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. |
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| First Description |
Roloff E. 1936. Pflege und Zucht von Aphyosemion roloffi. Wochenschrift für Aquarien und Terrarienkunde 33 (22): p 324-326, figures. |
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| Size |
5 cm |
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| Meristics |
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| Karyotype |
n = 21, A = 23 (Gyldenholm & Scheel 1971) |
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| Sub-Genus |
Scriptaphyosemion |
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| Group |
liberiensis |
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| Synonyms |
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Populations
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Allentown - Collected by Roloff in 1963. Bauya - Collected by Busch & Wiese in 1993 (SL93 code). Brama - Possibly collected by Roloff in
1962. 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). |
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| Type Locality |
Recorded as '5 hours by boat (from Freetown) in the direction of Porto Novo, southern Sierra Leone)' |
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| Distribution |
Ranges from the Little Scaries River drainage system of western Sierra Leone to the lower reaches of the Lofa River of western Liberia. |
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| Habitat |
Shallow, stagnant areas of pools, brooks, small streams & swamps in coastal rainforested areas. |
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| 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. |
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| 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. |
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| Diameter of Egg | |||
| Remarks |
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