East Edoum, male.
Photo courtesy of Henri Debruyn

East Edoum, female.
Photo courtesy of Henri Debruyn

Named after the Monts de Cristal, to which it is endemic.
Translated from Greek: krystallin for Cristal and oron, plural for mountains, French Monts.

Rainer Sonnenberg, Thomas Blum & Bernhard Y Misof 2006.

Description of a new Episemion species (Cyprinodontiformes: Nothobranchiidae) from northern Gabon and southeastern Equatorial Guinea.

Zootaxa 1361 ( 1-20 ) 2006.

Populations

• Acurenam, Rio Lono Equatorial Guinea
• Oveng, Rio Ncomo Equatorial Guinea
• BBS 99 / 23 - East Edoum
• GEML 00/07 Equatorial Guinea
• GEML 00/10 Equatorial Guinea
• GEMLB 04 Equatorial Guinea
• GEMLBJ 03/20 Equatorial Guinea
• GEMLBJ 03/21 Equatorial Guinea
• GEMLBJ 03/23 Equatorial Guinea
• G 02/156 Gabon
• G 02/157 Gabon, Type locality
• Edoum, 25 km SW Médouneu (GEB 94/25)
  Gabon

Gabon, northern part of the Monts de Cristal, a river near the village of Nkinèn, crossing the road N5 from Médoneu to Kougouleu (0°58'06.3''N, 10°41'33.5''E), T. Blum, G. Fleck, and R. Sonnenberg, 29 July 2002 (collection locality G 02/157). (Holotype).

Restricted to a few biotopes in southeastern Equatorial Guinea and northern Gabon

The type locality is a large river 5–6 m wide & up to 1 m deep.
'The river near Médouneu at locality G 02/156 (= BBS 99/22) is also large (4–5 m wide) and about 80 cm deep. At both localities the water is fast flowing, with sandy bottom and no aquatic vegetation'.
'Episemion specimens were found amongst overhanging terrestrial vegetation'.

A sp. found in faster flowing deeper biotopes.

The description of this species is based on specimens collected during a fieldtrip to Gabon in 1999 (Thomas Blum) and 2002 (Rainer Sonnenberg and Thomas Blum), which are deposited at the Zoologisches Forschungsmuseum Alexander Koenig, Bonn, Germany (ZFMK). Specimens from the type series were also been sent to the Musée Royale de l'Afrique Centrale, Tervuren, Belgium (MRAC) and the Institut de Recherche en Ecologie Tropicale, Libreville, Gabon (IRET).
All fish caught with hand nets & all preserved. Some specimens were kept in aquaria for 'several months' before preserving. These being:-

BBS 99/23 (same as G 02/157) & BBS 99/22 (same as G 02/156).

It is interesting to note that no species from the Epiplatys genus have been found with the Episemion genus. In surrounding areas Epiplatys are found in large numbers compared to other killie sp.