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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 vertebrae. It can further be distinguished from all congeners, except Parauchenoglanis zebratus Sithole et al., 2023 and Parauchenoglanis ngamensis (Boulenger 1911), by having 13 or 14 (vs. 16 or more) pre‐anal vertebrae. The species is endemic to the Mfimi River basin, where it has been collected mainly in blackwater tributaries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Democratic Republic of Congo holds the most diverse assemblage of birds in Africa. However, ornithological surveys in its network of reserves are rare. In this paper we present the first detailed list of birds from the Man and Biosphere Reserve of Luki in the country's southwestern tip based on collected specimens, photographs, audio recordings, and direct observations from two surveys conducted in 2012- 2013. We document a total of 136 species, including the threatened Psittacus erithacus. Range extensions of four species and breeding records for 19 species are also reported. Further surveys in the reserve, which covers the largest remaining forest patch along the Lower Congo River, are highly recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Labeo is the third most diverse genus of African cyprinids and is widely distributed across the continent. Labeo parvus, a small species originally described from the Congo basin, has been considered the only species of the L. forskalii group distributed across five African ichthyofaunal provinces (Nilo-Sudan, Congo, Cuanza, and Upper and Lower Guinea). However, morphological similarity between L. parvus and numerous congeners remains a central cause of taxonomic confusion within the genus. Here we employed a phylogenetic comparative approach to assess phenotypic convergence among species of the L. forskalii group, investigate the taxonomic status of L. parvus sensu lato (sl) in west Africa, and reevaluate the composition and distribution of L. parvus sensu stricto (ss). Our phylogenetic analysis provides no support for a sister relationship between L. parvus ss and any of the west African Labeo parvus-like species. Geometric morphometric and molecular phylogenetic data indicate that L. parvus ss is a Congo basin endemic, and seemingly ecologically equivalent species found in west Africa are L. ogunensis, L. obscurus and other undescribed or previously synonymized species. We discuss our findings in terms of convergent evolution using phylomorphospace and tests for phylogenetic signal., (© 2022 Fisheries Society of the British Isles.)