Scriptaphyosemion roloffi (Roloff 1936)

Form known to have been in the BKA in the '70's. BKA photo.

Meaning of Name

After Erhard Roloff, a German amateur ichthyologist.

First Description

Roloff E. 1936.

Pflege und Zucht von Aphyosemion roloffi.

Wochenschrift für Aquarien und Terrarienkunde 33 (22): p 324-326, figures.

Size

5 cm

Meristics
  • D = 12-13, A = 14-15, ll = 27-29 (Roloff 1936)
  • D = 11-14, A = 15-18, D/A = +4-6, ll = 29-32 (Radda & Pürzl 1987)
Karyotype

n = 21, A = 23 (Gyldenholm & Scheel 1971)

Sub-Genus

Scriptaphyosemion

Group

liberiensis

Synonyms
  • Haplochilus elegans (non Boulenger 1899) Grote 1910
  • Aphyosemion (Aphyosemion) roloffi Roloff 1936
  • Aphyosemion roloffi Ahl 1937 (re-description)
  • Aphyosemion liberiensis (non Boulenger 1908) Daget 1950
  • Roloffia roloffi Clausen 1967
  • Aphyosemion (Callopanchax) roloffi Radda 1970
  • Roloffia SL 18 Tirbak 1970
  • Roloffia SL 19 Tirbak 1970
  • Roloffia SL 20 Tirbak 1970
  • Roloffia roloffi hastingsi Roloff 1971 (nomen nudum)
  • Roloffia SL 29
  • Roloffia 'caldal' Cahalan 1973 (nomen nudum)
  • Roloffia ARX Clifford 1974
  • Roloffia hastingsi Radda 1976 (nomen nudum)
  • Aphyosemion roloffia hastingsi Scheel 1990

Populations

  • ARX
  • Allan Town (Allentown)(Sierra Leone)
  • Bauya (Sierra Leone)
  • Bo (Sierra Leone)
  • 'caldal' (Monrovia area)
  • Bouya
  • Brama (Sierra Leone)
  • Devil Hole
  • During Town (Sierra Leone)
  • Fonima (Sierra Leone)
  • Freetown (Sierra Leone)
  • Hastings (Sierra Leone)
  • Kagbala (Sierra Leone)
  • Kambia (Sierra Leone)
  • Kent (Sierra Leone)
  • Kundubu (Kondubu) (Sierra Leone)
  • Laminaja (Sierra Leone)
  • Magbenta (Sierra Leone)
  • Ma'nalo (Sierra Leone)
  • Marjay (Sierra Leone)
  • Newton (Sierra Leone)
  • Newton Agricultural Station (Sierra Leone)
  • Newton - Kpuba (Sierra Leone)
  • Old Brama (Sierra Leone)
  • Rowari (Rowarl) (Sierra Leone)
  • Serabu (Seraba) (Sierra Leone)
  • Songo (Sierra Leone)
  • York (Sierra Leone)
  • RSL 15 (Sierra Leone)
  • SL 89 - 18 - Brama Town (Same as SL 99 / 1 & SL 03 / 7)

SLCD 84 / 28 Serabu
Photo courtesy of Christian Cauvet.

Male SL 76 / 25, York, Sierra Leone.
Photo courtesy of Ed Pürzl.

 

Allentown - Collected by Roloff in 1963.

Bauya - Collected by Busch & Wiese in 1993 (SL93 code).

Brama - Possibly collected by Roloff in 1962.
Collected by Busch & Hellner in 1989 (SL89 / 18).
Collected by Busch & Wiese in 1993 (SL93 code).

SL 99 / 1 & SL 03 / 7

Devil Hole - Collected by Busch & Wiese in 1993 (SL93 code).

Freetown (area Type locality) - Collected in the area by Grote in 1908 & Roloff in 1936.

Kagbala - Collected by Busch & Wiese in 1993 (SL93 code).

Kondubu - Collected by Busch & Wiese in 1993 (SL93 code).

Newton Agricultural Station - Collected by Roloff in 1962.

Newton - Kpuba - Collected by Busch & Wiese in 1993 (SL93 code).

Old Brama - Collected by Busch & Wiese in 1993 (SL93 code).

Rowari - Collected by Busch & Wiese in 1993 (SL93 code).

Type Locality

Recorded as '5 hours by boat (from Freetown) in the direction of Porto Novo, southern Sierra Leone)'

Distribution

Ranges from the Little Scaries River drainage system of western Sierra Leone to the lower reaches of the Lofa River of western Liberia.

Habitat

Shallow, stagnant areas of pools, brooks, small streams & swamps in coastal rainforested areas.

Distinguishing Characteristics  
Colour/Pattern Variability High
History

The first probable record of this sp. came in 1910 by J.Grote in Wochenschr. Aquar. Terr. 6. Grote collected the then unknown sp. in pools he found after walking 4-6 hours from Freetown, Sierra Leone on the 7th December 1908. It is doubtful these fish arrived back to his native Germany alive.

Roloff collected them in a muddy stream near the Sierra Leone river about 40-50kms from Freetown (live fish were brought back to Germany) & published an article in Wochenschr. Aquar. Terr. 33. in 1936. He later published a description of the species. Unbeknown to Roloff, Ahl had made an article describing the sp. but had not published it at the time of Roloff's publication. Henzelmann published a photo of this sp.(taken by Roloff) in Wochenschr. Aquar. Terr. 34 in 1937. Mayer also published a photo & description of the sp. in ibid 34, 1937.

Ahl found these two forms different & published a description with meristic data in 1938.

Roloff collected them near Freetown. He is reported to have hired a motor boat & travelled up the Sierra Leone River for more than 5 hours in the direction of Porto Loko. He collected 40 live individuals from a swampy area close to the river. These were taken successfully to Germany.

In 1964 Daget reported the sp. from Boffa, Friguiadi, Koba, Kolente River, Konkure River, Mamou & Thia. Scheel considered the Guinée specimens to represent Rol.geryi although he did not examine this material in ROTOW 1.

Roloff also made 3 collecting trips to Sierra Leone between 1962 - 1965 where live & preserved material was given to Scheel for study.

Breeding Notes

Regarded as a more difficult species to breed. I bred a wild pair coded CI7 / 93 on the bottom row of my fish house but for many months they refused to lay a single egg. Then, suddenly they started laying large amounts of eggs & carried on spawning for many weeks where, again, they stopped laying. This would seem to suggest a seasonal breeding cycle & may explain why they are regarded as a difficult species.
Water incubation takes 10-14 days. Sexual maturity takes about 6-7 months.
Sterba in Freshwater Fishes reports them to 'lay eggs indiscriminately on plants or bottom'. Young hatch in 12 days at the earliest. He also mentioned that he found the sp. light shy.

Diameter of Egg  
Remarks