| Prolabeo | |
|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
 Data Deficient (IUCN 3.1) | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Cypriniformes |
| Family: | Cyprinidae |
| Subfamily: | Smiliogastrinae |
| Genus: | Prolabeo Norman, 1932 |
| Species: | P. batesi |
| Binomial name | |
| Prolabeo batesi Norman, 1932 | |
Prolabeo is a monospecific genus of freshwater ray-fiined fish belonging to the family Cyprinidae. the family which includes the carps, barbs and related fishes. The only species in the genus is Prolabeo batesi, a species endemic to Sierra Leone.
Taxonomy
Prolabeo was first proposed as a monospecific genus in 1932 by the English ichthyologist John Roxborough Norman when he described its only known species Prolabeo batesi, giving its type locality as the tributaries of the Bagwe River in Sierra Leone. This taxon is classified within the subfamily Smiliogastrinae within the family Cyprinidae. Within the Smiliogastrinae Prolabeo batesi has been recovered as the sister taxon to Enteromius trispilos and they have suggested that E. trispilos be classified within Prolabeo.
Etymology
Prolabeo prefixes pro-, meaing "before" or "in front of", with labeo, which means "having large lips", a reference to the flap above the upper lip hanging over the mouth. The specific name honours the collector of the holotype of this species for the British Museum (Natural History), the American farmer and amateur ornithologist George Latimer Bates.
Description
Prolabeo has 11 soft rays supporting the dorsal fin, 8 of these being branched and the remainder simple, with the last simple ray beong nearly the same length as the head, and there are 8 soft rays supporting the anal fin. The mouth is small and downwards pointing with its lower lip covered in a slender layer of horn-like material. There is a transverse, deeply notched lobe covering the upper lip. P. batesi reaches a maximum published total length of 10.5 cm (4.1 in)
Distribution and habitat
Prolabeo is a demersal fish which is endemic to Sierra Leone where it is known to occur in the Sewa, Rokel, Pampana, Little Scarcies and Jong Rivers.
References
- ^ Lalèyè, P. (2020). "Prolabeo batesi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T182012A134945429. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-2.RLTS.T182012A134945429.en. Retrieved 12 January 2025.
- ^ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Prolabeo". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 12 January 2025.
- ^ Eschmeyer, William N.; Fricke, Ron & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Smiliogastrinae". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 12 January 2025.
- "Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes Classification". California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 12 January 2025.
- Kanu, Unisa Conteh; Liang, Cao; Nwafor, Chinedu Charles; Shen, Jianzhong; Zhang, E (2022). "Phylogenetic Analyses of Cyprinid Species from the Rokel River Basin of Sierra Leone, West Africa: Taxonomic, Biogeographic, and Conservation Implications". Diversity. 14 (4): 299. Bibcode:2022Diver..14..299K. doi:10.3390/d14040299.
- Christopher Scharpf (27 December 2024). "Family CYPRINIDAE: Subfamily SMILIOGASTRINAE Bleeker 1863 (Small Barbs)". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf. Retrieved 12 January 2025.
- Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2024). "Prolabeo batesi month-October". FishBase.
| Taxon identifiers | |
|---|---|
| Prolabeo batesi | |