A study of the relict fish fauna of northern Chad, with the first records of a polypterid and a poeciliid in the Sahara desert

Abstract

Seventeen species and sub-species of fishes belonging to four families (Cyprinidae, Clariidae, Aplocheilidae, Cichlidae) were known to occur in perennial bodies of water in the Sahara desert. The study of fishes collected in Lake Boukou near Ounianga Serir (Borkou, northern Chad) shows, for the first time, the occurrence in the Sahara desert of relict populations of Polypterus senegalus (Polypteridae) and Poropanchax normani (Poeciliidae). The Cichlidae Tilapia zilli was also collected in this lake. With these new records, the relict fish fauna currently known in lakes and gueltas of the Borkou plateaus comprises six species. In the Ennedi Mountains, where the specific status of Barbus populations was unclear, B. macrops was collected in Bachikere guelta. The toad Amietophrynus regularis was collected in Ounianga Kebir.

Keywords: Chad; Ounianga Serir; Polypterus senegalus; Poropanchax normani; Sahara; Tchad.