Refers to the body showing incomplete spots.

Duméril A.H.A. 1861.

Reptiles et poissons de l'Afrique occidentale. Etude précédée de considerations générales sur leur distribution géographique.

Archives du Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Tome 10 (1861): p 258-259.

6 cm

• D = 10, A = 14 (Duméril 1861)
• D = 8, A = 15, ll = 28 (+2)(Steindachner 1870)
• D = 8, A = 14-15, ll = 27 (Steindachner 1881)
• D = 9-10, A = 15-16, ll = 26-29 (Pellegrin 1913)
• D = 8-9, A = 13-14, ll = 25-28 (Pellegrin 1933)
• D = 7-10, A = 15-18, ll = 27-31 (Daget & Iltis 1965)
• D = 7-10, A = 15-19, ll = 26-29 (Scheel 1968)

n = 17, A = 34 (Scheel 1990)

Epiplatys

spilargyreius

• Poecilia spilargyreia Duméril 1861
• Epiplatys spylargyeia Gill 1862
• Aplocheilus spilargyreia Bleeker 1863
• Haplochilus infrafasciatus Günther 1866 (in part)
• Haplochilus fasciolatus Günther 1866 (in part)
• Haplochilus senegalensis Steindachner 1870
• Haplochilus Marnoi Steindachner 1881
• Haplochilus spilargyreius Rochebrune 1882
• Haplochilus senegalensis Var. Marnoi Garman 1895
• Haplochilus marni Boulenger 1904
• Panchax senegalensis Regan 1911
• Haplochilus petersii (non Sauvage 1882) Träiber-Klotzsche 1912
• Haplochilus senegalensis var. acuticaudata Pellegrin 1913
• Haplochilus acuticaudatus Boulenger 1915
• Aplocheilus senegalensis Fowler 1916
• Haplochilus marni Werner 1919
• Panchax acuticaudatus Ahl 1924
• Panchax marnoi Ahl 1924
• Aphyosemion marnoi Myers 1924
• Aphyosemion senegalensis Myers 1924
• Panchax spilargyreius Ahl 1924
• Panchax acuticaudata Svensson 1933
• Epiplatys marnoi Myers 1933
• Epiplatys senegalensis Myers 1933
• Panchax grahami var. decemfasciata Pellegrin 1933
• Panchax grahami decemfasciata Pellegrin 1934
• Aplocheilus marni Estéve 1952
• Epiplatys spilargyreius Scheel 1966
• Aplocheilus spilargyreius Scheel 1971
• Aplocheilus marnoi Scheel 1990
• Aplocheilus spilargyreius acuticaudatus Scheel 1990
• Aplocheilus spilargyreius decemfasciatus Scheel 1990

• Abuko
• Bahr el Jebel (south-central Sudan). Spelling may be corrupted to Gebel ?
• Buiba (Buila ?)
• Dounki
• Foul Ndank
• Fufora (eastern Nigeria)
• Georgetown (Gambia)
• Kampant
• Kaduna
• Kinshasa
• Koulikoro
• Malakal
• Mbamou Island (Pool Malebo, western Zaire)
• Sare Alpha
• Sogo
• Tannougou
• Tchékpoé Dédékpoé
• GHAAP 06 / 3 & 9 - GHN corruption ?
• SD 10/7 - Kosti
• Z82 / 24 (Pool Malebo)

Kaduna - Collected by Stanley (Livingstone) Cox 1978/79.

Given as 'Freshwater of the Maningues Coast'. This relates to the Senegal/Gambia coastline.

Very large area of distribution. They are found on the Senegal & Gambia coastline eastwards to the Nile River of eastern Africa. To the south they inhabit Cameroon, Central African Republic & Zaire.

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

Quiet water areas of small rivers, streams & swamps. Also found in small bodies of water in savannah areas.

Biotope of E.spilargyreius near Garoua, Cameroon.
Photo: Courtesy of Ed Pürzl.

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

• 1-2. Collected by Dr.Klaptser at Dubola, French Guinea.
• 3-4. Collected by Dr.A.Ingram in the northern territory of Gold Coast.
• 5-10. Collected by Dr.W.Wolterstorff in the Gold Coast.
• 11-12. Collected by J.P.Arnold in Old Calabar.

First imported to the UK from a BKA import sent over by David Blair 1969/70. Another import came into the UK around 1972. This form was regarded as being more colourful & probably collected in Nigeria.

Collected by Geoff Wood in the Malebo Pool (then known as the Stanley Pool) 1974 / 75.

History of the synonym Poecilia spilargyreia Dumeril 1861

Dumeril described this sp. from 2 small specimens obtained from M.Schill who was captain of a Russian merchantman. He collected them from the Madingue Coast (Senegal-Gambia area) area in freshwater. In 1925 Pellegrin reported that Rochebrunne (in 1883) stated that the type locality of the sp. is situated either on the Falema River or near to the falls on the Gouma River. Both these localities are situated far inland. Rochebrunne's source of this information is unknown however.
In 1862 Gill placed the sp. in Epiplatys.

History of the synonym Haplochilus senegalensis Steindachner 1870

Steindachner described this sp. from 3 specimens collected at Dagana located near the mouth of the Senegal River. The largest specimen had many narrow dark crossbands which was lacking in the other 2. These 2 were thought later to represent E.bifasciatus.
In 1895 Garman considered H.senegalensis to be a valid sp. with marnoi & bifasciatus as subspecies with chaperi as a possible synonym.
Pellegrin, in 1911, reported senegalensis from the Bafing River, Senegal. Daget considered these to represent liberiensis in 1962. Pellegrin described Epiplatys acuticaudatus in 1913 as a subspecies of senegalensis. Boulenger listed 12 specimens (listed above) in his 1915 Catalogue which were considered to represent longiventralis by Boulenger in 1911.
Myers considered senegalensis to belong to Aphyosemion in 1924 but later changed his mind in favour of Epiplatys in his revision of 1933.
In 1925 Pellegrin reported them from Madjingo on the Djoua River. This drains into the Ivindo River, Ogowe drainage, Gabon although Scheel considered there belonging to senegalensis highly unlikely.
In 1927 Holly reported them from Lake Debo to the south of Timbucto, Mali. Pfaff reported them from Jebba on the Niger River, Nigeria. In 1934 Svensson reported them from the Gambia River. He used 40 specimens from this collection to redescribed the sp. A 1932 collection by Vincke from the Stanley Pool area was reported by Poll who extended the range to the central Congo. In 1940 Monard reported them from Ponte Robalo & Pitche, Portuguese Guinea. This collection had dark crossbands in the caudal fin. In 1948 Daget reported them from several localities in Sudan (Diafarape, Macina & Mopti) & Senegal (Velingara). In 1951 he reported further specimens from Senegal (Sangalkam & Zinguinchow). In 1952 Poll reported them from the Gankama River, Kwamouth, central Congo drainage.
In 1954 Daget reported them from Auana, Bissikrama, Dio Bozo, Ke Machina, Mopti & Siguiri, Upper Niger drainage. In 1957 he reported them from the Upper Volta drainage & Samandeni, Black Volta. Lambert reported them from coastal rivers of Lower Guinée in 1958 but Daget (1962) considered these to represent fasciolatus. Daget, in 1960, reported them from the Black Volta (above the junction of the Black Volta River & the Bougouri-Ba River) & Upper Comoé (above Leraba).
The first recorded live import into Germany was 1912 by Härtel but these were then distributed as fasciolatus. Träber bought some of these fish. Some of this import were preserved & sent to Boulenger for identification who considered them to be petersi. Scheel later saw these fish & considered they represented senegalensis. Arnold reported senegalensis in Germany in 1912. These were said to have been collected Boma, Lower Congo area.
Scheel considered their to be no reliable reports between the two World Wars. In the 1960's Scheel saw photographs of imported senegalensis from Ghana.

History of the synonym Haplochilus marnoi Steindachner 1881.

Steindachner described the species from fish collected from Bahr-el-Seraf & Bahr-el-Gebel, Nile drainage. In 1895 Garman considered they represented a synonym of senegalensis. Collected by Loat at Lake No. Werner collected them at Mongalia near Gondokoro, Sudan. Werner reported them to be common at Gonga in vegetation along the river banks. He also found them at Renk. He considered these fish to be livebearers as one individual is reported to have given birth to a fry with a yolk sac during preservation.

King collected them at Khor Barbry in 1913. The colouration of this collection included 3 dark crossbands in the caudal fin. Lewis collected them in 1948 at Lake No.

History of the synonym Haplochilus senegalensis acuticaudatus Pellegrin 1934

In 1913 Pellegrin used 4 specimens from Guidimoussi, just east of Zinder, Niger Republic (Chad drainage) to describe this subspecies. Pellegrin based his description on elongated fin rays in the centre of the caudal fin which he considered seperated them from senegalensis (now a synonym of spilargyreius). This feature is known to be a variable in spilargyreius.

History of the synonym Panchax grahami decemfasciata Pellegrin 1913

Pellegrin had a single specimen from Bobo-Dioulasso, High Volta & 2 collected in a small brook 100 km from Bougouni in the direction of Odiennes, Ivory Coast.

A difficult species to breed despite its success in distribution. You would expect a species this successful to be easy. I had a population from Sare Alpha in the 1980's but failed to breed them. At the time I only had hard tap water DH10. No doubt rainwater would prove more successful.

Reports suggest they lay eggs in floating mops / plants which will water incubate for 10-14 days. Fry are small on hatching & require infusoria as a starter food. Growth rate is quite slow with sexual maturity at about 7-8 months of age.

A report on the first fish to come into the BKA can be found in newsletter No.85, September 1972. Water temperature 74° F, pH 6·8, DH 4-7. This import proved easy to breed in well planted tanks. Eggs were laid in the bottom areas of the tank. These were taken out & incubated in a seperate container. Fry were fairly large on hatching & able to take newly hatched brine shrimp as a first food. Growth rate was observed as being 'not very rapid'. First signs of sexing out were observed in the anal fin where 3 spots appeared in male specimens. This started to show at 4 months of age.