Re: Pelvicachromis scarimontis

[Mike & Diane Wise <apistowise@bewellnet.com>]

Jeff,

These are parts of two replies I got from CICHLID-L. I was hoping for more
response but I guess these two messages must say it all, since I haven't received
anything else on the subject.

My question to CICHLID-L:
"Can anyone comment of the validity of the name Pelvicachromis
sacrimontis. This name has been floating around the aquarium hobby more
and more recently in reference to the Giant Krib, Pv. sp. aff. pulcher.
I believe this is due to the fact that the English edition of Linke &
Staeck's book, Afrikanische Cichliden I - Buntbarsche aus Westafrika,
has put this name in the hands of more average hobbyists.

It is my understanding that Thys van den Audenaerde had a paper on its
description ready for publication 20 years ago, but for some reason it
hasn't been published yet. Many refer to Linke & Staeck's book as a
reason for using Pv. sacrimontis. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

best wishes,

Mike Wise

responses:

"Anyway, out of curiosity, I looked up the listed name and came up with the
following.

Pelvicachromis sacramontis  Paulo, 1977 and the name appeared in the DCG
Informationen 8(9) p.161 as far as I can determine and is considered as
nomen triviale.

Just checked in CLOFFA 4 and came up with, under Pelvicachromis pulcher

Pelvicachromis sacramontis Paulo, 1977 161; an unjustified substitute for P.
camerunensis Paulo, 1968 the types of which came from Nigeria and not from
Cameroon.

Full ref is;
                     Paulo,J. 1977.  Anmerkungen zur Gattung Pelvicachromis,
speziell zur Berechtigung des Taxons Pelvicachromis kribensis (Boulenger, 1911)
DCG Info 8(9); pp.161-168."

and

"About P. sacrimontis it seems that the description has never been published
so the name is not valid. It could be useful to call the fish P. aff. pulcher or
P. "sacrimontis"."

Linke & Staeck first published this information in their 1981 first edition book
(in German only, although you could get an English translation from the ACA). Now
that more people have access to it via the English edition, more people are using
it as a valid scientific name. Thys van den Audenaerde still hasn't published the
work. The only reason I can think that anyone would consider Pv. sacrimontis a
valid name is that the name was published by Linke & Staeck with sufficient
information for it to be considered a scientific description. This would be sort
of like what happened to the genus Microgeophagus in Axelrod's Breeding Aquarium
Fishes. At least Axelrod referred to the type material of Meyers & Harry's
original description of Apistogramma ramirezi. Linke & Staeck couldn't do this for
Pv. sacrimontis since there is no type specimens of it listed anywhere. Until
someone comments on this name in a scientific journal, like they did with
Microgeophagus, I guess the scientific community will not recognize the name as
valid.

Mike Wise

WndrKdnomo@aol.com wrote:

> In a message dated 10/26/98 3:32:17 PM, apistowise@bewellnet.com writes:
>
> <<I submitted the question of  on the validity of the name Pelvicachromis
> sacrimontis to the scientific community on the CICHLID-L mail list. From the
> responses I got it is presently considered nomen triviale (a common name) and
> is
> properly called by its previous common names Pv. sp. aff. pulcher or Giant
> Krib.(Sorry I didn't get back to you before this.)>>
>
> There was a previous thread on this species, and I got the impression that the
> name sacrimontis had been published.  Link and Staek mention, under the
> listing P.sp. aff. pulcher, that a Prof. Thys was in the process of publishing
> the description of the species as P. sacrimontis,  and that book was published
> in 1994.  Has the description still not been published, or has it been
> published but not widely accepted?  Just curious.
> Jeff Lehman
>
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