Red List of South African Species

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Notes

Pseudobarbus senticeps was described by Smith (1936) as Barbus senticeps based on specimens that were collected from the Krom River System in the eastern Cape Fold Ecoregion of South Africa. Jubb (1965) subsequently placed P. senticeps into synonymy with Pseudobarbus afer (Peters 1864), a decision that was accepted by subsequent authors (Skelton, 1988, 2001; Cambray 1994). Most recently, Chakona and Skelton (submitted) resurrected P. senticeps from synonymy with P. afer based on evidence of substantial genetic divergence of the Krom lineage from other lineages within P. afer (Swartz et al. 2007, 2009) and careful examination of morphometric and meristic data. In this revision, Chakona and Skelton (submitted) provided a new diagnosis for P. afer sensu stricto and described a new species, Pseudobarbus swartzi. These three species which were previously included under one widespread species (P. afer sensu lato) are allopatrically distributed. Pseudobarbus senticeps is a narrow range endemic species which is restricted to the Krom River system, P. afer occurs in the Baakens, Swartkops and Sundays River systems, while P. swartzi occurs in the Gamtoos and adjacent river systems (Chakona and Skelton submitted).

habitat_narrative

Freshwater (=Inland waters)

Pseudobarbus senticeps inhabits perennial mountain streams with clear to peat stained water, with cobble and pebble substrates. There is need for studies to evaluate the biology and ecology of P. senticeps as it is currently unknown, but it is likely to exhibit a general breeding pattern similar to its sister species from the Gamtoos River system, the recently described Pseudobarbus swartzi (Chakona and Skelton submitted), the subpopulation of P. afer sensu lato which was the focus of extensive biological studies by (Cambray 1994).

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