The Biodiversity of Freshwater Fish in Gabon Rainforests, One Hundred Years After Mary
H. Kingsley

From: Kingsley, M.H. (1899) West African Study. Mcmillian, London. |
On the centennial of Mary H.
Kingsley's historic voyages to West Africa, and the publication
of her influential Travels in West Africa, an international
team of biologists explored the biodiversity of freshwater
fishes of the Ogooué River basin of Gabon. The goals were to collect, catalog, and describe the freshwater
fishes of this relatively unknown and isolated basin; establish
a reference museum and library in Gabon; train students
in field methods, ecological assessment, and systematics;
and develop a method of rapid assessment of fish species diversity
through the use of species-specific electric discharges of Mormyrid
electric fish as indicator species.
The
centennial project was sponsored by a grant from the National
Geographic Society, and by grants from the National Science
Foundation, The American Museum of Natural History, and
the Wildlife Conservation Society.

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Photo: C. Hopkins. Ivindo River at dawn
Mary
Henrietta Kingsley (1862-1900)
She was one of the first European explorers to travel
to some remote parts of Gabon in West Africa. From December
1894 to November 1895 Mary Kingsley traveled alone to the port
of Calabar (now Nigeria), to Gabon, and to Cameroon. She
collected fish and reptiles for the British Museum (Natural History)
of London. In Gabon she took a steamer up the Ogooué
River to Lamberéné and to an American mission
at Talagouga and then paddled a canoe to the rapids at Ndjolé.
She then made an overland trip from the Ogooué
to the Remboué River and descended by boat to Libreville.
She climbed Mount Cameroon (14,435 ft) before returning to London.
She wrote three influential books: Travels in West
Africa (1897), West African Study (1899), and The Story
of West Africa (1899) about her travels and about the Fang
people of Gabon. She died of typhoid in 1900 South
Africa as a nurse in the Boer War at the age of 38.
Mary Kingsley brought valuable freshwater fish specimens back
to Englandincluding some 65 species of which 18 were new to Gabon
and 7 new toscience. They were described by Albert Günther
in 1896(see pictures below). Her
collections representa significant contribution to the ichthyology
of Gabon. Because ofher bravery and extraordinary adventures,
and especially because of her writing, Mary H. Kingsley is
famed for her contributions to understanding ofAfrican culture
and religious customs. Her work on fishes, stillincompete, is
an inspiration for this centennial exploration.
BiographicalNotes on
Mary H. Kingsley
Participants
The Mary Kingsley Centennial Exploration
of Gabon's Freshwater FishBiodiversity
![[Image]](images/team.jpg)
Carl Hopkins, Amy O'Donnell, John Sullivan, Sébastien Lavoué, Jean
Daniel M'BEGA, Melanie Stiassny, Emmanuel Vreven
Photo: Carl D. Hopkins
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Photo by Amy O'Donnell
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Caecomastacembelus niger (Sauvage, 1879)
Freshwater Fishes Named After Mary H.Kingsley.
Below are three of the species of fishes collected
by Mary Kingsley in 1895,described and named after her by
Albert Günther in 1896.
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Brycinus
kingsleyae (Günther, 1896) |
Brienomyrus
kingsleyae (Günther, 1896) |
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Ctenopoma
kingsleyae (Günther, 1896) |
Reference: Günther, A. (1896).
Report on a collection of reptilesand fishes made by Miss M. H.
Kingsley during her travels on the Ogowe Riverand in Old Calabar.
Annals and Magazine of Natural History, Ser. 6 17,261-285.
DownloadReprint
of the Günther's article as reprinted
in Mary Kingley's book (*.pdf format, you will need ).
Bibliographyof
Fish Study in Gabon.

Barbus camptacanthus (Bleeker, 1863). Photo ©
CarlHopkins

Brienomyrus hopkinsi Photo © Carl. Hopkins
![[Image]](images/pict15.jpg)
Rapids at Loa Loa, Ivindo River Photo J.
P. Sullivan |
![[Image]](images/pict14.jpg)
Melanie Stiassny and John Sullivan identifying
fish specimens. |

Jean-Daniel M'Bega working in rocky
pools in upper Ivindo River, February 6, 1998
Photo: J. P. Sullivan |
![[Image]](images/pict3.jpg)
Sébastian Lavoué showing high densities
of mormyrid fishes from cast net samples from the upper Ivindo
River. January 27, 1998. Photo:
J. P. Sullivan. |
![[Image]](images/pict12.jpg)
Above: Sébastian Lavoué and Carl Hopkins
recording electric discharges and taking tissue samples
from fish in a field laboratory.
January, 1998

Mormyrid fishes from Ivindo River cast net samples:
depth = 9 m, including Marcusenius conicephalus, Marcusenius
moorii,
Petrocephalus simus, Pollimyrus marchei, Brienomyrus hopkinsi
Photo: Carl Hopkins |
![[Image]](images/jeanherve_cast.jpg)
Right: Jean Hervé Mve launches a
cast net from the pirogue on the Ivindo River.
January, 1998
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Acknowledgements: Supportfor the Mary Kingsley CentennialExploration of Gabon's
Freshwater Fish Biodiversity comes from a grantfrom the National
Geographic Society. Additional funds come from grantsto
C. D. Hopkins from the National Science Foundation, from
a grantto M. J.S. Stiassny from the The American Museum of Natural
History, atravel grant to S. Lavoué from the Muséum
National de l'HistoireNaturelle (Paris), and a grant to A. Kamdem-Toham,
C.D. Hopkins and G. Teugelsfrom the Wildlife Conservation Society.
This research is sponsoredin Gabon by the Centre National
de Recherche Scientifique et Technologique(CENAREST) in Libreville,
Gabon.
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