New species of Moenkhausia Eigenmann, 1903 (Characiformes: Characidae) with comments on the Moenkhausia oligolepis species complex

Author(s)

Benine, Ricardo C. ^[1] ; Mariguela, Tatiane C. ^[1] ; Oliveira, Claudio ^[1]

Affiliation

^[1] IBB UNESP, Dept Morfol, Lab Biol & Genet Peixes, BR-18618000 Botucatu, SP - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: Neotropical Ichthyology; v. 7, n. 2, p. 161-168, APR-JUN 2009.
• Web of Science Citations: 50

Abstract

A new species of Moenkhausia is described from tributaries of the rio Paraguay, Brazil. The new species is diagnosed from congeners by characters related to body coloration, the number of lateral line scales, the degree of poring of the lateral line, and number of scales rows above and below the lateral line. Molecular analyses using partial sequences of the mitochondrial gene Cytochrome Oxidase I from specimens of the new species and specimens belonging to morphologically similar species demonstrated that the new species is easily differentiated by their high genetic distance and by their position in the phylogenetic hypothesis obtained through the Maximum Parsimony methodology. The analyses of three samples of M. oligolepis also revealed that they have high genetic distances and belong to different monophyletic groups suggesting that this species corresponds to a species complex rather than a single species. (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: 06/04551-8 - Phylogenetic relationships among Cheirodontinae genera (Ostariophysi: Characiformes: Characidae) based on mitochondrial and nuclar sequences
• Grantee: Tatiane Casagrande Mariguela
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate