Refers to the striped or fasciated pattern on the body.

Günther A. 1866.

Catalogue of the fishes in the British Museum, Volume 6. The British Museum, London. 358.

9 cm.

• D = 11, A = 18, ll = 28 (Günther 1866)
• D = 11-12, A = 16-18, ll = 27-29 (Boulenger 1915)
• D = 11-12, A = 16-18, ll = 27-29 (Rachow 1928)
• D = 8-9, A = 17, ll = 25+3 (Fowler 1950)
• D = 10-15, A = 15-20, ll = 27-31 (Scheel 1968)
• D = 11-14, A = 15-18, ll = 27-31 (Romand 1978)
• D = 11-13, A = 16-18, D/A = +7-10, ll = 30-33 (Romand, Schmitt & Guignard 1979)
• D = 10-14, A = 15-19, D/A = +6-11, ll = 26-31 (Berkenkamp & Etzel 1989)
• D = 11-13, A = 16-19, D/A = +7-10, ll = 25-31 (Romand 1994)

n = 18-20, A = 35-38 (variable between different populations)(Scheel 1968, 1981).

Epiplatys

fasciolatus

• Haplochilus fasciolatus Günther 1866
• Haplochilus infrafasciatus (non Günther 1866) Steindachner 1895 (in part)
• Panchax fasciatus Regan 1911
• Panchax fasciolatus Ahl 1924
• Haplochilus fasciatus Bates 1932
• Epiplatys fasciolatus Myers 1933
• Epiplatys dorsalis Mayer 1936
• Epiplatys sexfasciatus leonensis Ahl 1937
• Epiplatys dorsalis Ahl 1938 (re-description)
• Epiplatys sexfasciatus (non Gill 1862) Schultz 1942
• Epiplatys matlocki Fowler 1950
• Epiplatys senegalensis (non Steindachner 1870) Lambert 1958
• Epiplatys fasciolatus fasciolatus Benl & Foersch 1966
• Aplocheilus fasciolatus Radda 1971
• Aplocheilus fasciolatus fasciolatus Scheel 1990
• Aplocheilus dorsalis Scheel 1990
• Aplocheilus leonensis Scheel 1990
• Aplocheilus matlocki Scheel 1990

Populations

• Adonkia
• Bathurst
• Bo
• Bomi Hills (southwestern Liberia)
• Brama
• Conakry (southern Guinea)
• Coyah
• Devil Hole
• Faimah
• Freetown (southern Sierra Leone)
• Gbahama
• Greenville
• Kundubu
• Lomé
• Longji (Berlin Museum)
• Ma - Barie
• Port Loko
• Robertsport (southwest Liberia)
• Rotain
• Tienii
• York (southern Sierra Leone)
• CI 3 / 93
• CI 8 / 93
• GCLR 06 / 220 - Bintimodia
• GM 97 / 14 - Simbali (Guinea)
• RL Collections - See RL78 & RL82
• SL 89 - Perie (Sierra Leone)

Adonkia - Collected by Fred Wright, Rod Roberts & John Parker in the early part of 1976 in the Guma Valley, near Adonkia.

Commercial Imports - Most fish in circulation in the UK at least come from commercial imports. The 3 photos below came from the same exporter over a period of years & most likely collected in the same area. All are very similar.

Freetown, Sierra Leone (according to Berkenkamp & Etzel, 1989).

Widespread from coastal southern Guinea, through Sierra Leone & into coastal north of Liberia.

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

Coastal rivers, streams & swampy areas of coastal rainforest & forested savannah.

Scheel in ROTOW 1 stated that the species could usually be identified by 'two thin red lines in the distant part of the anal fin and in the lower part of the caudal fin'. The clip below shows this well.

Boulenger gives the following collectors / locations in his 1915 Catalogue.

• 1-4 (Types). Collected by Dr.A.Günther in Sierra Leone.
• 5-13. Collected by R.Dinzey
• 14. Collected by R.Dinzey
• 15-16. Collected by J.P.Arnold. All locations were given as Sierra Leone

Günther described this species from four specimens collected in Sierra Leone in 1866. First reports of an aquarium kept strain comes in 1908 by Grote who reported fish he thought to be E.sexfasciatus from a small village near Conakry, Lower Guinée. These fish apparently, did not reach Hamburg alive.

Arnold reported live fish reaching Germany from Sierra Leone in 1911. These fish were considered feeble with young fish growing slowly. Most of these young developed into males. This strain apparently survived the First World War. The species has been documented as being kept by Ohlendorf in 1917, Sachs in 1919 & Zindler in 1922 but this strain was later lost. Roloff reported the species being kept by German aquarists in 1935. He collected fish from Kissy on the Freetown peninsula in 1936 & brought back preserved fish which were identified by Ahl in 1937.

In 1962, 1963 & 1965 Roloff collected the species in many locations in Sierra Leone & gave Scheel many strains for study.

Daget & Iltis in 1965 considered lamottei & olbrechtsi to be subspecies of fasciolatus. This has not been generally accepted.

It is interesting that the fish at the top of this page originated from the same general area as those imported in 1908 (unsuccessfully).

History of the synonym Panchax fasciolatus

In the main list above Ahl is credited with the description in 1924. In the Annals & Magazine of Natural History Vol.X, Tenth Series. 1932. J.R.Norman lists this fish as credited to Günther (no date) from type locality Sandaru. Collected by Mr.G.L.Bates, Sierra Leone early 1932.

History of the synonym Epiplatys dorsalis Mayer 1936.

Mayer had 2 males which he bought from Grelk. He was informed that these originated from Old Calabar, Nigeria although this was considered an unreliable source of information. He sent a male to Ahl who used the same name to described them as Mayer used 2 years previously.

History of the synonym Epiplatys sexfasciatus leonensis Ahl 1937

In BKA newsletter July 1966 an article written by Scheel & translated by Erik Juhl-Sørensen referred to this subsp. from Sierra Leone which was said to have been discovered by E.Roloff. It is believed Ahl considered this a seperate subsp. on the basis of a dark longitudinal band on its sides. Scheel in ROTOW 1 reported that this characteristic is also found as a fear/pre-mating pattern in fasciolatus.

History of the synonym Epiplatys matlocki Fowler 1950.

Fowler used 25 specimens collected at Robertsport, western Liberia to describe the species in 1950.

An easy fish to breed, you can easily become swamped with eggs. Water incubation takes around 14 days. Growth is quite rapid with sexual maturity being attained around 6 months.

Hoedeman comments in his book that this species does not like the addition of salt to the water & will not breed well. Although the species comes from areas of coastal flooded biotopes which receive salt water they are reportedly (in this book) not found there.
He recommends maintaining at 20-30°C & 25°C for breeding.