Discovery and Conservation of African Freshwater Biodiversity
My research in West Africa is focused on the rivers and streams in the Upper Guinean Forest. These rivers originate on the Guinean Range, a mountainous region that runs from Guinea to Côte d’Ivoire. Expeditions in 2003 and 2013 revealed that the rivers on the west side of this range support an amazing amount of biodiversity. Research on one fish species resulted in the discovery of nine new species of fish. Other groups of fish are also much more diverse than previously thought. So far, this research has discovered roughly 50 new species of fish. Combined, this research provides insights into the biogeography of the area and highlights areas where more new species are likely to be found.
Funding for these expeditions was provided by the Criticial Ecosystem Protection Fund and the All Cypriniformes Species Inventory (ACSII, DEB #1023403).
Recent publications
Schmidt RC, MN Dillon*, NM Kuhn*, HL Bart Jr., F Pezold. 2019. Unrecognized and imperiled diversity in an endemic barb (Smiliogastrini, Enteromius) from the Fouta Djallon highlands. Zoologica Scripta 00:1-9. pdf
Schmidt RC, HL Bart Jr., F Pezold. 2017. A biodiversity hotspot heats up: nine new species of suckermouth catfishes (Mochokidae: Chiloglanis) from the Upper Guinean forests streams in West Africa. Copeia