Aphyosemion australe

The Cape Lopez Lyretrail

A - Port Gentil/Cape Lopez

B - Gamba

C - Mayumba


EBT australe
BSWG_97-24
CI04-99 EBT_96-27
"Today Cape Lopez is called Port Gentil, and Cap Esterias isn't even a hop skip and jump away from Port Gentil." - Tyrone Genade

The fish originates from the vicinity of Port-Gentil (Mandji), Cap Esterias Department, Estuaire Province, Akanda National Park, Gabon. The original specimens of BSWG 97-24 have been collected by T. Blum, P. Sewer, H. Weder and R. Gluggenbuehl in July and August 1997.
Aphyosemion australe GLP_06-1
GTC-12
Nyonie
Aphyosemion australe from Gamba, Gabon
An undated photograph from Nat Geo photographer Carleton Ward, shows a specimen of AUS from Gamba, halfway between Port Gentil and Mayumba. The AUS in Mayumba have white caudal and pectoral fins while the fish from Gamba has a white caudal but orange pectorals; the Port Gentil/Cape Lopez (and all aquarium strains) have orange pectorals and a caudal tipped in white.

Whether this one fish is a unique morph and just one specimen is different because of the substitution of white for orange in the caudal fin or perhaps there's an entire population there of australe with white tails and the only way to find out is to look at more than one which means somebody has to go there and check.

Loanga_NP
Loanga National Park
Mayumba
This is the only population of AUS that looks different from every other AUS although that is less than clear in the only known photo of the fish, above; they're almost black in real life. They were discovered by Radda, Puerzel and Huber 1 km west of Mayumba in stagnant water. Introduced into the hobby, they were around for a couple of years - I had them - but they were very very difficult to breed and are now (2011) extinct in the hobby. Somebody ought to go back and see if they're still there, they may be extinct in the wild, too now. You can tell Mayumba apart from other AUS as Mayumba have in white pectoral fins, they're orange in all other forms of AUS.

In 2012 AUS were collected mouth of the Kouilou, just north of Mayumba and Nyanga systems, in the South of Gabon, but neither one looks like the white finned Mayumba form.

var
albino chocolate -  variety gold -  variety red-gold -  variety
schwarzflosse -  variety spotless -  mutation striped -  mutation yellow -  mutation
Man Made Varieties
Captive bred varieties and one off mutations.
Camp_Rabi
GACC_16-15
00-0-Copr_2017-Sam_Safial-Eggst.jpg
00-0-Copr_2017-Sam_Safial-Eggs.jpg
xs sm lg
00-0-Copr_2017-Unknown.jpg
00-0-Copr_2017-Unknown.jpg
gabon_mapt.jpg
gabon_map.jpg
xs sm lg
sIMG_0078t.jpg
sIMG_0078.jpg
xs lg







Copyright 2022
Richard J. Sexton