond base of pelvic fin in four paratypes, reaches 2–4 scales to base of pelvic fin in other specimens. Pelvic-fin origin slightly in front of dorsal-fin origin, length variable, slightly extending beyond origin of anal fin in four paratypes, reaches 1–2 scales before to origin of anal fin in other specimens. Anal-fin distal margin slightly convex, origin closer to anterior base of pelvic fin than caudal-fin base. Caudal fin forked.
Osteology (n = 10). Vertebral column including Weberian apparatus and urostyle: total vertebrae 36–37 (holotype: 36; paratypes: 36: 7, 37: 2), predorsal vertebrae 12–13 (holotype: 12; paratypes: 12: 7, 13: 2), precaudal vertebrae 19–20 (holotype: 19; paratypes: 19: 4, 20: 5), caudal vertebrae 16–18 (holotype: 17; paratypes: 16: 4, 17: 4, 18: 1).
Coloration (fresh specimens). Refer to Fig. 7 for general live coloration. Dorsal part of the body above the lateral line a uniform olive-brown; body below the lateral line nearly abruptly a pale golden tinged with olive, shading to blemished silvery white and becoming white on the ventral surface. A dark mid-lateral band extending from behind the head to the base of the caudal fin, ending in form of a triangular mark at the base of the caudal fin. Countershading is also clear on the head. The ventral surface of the head is white from below a line extending from above the angle of the mouth around and below the eye and across the operculum. Base of fins bright orange-red. The dorsal and caudal fin rays are pigmented a chocolate brown, darker at their bases and lighter at their outer edges.
Coloration (preserved). Background color in alcohol-preserved specimens pale golden. Countershading evident on head and body, becoming darker dorsally and lighter ventrally (Fig. 5). Flanks with dark mid-lateral band and a distinct triangular mark at the base of the caudal fin. The bright orange-red pigmentation on base of fins fades in preservative.
Etymology.
Pseudobarbus kubhekai sp. nov. is named after Skhumbuzo Kubheka from Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, who, through extensive sampling efforts in search of Pseudobarbus quathlambae from its type locality and headwater tributaries of the Umkhomazi and adjacent river systems, discovered this new species from the Umzimkhulu River system. This discovery was significant because it helped to resolve a longstanding debate on the natural occurrence of redfin minnows in the KwaZulu Natal Province of South Africa. The discovery also highlights the conservation significance of the headwater tributaries of rivers draining the Drakensberg Mountain.
Distribution.
Pseudobarbus kubhekai sp. nov. is currently known from two small streams in the Umzimkhulu River system in the Umzimkhulu Local Municipality in a catchment that is largely underdeveloped, with monoculture tree plantations being the major land use activity (Fig. 1). From a conservation point of view, the precise localities must remain undisclosed because of the restricted geographic range of known populations, until suitable conservation measures for them have been put in place.
Conservation status.
Comprehensive surveys to determine the extent of occurrence, population size, conservation status, and effective conservation strategies to ensure the continued existence of the new species within the Umzimkhulu River system are needed. Immediate conservation measures should include securing the newly discovered species and prohibition of the introduction of alien fishes, particularly trout Salmo trutta Linnaeus, 1758, Oncorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum, 1792) and bass Micropterus spp., which are present in many rivers in KwaZulu-Natal.
Habitat and ecology.
The streams in which Pseudobarbus kubhekai sp. nov. was found had an average width of approximately 3 m and an average water depth of approximately 0.5 m, with boulders and cobbles as their dominant substratum (Fig. 9). At the time of the surveys, the streams had slow to moderate water flow. The redfins co-occurred with two other cyprinids, Natal yellowfish Labeobarbus natalensis (Castelnau, 1861) and bowstripe barb Enteromius viviparus (Weber, 1897). Further research is required to further understand the reproduction, ecology, and biology of this taxon.
description: Published as part of Zarei, Fatah, Mathebula, Xiluva & Chakona, Albert, 2025, Pseudobarbus kubhekai sp. nov., a new redfin (Teleostei, Cyprinidae) from KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, pp. 1-16 in Zoosystematics and Evolution 101 (1) on pages 1-16, DOI: 10.3897/zse.101.134080