After the black or dark colouration.

Boulenger G.A. 1913.

Sur une petite collection de poissons recueillis dans l'Ulélé par la mission dirigée par M.Hutereau.

Revue de Zoologie Africaine 2 (2): p 160.

6 cm

• D = 9, A = 15, ll = 28-29 (Boulenger 1913)
• D = 9-10, A = 15-16, ll = 28-29 (Poll 1951)
• D = 7-9, A = 12-15, ll = 28-31 (Matthes 1964)
• D = 9-10, A = 15-16, D/A = +10-11, ll = 28-29 (Scheel 1968)

Epiplatys

chevalieri clade

• Haplochilus nigricans Boulenger 1913
• Panchax nigricans Ahl 1924
• Epiplatys nigricans Myers 1933
• Epiplatys chevalieri nigricans Lambert 1961
• Aplocheilus (Epiplatys) nigricans Radda 1980
• Aplocheilus nigricans Scheel 1990
• Epiplatys chevalieri nigricans (Boulenger 1913)

• Bengamisa (northeastern Zaire)
• Gilima (Uele drainage system, northern Zaire)
• Kisangani (eastern Zaire)

Dungu, at the junction of the rivers Kibali & Dungu, Haut Zaire, northeastern Zaire).

Large area of distribution on the eastern banks of the Zaire River. They are found in the drainage systems of the Uele, Tshuapa, lower Kasai (including Kwilu) & Sankuru Rivers. Also found in Lake Fwa. The falls of Portes d'Enfer on the Zaire River are thought to be the uppermost limit of distribution. It is thought this subspecies is restricted to forested areas & not adjacent savannah.

The full area of distribution is not fully known at present but is considerably larger than first thought.

http://homepage.uibk.ac.at/homepage/c102/c102mr/epiplaty/nigrican.htm

Forested areas of small rivers, creeks & swamps. Matthes caught them in swamps & small brooks where he observed small schoals near to the surface of the water. This water, he commented, was almost stagnant.

Boulenger described this subspecies originally as Haplochilus nigricans from three specimens collected at Dungu on the Uelle River, northern Central Congo drainage.

Boulenger gives the following collector / location in his 1915 Catalogue.

• 1 (One of the types). Collected by M.Hutereau at Dungu

Pellegrin, in 1925, reports them from M'Bouamo on the Ebaka River a feeder for the Djoua River which leads into the Ivindo River. Scheel considered these may represent E.sangmelinensis. Pellegrin again reported them in 1930 this time from the Sangha River, Congo drainage. In 1952 poll reported them from various localities in the Central Congo drainage in an area between Stanleyville & Leopoldville. These locations were in high forest & gallery forest.

In 1961 Lambert reported them from many localities in the eastern area of the Central Congo drainage. These districts being Banalia, Ikela & Opala. In 1963 Gosse reported them from Yangambi & stated that they were rarer than E.multifasciatus in this area.

Matthes, in 1964, reported them from Lake Tumba & the Ikela district & also commented on there eating terrestrial insects & aquatic insect larvae. He also found filamentous algae in stomach contents.

Huber collected this sp. in many localities in 1978.

Formerly a subspecies - Epiplatys chevalieri nigricans but now considered to be a full species - E.nigricans.

Not well known but presumed to be the same as E.chevalieri chevalieri. Water incubation is reported to be 13-16 days. Growth is slow with sexual maturity taking in excess of 8 months.

According to Matthes who studied the diet of this subspecies they live on terrestrial insects & larvae of aquatic insects. Filamentous algae was also occaisionally found in the stomach.