Genetic evidence for the rediscovery in the wild of the critically endangered Sahara killifish Apricaphanius saourensis (Cyprinodontiformes: Aphaniidae)
Louiza Derouiche, Redouane Tahri, Carlos Rodríguez Fernandes
TL;DR
Scientists used genetic analysis to confirm the rediscovery of a critically endangered fish species in the wild.
Contribution
Genetic evidence confirms the rediscovery of the Sahara killifish in the Guir River.
Findings
Mitochondrial and nuclear DNA analyses support the Guir River population as A. saourensis.
The population is located 115 km from the original type locality of A. saourensis.
This finding suggests the species is not extinct in the wild.
Abstract
Apricaphanius saourensis was described in 2006 from the Saoura River in western Algeria, and is currently listed as possibly extinct in the wild. We recently discovered an aphaniid population in a very isolated secondary wadi of the Guir River about 115 Km northwest of A. saourensis’ type locality, which we hypothesized could belong to A. saourensis based on images taken from living individuals. We report here results of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA analyses that suggest that this Guir River population indeed represents the rediscovery in the wild of A. saourensis.
Genes, proteins, chemicals, diseases, species, mutations and cell lines named across the full text — each resolved to its canonical identifier and authoritative record.
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Taxonomy
TopicsFish biology, ecology, and behavior · Fish Biology and Ecology Studies · Genetic diversity and population structure