Phylogenetic Analyses of Cyprinid Species from the Rokel River Basin of Sierra Leone, West Africa: Taxonomic, Biogeographic, and Conservation Implications

The Rokel River (RR) basin is one of the most neglected ichthyofaunal basins, despite potential for undetected diversity and high levels endemism. Data on molecular phylogeny freshwater fish from this river are rare. Morphological features alone inadequate precise species identification. Here, a phylogenetic analysis performed based mtDNA Cytb gene eleven cyprinid RR recovered distinct lineages. same was also observed two our delineation analyses, which four identical to six morphospecies, taxonomic uncertainty, rest currently unrecognized. disjunct distribution found here in some their sister suggests that had past complex historical inter-basin connection exchange with nearby basins Zaire lower Guinean ecoregions. unrecognized area may have significant implications conservation biodiversity.