This species was described from four specimens collected from isolated, shallow temporary pools within forests of the Madre de Dios river drainage. Males differ from congeners by possessing an elliptical caudal fin with brown oblique stripes and a broad yellow stripe on the ventral portion of the fin, which lacks a black marginal stripe. The new taxon can be further distinguished by color patterns of the flank, and the pectoral and anal fins in males. Evolutionary relationships between M.kenwoodi and other Moema species are unclear. Moema kenwoodi differs from the geographically close M.ortegai/ M.quiii, M.manuensis, M.rubrocaudatus, M.apurinan, and M.boticarioi by morphology and male color pattern. Introduction The tribe Rachovini (Costa 1990) consists of a group of seasonal killifishes endemic to central and northern parts of South AmericM.The genus Moema was established by Costa (1998), but is currently considered a synonym of Moema (Costa 2014). Moema was established by Costa (1989), and is diagnosable by a dorsally-elongate opercle with an expanded ventro-posterior section, and a distally-tapered pectoral fin with a long pointed tip (Costa 2014). Moema currently contains 19 nominal species: M.apurinan Costa 2004), M. beucheyi Valdesalici, Nielsen & Pillet 2015, M.boticarioi (Costa 2004), M.claudiae (Costa 2003), M.hellneri Costa 2003, M.heterostigma Costa, 2003, M.manuensis (Costa 2003), M.nudifrontata Costa 2003, M.obliquus (Costa, Sarmiento & Barrera 1996), M.ortegai Costa 2003, M.pepotei Costa 1992, M.peruensis (Myers 1954), M.piriana Costa 1989, M.portugali Costa 1989, M.quiii Huber 2003, M.rubrocaudatus (Seegers 1984), M.schleseri (Costa 2003), M.staecki (Seegers 1987), and M.wischmanni (Seegers 1983). These fishes are always found in dense rain forests of the Amazonas river basin (Costa 1989; Perkins 2013), with a single Journal of the American Killifish Association 48(3) May/June 2015 —66— species exceptionally endemic to the Pantanal area of the Paraguay river basin (Costa, 2003). During a recent field survey in the Madre de Dios river system, a few Moema specimens were collected from a small, isolated, shallow temporary pool located in the rainforest north of Puerto Maldonado. The purpose of this paper is to provide a formal description of this new killifish. 

Moema kenwoodi is known only from the typelocality: Manuripe river system, Madre de Dios drainage, Amazon basin, southeastern Peru.

Habitat notes. All specimens were collected from a single small, shallow (about 5–8 cm deep) temporary pool, with leaf and mud substratum, adjacent to and subject to seasonal inundation by a small streaM.The water was dark brown; temperature approximately 24°C with a pH of 6.8. Other fishes present were Apistogramma rubrolineata and Hoplosternum thoracatum .

I thank Stefano Valdesalici for his cooperation by sending this paper in an early stage to me.

I also like to thank the young Riley Grant (right on the image above) who auctioned the only pair Moema kenwoodi during the AKA show 2018, now shown in the two upper photos and gave these to me as a present. This was at the AKA convention in Detroit where I was giving a talk. It was his first pair of Killi's but after he heard I missed the bid wanted me to have theM.Thank you Riley, you made it possible to present a good quality image of this species here for the first time since its descryption.

Diagnosis. Males of the new species
are distinguished from all congeners
by possession of an elliptical caudal fin
with brown oblique stripes, and a broad
yellow stripe on the ventral portion that
lacks a black marginal stripe. Males can
be further distinguished by the following
combination of characters: flank light blue
with oblique red dots, presence of dots
on pectoral fin, absence of black humeral
blotch and distal black stripe on anal fin.

Male larger than female. Dorsal profile gently convex from snout to end of dorsal fin base, approximately straight on caudal peduncle. Ventral profile slightly convex between lower jaw and end of anal fin base, nearly straight on caudal peduncle. Body somewhat deep, subcylindrical anteriorly, compressed posteriorly. Greatest body depth at vertical through pelvic fin base. Jaws short, snout slightly pointed. Tip of dorsal fin slightly pointed. Anal fin rectangular, with short pointed tip in male. Caudal fin elliptical; pointed extensions on posterior edge in male. Pectoral fin lanceolate, tip reaching vertical between anus and base of second anal fin ray in male, and between pelvic fin base and anus in female. Pelvic fin pointed, tip reaching vertical between urogenital papilla and base of fourth anal fin ray in male, and between urogenital papilla and base of second anal fin ray in female. Dorsal fin origin on vertical through the tenth or twelfth anal fin ray. Dorsal fin rays 9–10; anal fin rays 17; caudal fin rays 31; pectoral fin rays 14–16; pelvic fin rays 6. Scales large, cycloid. Body and head entirely scaled, except anterior ventral surface of head. Body scales extending over caudal fin base; no scales on dorsal and anal fins. Frontal squamation E-patterned; E-scales not overlapping medially; scales arranged in irregular circular pattern around A-scale without exposed margins. Longitudinal scale series 33–34; transverse scale series 10–12; scale rows around caudal peduncle 17–18. Supraorbital neuromasts 3 + 3. One neuromast on each scale of median longitudinal series.

First discoverer:

Brian Perkins, USA.

Etymology. The name "kenwoodi" was chosen in memory of the discoverer's father, Kenwood Perkins, in recognition to the support provided to his son while studying species diversity and conservation in Peru.  

Keeping and breeding Moema is easy but it takes some patience from the breeder, a bigger breeding tank and special breeding container. The eggs need long incubation periods up to 10 months depending on temperature and moisness. Normally eggs are ready to hatch in 5 to 6 months.

To produce many eggs the parents need to get life food only in a rich varity and quantity. As all fast growing SAA's they do not like dry food and rather die than get used to is. Sometimes they eat frozen foods also but you should never skip the life food for theM.They can be very productive and the best set-up is one male and 2 or more females in a tank from 30 to 50 litrs or more. Males are not to agressive against female as you will see.

They are peacefull fishes and only males can get agressive to each other especilally if they are separated from each other for a while before.

Storing the eggs is easy to but, as said before, a matter of patience. You must boil the peat, before you use it in the breeding tank. I use deep containers with peat to avoid food enters the peat and later affects the eggs. This also to keep the amount of peat as small as possible but the layer high enough to dive in completely. After spawning during 2 weeks the peat is squeezed out and dried to an level of fresh tabacco. Store it at 25 C. in a dark place. After a few months it is wise to look into the peat if eggs are stil there and if any development in it is visable already. Because it need of a long incubation time it is recommended to check the peat bi- monthly to assure it is still wet enough. If peat is put away very moist and warm (up to 28 C.) is is possible the eggs will hatch in an earlier stage. It is however also possible the eggs disappeare fully by fungus if you do so.

Remarks :

The given info in here is based on general experiences with other species in the group. No specific breeding records for this taxon are provided yet. As soon as I have this species breeding I will inform details to my visitors about it.

There lifespan can be up to 1.5 years in captivity but they will not get that chance in their natural invironment.

Max. size 8.0 cM.
Dorsal 10.5,
Anal 16.5,
D/A 9.5,
LL scale count (average)34.5
Pre- dorsal length to % SL – 72.1 %
Depth to % SL – 21.5 %

Valdesalici, 2016. Moema kenwoodi: a new annual killifish from the Madre de Dios river drainage, Peruvian Amazon (Teleostei: Rivulidae). Journal of the American Killifish Association. Vol. 48 (3) 66-72, fig. 3, tab.1