Classification / Names
Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa
Teleostei (teleosts) >
Cyprinodontiformes (Rivulines, killifishes and live bearers) >
Nothobranchiidae (African rivulines)
Etymology: Nothobranchius: Greek, nothos = false + Greek, brangchia = gill (Ref. 45335); skeltoni: The specific name is given in honour of Professor Paul Skelton, emeritus managing director of the South African Institute of Aquatic Biodiversity, for his dedication to the science of ichthyology, and in recognition of his vast contributions to the study and documentation of African freshwater fishes and biodiversity; a noun in genitive (Ref. 122068).
Eponymy: Professor Dr Paul Harvey Skelton (d: 1948) is a South African ichthyologist. [...] (Ref. 128868), visit book page.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Freshwater; benthopelagic. Tropical
Africa: seasonal pools, rivers and marshes flowing into lake Victoria in Tanzania (Ref. 122068).
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 5.3 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 122068)
Short description
Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 15 - 17; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 15 - 17. Diagnosis: Nothobranchius skeltoni is distinguished from all other species of the genus by the following characters in males: body colouration light blue with grey to brown scale margins; anal fin grey to red-grey with irregular dark grey spots proximally, followed by a broad dark red to maroon medial band, a narrow light grey subdistal band, and a broad black distal band; caudal fin light grey with slender semi-translucent dark grey distal band; pelvic fins light blue-grey, with broad dark red to maroon medial band and narrow black distal margin (Ref. 122068). Furthermore, it differs from the other members of the Nothobranchius taeniopygus species group in central and western Tanzania by a body depth at pelvic-fin origin 26.3-30.0% of standard length vs. 30.3-37.6%; suborbital depth 15-22% of head length vs. 23-31%; caudal peduncle depth 11.8-12.9% of standard length vs. 12.9-16.8%; and caudal peduncle length 160-169% in its depth vs. 119-151% (Ref. 122068).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Watters, B.R., B. Nagy, P.D.W. van der Merwe, F.P.D. Cotteril and D.U. Bellstedt, 2019. Review of the Nothobranchius taeniopygus species group from central and western Tanzania with descriptions of five new species and redescription of Nothobranchius taeniopygus (Teleostei: Nothobranchiidae). Ichthyol. Explor. Freshwat. 29(3):239-278. (Ref. 122068)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
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Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = No PD50 data [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01000 (0.00244 - 0.04107), b=3.04 (2.81 - 3.27), in cm total length, based on all LWR estimates for this body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.2 ±0.4 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (10 of 100).