A new species of the catfish genus Trichomycterus from the La Plata River basin, southern Brazil, with comments on its putative phylogenetic position (Siluriformes: Trichomycteridae)

Author(s)

Datovo, Alessio ; Carvalho, Murilo ; Ferrer, Juliano

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: Zootaxa; v. N/A, n. 3327, p. 12-pg., 2012-05-29.

Abstract

The genus Trichomycterus is a highly diverse group of Neotropical catfishes that encompass almost 60% of all the currently recognized species of the Trichomycteridae. A new species of this genus, T. perkos, is herein described from tributaries of the Paranapanema and Uruguai River basins, southern Brazil. The new species exhibits a remarkable ontogenetic change in its pigmentation, having a unique color pattern when adult. The adult pigmentation consists of three wide dark brown stripes, located in an inner skin layer of trunk and caudal peduncle, combined with a superficial light brown freckled pattern on the dorsum and caudal peduncle. Small, presumably juvenile specimens lack the superficial freckles but already have the dark stripes, thus resembling the color pattern of a few other congeners. Nevertheless, several unequivocal morphological features distinguish both juveniles and adults of T. perkos from these congeners. In spite of the difficulties in estimating phylogenetic relationships within Trichomycterus, the new species is tentatively proposed as being the sister-taxon of a small group of species composed by T. crassicaudatus, T. igobi, and T. stawiarski. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 04/09219-6 - Phylogenetic relationships in Characidae (Ostariophysi:Characiforms)
• Grantee: Ricardo Macedo Corrêa e Castro
• Support Opportunities: Research Projects - Thematic Grants
• FAPESP's process: 10/18984-9 - Ventral branquial myology of Teleostei (Osteichthyes: Actinopterygii)
• Grantee: Aléssio Datovo da Silva
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• FAPESP's process: 09/54931-0 - Improvement and management of biological specimen collections at the Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo
• Grantee: Carlos Alberto Garofalo
• Support Opportunities: Research Infrastructure Program - Biological specimen collections