Raoul J.C. Monsembula Iyaba

• Professor
• Professor (Associate) at University of Kinshasa

A new, distinctively short‐bodied giraffe catfish of Parauchenoglanis is described from the Ndzaa River, a small left‐bank tributary of the Mfimi‐Lukenie basin in the Central basin of the Congo River in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The new species can be distinguished from all congeners by having 29 or fewer (vs. 33 or more) total vertebra...

Despite the cultural and economic importance of fisheries to communities in the region, the Mfimi is one of the least well-documented river systems in the central Congo basin. Here we present a preliminary listing of species collected during two surveys sampling 35 sites along the main channel, in major tributaries, and in some marginal habitats. A...

Two new Phenacogrammus are described from the Ndzaa River, a small left-bank tributary of the Mfimi-Lukenie River in the central Congo basin. They share with P. deheyni, a congener endemic to the Cuvette Centrale to the north, a prominent anterior expansion of the first pleural rib; a feature interpreted here as a synapomorphy diagnostic for this s...

The ichthyofauna of the Lulua River, a large right bank tributary of the Kasai River in central Africa, is among the most poorly documented in the Kasai ecoregion. To remedy this lack of knowledge, sampling was carried out between 2007 and 2014 along the main channel and in many tributaries. A total of 201 species distributed in 81 genera, 24 famil...

Ichthyofaunal distribution was studied in the Musolo River system, a small affluent tributary of the Congo River flowing into Pool Malebo (Democratic Republic of the Congo). Twelve ecological stations were sampled, of which eight were located in the Musolo main-channel and four in the Fushi River, a principal tributary of the Musolo. Each station w...

Ichthyofaunal distribution was studied in the Musolo River system, a small affluent tributary of the Congo River flowing into Pool Malebo (Democratic Republic of the Congo). Twelve ecological stations were sampled, of which eight were located in the Musolo main-channel and four in the Fushi River, a principal tributary of the Musolo. Each station w...

A new species of smiliogastrin cyprinid is described from tributaries of the middle Congo River in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Restriction of the genus name, Barbus, to certain large-bodied, (polyploid) barbins, and current uncertainty regarding phylogenetic relationships among the numerous small-bodied African (diploid) barbs, renders generi...

A list of fishes collected in the N’sele River, a large affluent tributary of Pool Malebo, in the Democratic Republic of Congo is provided. Sites along the main channel and its affluent tributaries were sampled and 148 species distributed in 27 families are reported. Despite close proximity to the megacity of Kinshasa, the ichthyofauna of the N’sel...

Lake Tanganyika is known for the endemicity of its fishes and species flocks of cichlids, Lates, mochokid catfishes and mastacembelid spiny eels. While the term “species flock” is sometimes applied to Tanganyika’s claroteine catfishes, the number of lineages represented among them and their extra-lacustrine affinities was unknown. Tanganyikan claro...

A new species of ectoparasitic distichodontid, Eugnathichthys virgatus, is described from localities in the central and western Congo basin. The new species is a fin-eater even at small sizes and, in common with congeners, is capable of biting off sections of heavily ossified fin-rays of large prey species. Prior to the present study, two species w...

A list of fishes collected in and around the periphery of the Salonga National Park in Equateur Province of the Democratic Republic of Congo is provided. While noteworthy for a wide array of rare and endangered terrestrial vertebrates, the fish fauna of the Salonga National Park, the largest protected area in Africa, is very poorly known. One hundr...