A new species of ghost knifefish has been described by ichthyologists James Albert and William Crampton. It has been given the name Compsaraia samueli in honour of Samuel Albert who presented the scientists with the type specimens.

Ghost knifefish (family Apteronotidae) are famous for their body shape and for using a high frequency tone-type electric organ discharge (EOD) to communicate. The native home of these fishes are South and Central America. Within the aquarium hobby, the Black ghost knifefish (Apteronotus albifrons) and Brown ghost knifefish (Apteronotus leptorhynchus) are fairly common.

Samuel’s ghost knifefish lives in the western Amazon of Peru and Brazil and was collected from flooded beaches and deep river channels. It can be distinguished from its close relatives by having a higher number of caudal-fin rays and a less tapering body shape in lateral profile.

Other distinctive features are the relatively short caudal peduncle and the comparatively small body size (as an adult). The mature male sports an extremely slender and elongated snout and engages in sparring with repeated aggressive non-contact postures, usually followed by jaw-locking and biting.

If you wish to learn more about Samuel’s ghost knifefish, see the paper: Albert, JS and WGR Crampton (2009) A new species of electric knifefish, genus Compsaraia (Gymnotiformes: Apteronotidae) from the Amazon River, with extreme sexual dimorphism in snout and jaw length. Systematics and Biodiversity[1] 7, pp. 81–92.

Genus: Compsaraia

New species: Compsaraia samueli

Chinese ichthyologists Yang, Chen and Yang have described three new species of snow trout in a paper[1] published in the journal Zootaxa[2]. All three species have been described from material previously identified as one single species, Schizothorax griseus. True trouts belong to the Salmoninae subfamily in the Salmonidae family, but snow trouts are members of the family Cyprinidae.

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Cypriniformes
Family: Cyprinidae
Genus: Schizothorax

New species: Schizothorax beipanensis

Schizothorax heterophysallidos

Schizothorax nudiventris

Schizothorax beipanensis

Schizothorax beipanensis is found in southern China where it inhabits the Beipan River drainage, a part of the Pearl River drainage. It has been encountered in both slow-flowing deep pools and fast-flowing rivers with clear water and over a wide range of different bottom substrate, from mud and sand to rocks, boulders and pebbles.

Schizothorax beipanensis differs from its close relatives by having well-developed upper and lower lips (the lower lip is actually tri-lobed), no horny sheath on the lower jaw, and a continuous postlabial groove with a minute median lobe.

Schizothorax heterophysallidos

Just like Schizothorax beipanensis, the snow trout Schizothorax heterophysallidos is found in the Pearl River drainage in southern China, but it lives in the river drainage of Nanpan, not Beipan. Schizothorax heterophysallidos lives in small streams where the bottom consists of sand and pebbles.

The name heterophysallidos is derived from the unusual swim bladder of this fish; physallis is the Greek word for bladder and heteros means different. In addition to the swim bladder (the posterior chamber of the air bladder is three to six times longer than the anterior chamber), Schizothorax heterophysallidos can be recognized on its well-developed and trilobed lower lip, thin upper lip, and blunt snout. It has a continuous postlabial groove with a minute median lobe and the last unbranched dorsal-fin ray has a strong lower part. In mature specimens, the abdomen lacks scales.

Schizothorax nudiventris

Schizothorax nudiventris also lives in southern China, but in the upper parts of the Mekong River drainage. The Mekong basin is one of the richest areas of biodiversity in the world. More than 1200 species of fish have been identified here and the number is believed to increase as the area becomes more thoroughly explored by science.

Schizothorax nudiventris has a well-developed and trilobed lower lip, thin upper lip, blunt snout, and continuous postlabial groove. The body is decorated with irregular black spots on the sides, and the last one-quarter of the last unbranched dorsal-fin ray is soft. In mature specimens, the abdomen has no scales, and it is this feature that has given the fish its name nudiventris. Nudus is the Latin word for naked, while venter means abdomen.

Remember the strange fish discovered by divers off the Indonesian coast in January 2008? This fish has now been scientifically described and given the official name Histiophryne psychedelica. Well, what else would you call a fish that that looks like this and moves like it was permanently and irrevocably under the influence?

Histiophryne psychedelica, also known as the Psychedelic frogfish, was scientifically described by Ted Pietsch[1] and Rachel Arnold[2] of the University of Washington, together with wildlife photographer David Hall[3].

The University of Washington has released videos where you can see the Psychedelic frogfish swim, or rather hop, skip and jump, over a coral reef. http://uwnews.org/article.asp?articleID=47496

Each time the fish strikes the reef, it uses its fins to push off while simultaneously expelling water from tiny gill openings on the sides of the body to aid in propulsion. The fish is well suited for life on the reef and has for instance been blessed with protective thick folds of skin that keeps its gelatinous body out of harms way among the sharp-edged corals. Just as on the other members of the frogfish group, the fins on both sides of the body have evolved into elongated protrusions more similar to legs than fins. Histiophryne psychedelica does however distinguish itself from other frogfish species by having a flat face with eyes facing forward.

Frogfishes are a type of angelfish, but unlike most other anglers Histiophryne psychedelica does not have any lures on its forehead to tempt its prey with. It also seems to keep its vibrant colours in all sorts of environments, unlike most other anglers who prefer to adapt every inch of their body (except for the lures) to the surroundings in order to stay undetected by prey. According to Hall, the psychedelic colouration might be a way for the fish to mimic corals.

When a Psychedelic frogfish is killed and preserved in ethanol, it looses its lively colours and patterns within a few days and takes on a dull white appearance. This made Pietsch curious about two specimens sent to him in 1992 and he decided to take a closer look at them in a microscope. In the newly caught specimen, the distinctive striping of the fish could still be seen through a microscope and this prompted Pietsch to re-examine the two preserved ones in search of patterns. As it turned out, these two fishes had the same characteristic striping as Histiophryne psychedelica – Pietsch had been storing two specimens of the psychedelic fish for 17 years without realizing it.

If you wish to learn more about this mesmerizing fish, check out the paper Theodore W Pietsch, Rachel J. Arnold and David J. Hall. “A Bizarre New Species of Frogfish of the Genus Histiophryne (Lophiiformes: Antennariidae) from Ambon and Bali, Indonesia.” Copeia[4], February 2009. The study was funded by the National Science Foundation.

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Lophiiformes
Family: Antennariidae
Genus: Histiophryne

New species: Histiophryne psychedelica

The catfish L239 has finally been described by science and given a proper name: Baryancistrus beggini. Ichthyologists Lujan, Arce and Armbruster described the species in a paper[1] published in the journal Copeia[2].

Baryancistrus beggini lives in Venezuela and Colombia; in Rio Guaviare and at the confluence of Rio Ventuari and Rio Orinoco. The researchers found the fish in crevices amongst boulders. By analysing stomach contents, they were able to learn that this catfish feeds on periphyton and associated microfauna growing on rocks. (Periphyton is a mixture of algae, heterotrophic microbes, cyanobacteria, and detritus that can be found attached to submerged surfaces, e.g. stones, in most underwater ecosystems.)

In the aquarium trade, L239 is known as Blue panaque or Blue-fin panaque. The name beggini was given by Lujan and his colleagues in honour of Chris Beggin, the owner of an aquarium fish store in Nashville, USA who funded the research. The species has been placed in the genus Baryancistrus, but this might have to be corrected in the future as we learn more about the tribe Ancistrini.

Baryancistrus beggini sports a uniformly dark black to brown base colour with a blue sheen and the abdomen is naked. Along each side of the body you can see a distinctive keel above the pectoral finns; a keel formed by the strongly bent first three to five plates of the midventral series. The body also features two to three symmetrical and ordered predorsal plate rows and the last dorsal-fin ray is connected to the adipose fin.

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Siluriformes
Family: Loricariidae
Subfamily: Hypostominae
Tribe: Ancistrini
Genus: Baryancistrus

New species: Baryancistrus beggini

The Census of Marine Life[1] has now documented 7,500 species from the Antarctic and 5,500 species from the Arctic. A majority of the species encountered by the census was previously known by science, but at least a few hundred species are believed to be entirely new discoveries. Researchers did for instance encounter an impressive amount of sea spiders species where the adult spider can grow as big as a human hand.

These new findings may force us to change the way we think about the Polar Regions. “The textbooks have said there is less diversity at the poles than the tropics but we found astonishing richness of marine life in the Antarctic and Arctic oceans,” says Dr. Victoria Wadley[2], a researcher from the Australian Antarctic Division who took part in the Antarctic survey. “We are rewriting the textbooks.“

Dr. Gilly Llewellyn[3], who did not take part in the survey but is the leader of the oceans program for the environmental group WWF-Australia, agrees. “We probably know more about deep space than we do about the deep polar oceans in our own backyard. This critical research is helping reveal the amazing biodiversity of the polar regions.”

The survey was carried out by over 500 researchers from 25 different countries as a part of the International Polar Year which ran in 2007-2008. Thanks to newly developed top-notch technology it is now possible to carry out more efficient exploration of these harsh environments than ever before, and the researchers did for instance examine the Arctic basin down to a depth of 3,000 metres where they encountered tiny, shrimp-like crustaceans. The survey also led to the number of known comb jellies (ctenophores) species to double from five to ten.

A new species of catfish belonging to the genus Lithogenes has been described by ichthyologists Scott Schaefer and Francisco Provenzano in a recent issue of the journal American Museum Novitates[1].

The new fish has been given the name Lithogenes wahari, after Ruá-Wahari, the Piaroapeople’s God of Creation[2]. The species is known from the Cuao River, a part of the Orinoco River drainage, where it inhabits clear and swift forest streams with exposed bedrock substratum. It was actually collected over 20 years ago by anthropologist Stanford Zent, but it would take until 2001 before the fish was found again by Scott Schaefer and Francisco Provenzano.

Lithogenes wahari is the third scientifically described member of the small genus Lithogenes and can be distinguished from its two close relatives by the absence of odontodes on the proximal portion of the ventral surface of the first pelvic-fin ray, the lack of accessory premaxillary teeth, the extensive ridges present on the thickened skin of the pelvic pad, and the intense pigment band that runs along the base of the anal fin. There is also a diffuse spot located midlength on the anal fin rays.

Interestingly enough, the new information on this Lithogenes member has led ichthyologists to suggest that the common ancestor of the Loricariidae and Astroblepidae was a fish capable of climbing rocks by grasping them with its mouth and pelvic fins.

Picture here

Sri Lankan scientists have described a new species of fish from south-western Sri Lanka and placed in the genus Puntius.

Unlike its close relatives in Sri Lanka and India, the new species Puntius kelumi feature a combination of a smooth last unbranched dorsal-fin ray, a body depth that is 28.6-35.5 % of standard length (SL), maxillary barbels (about as long as the eye diameter) but no rostral barbels, 20-23 lateral-line scales on the body, and ½3/1/2½ scales in transverse line from mid-dorsum to pelvic-fin origin. One breeding males, the sides of the head and body are rough and extensively tuberculated.

Puntius kelumi is primarily found in large streams with clear water that flows down from the mountains. The bottom is typically made up by granite, pebbles and/or sand and is often littered with boulders.

The description was published by the journal Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters.

For more information about Puntius kelumi, see the paper: Pethiyagoda, R, A Silva, K Maduwage and M Meegaskumbura (2008) Puntius kelumi, a new species of cyprinid fish from Sri Lanka (Teleostei: Cyprinidae). Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters 19, pp. 201–214.

http://www.pfeil-verlag.de/04biol/pdf/ief19_3_02.pdf

A picture of the new species can be seen here

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Puntius is a genus of ray-finned fishes in the family Cyprinidae. All known members of the genus are native to Southeast Asia and India, including Sri Lanka. The name Puntius is derived from the word pungti, which is the term for small cyprinids in the Bangla (Bengali) language.

Puntius fish are commonly referred to as spotted barbs, but some species display vertical black bands instead of spots. Spotted barbs are commonly kept by aquarists and are known to be active, curious and bold. Many of them are unsuitable companions for fish with long and flowing finnage since they tend to nip such fins, a habit which causes both injury and stress in the afflicted animal.

This post will introduce a number of new catfish species, a couple of tetras and an a few cichlid species.

Let’s start with the cichlid species. The species known as Apistogramma sp Mamore have been scientifically described by Wolfgang Staeck and Ingo Schindler and named A. erythrura. It is a small species and the largest speciemen that have been found so far was 30.8 mm SL. (just over 1.2 inch). It seems to feed on small invertebrates. Thy can be found in waters with the following conditions pH 5.2–6.4; electrical conductivity <10–20 μS/cm; total and temporary hardness < l°dH; water temperature 25.1–31.0°C. They are cave spawners and can be bred in aquariums. The male guards a territory which can contain several females. The females guard the fry.

Scientists Felipe Ottoni and Wilson Costa from Brazil have in the latest issue of the journal Vertebrate Zoology described nine new species of Australoheros cichlids from southern Brazil[1].

Australoheros autrani, A. Barbosae, A. ipatinguensis, A. macacuensis, A. muriae, A. paraibae, A.s robustus, A. saquarema

New tetras

Two new species of flag tetra have been described[2]. Both species originates in Venezuela. The new species Hyphessobrycon paucilepis and H. tuyensis was described by Carlos García-Alzate, César Román-Valencia and Donald Taphorn in the latest issue of the journal Vertebrate Zoology. At the same time they recognize three other valid species: H. diancistrus, H. fernandezi and H. sovichthys.

Hyphessobrycon paucilepis originates from the small drainages in Lara state, northern Venezuela. H. tuyensis from the Tuy River drainage in northern Venezuela

New catfish species

Brazilian scientists Héctor Alcaraz, Weferson da Graça and Oscar Shibatta have in the latest issue of the journal Neotropical Ichthyology named a new species of bumblebee catfish from Paraguay Microglanis carlae as attribute to ichthyologist Carla Pavanelli[3]. The species is found in moderately fast flowing water in Paraguay River drainage.

Brazilian ichthyologists Luisa Sarmento-Soares and Ronaldo Martins-Pinheiro have described three new Tatia species bringing the total number of described species up to twelve[4]. The three new species described are T. caxiuanensis (named after the Floresta Nacional de Caxiuanã.), T. meesi (named after Gerloff Mees) and T. nigra (named after its dark color)

T. caxiuanensis is found in the Floresta Nacional de Caxiuanã, T. meesi in Essequibo River drainage in Guyana and T. nigra in the Uatumã and Trombetas river drainages.

Marcelo Rocha, Renildo de Oliveira and Lúcia Py-Daniel have described a new Gladioglanis catfish, Gladioglanis anacanthus, which can be found in the Aripuanã River in central Brazil[5].

Lúcia Py-Daniel and Ilana Fichberg have described a new whiptail catfish, Rineloricaria daraha. This new species is found in the Rio Daráa in the Rio Negro drainage which have given the species its name[6].

A new subfamily has been created within the catfish family Loricariidae, the largest family of catfish and currently home to over 700 described species. The new subfamily has been named Otothyrinae and its members include the genera Corumbataia, Epactionotus, Eurycheilichthys, Hisonotus, Microlepidogaster, Otothyris, Otothyropsis, Parotocinclus, Pseudotothyris, and Schizolecis.

The new subfamily was named in a study published in the latest issue of the journal Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution[1]. Juan Montoya-Burgos, Márcio Chiachio and Claudio Oliveira – the researchers behind the article – have studied the molecular phylogeny of the subfamilies Hypoptopomatinae and Neoplecostominae in the family Loricariidae. They decided to name a new subfamily after taking a closer look at the phylogeny of the fish using a partial sequence of the nuclear F-reticulon4 gene.

In addition to the nuclear F-reticulon4 gene, Burgos, Chiachio and Oliviera used morphological evidence to decide which catfish species that should be placed in the new subfamily, and the study has also examined the historical biogeography of the group.

New species of catfish from the Ngounié River

Belgian and French scientist[1] have now described and named an African catfish sporting a striking pattern of irregular whitish lines and dots over a black background. The fish has been given the name Synodontis ngouniensis after its type locality, the Ngounié River drainage. The Ngounie River is the last and second most important tributary of the famous Ogowe River and flows through the country Gabon in west central Africa. The species can also be found in the Nyanga River drainage in Congo. (Nyanga is a smaller coastal river that runs through southern Gabon and northern Congo.)

The researchers collected Synodontis ngouniensis from a turbid part of the Ngounié River, where the temperature was 24°C (roughly 75°F) and the pH-value 8.4 (very alkaline).

Synodontis ngouniensis is a mochokid catfish. Its dorsal spine has a smooth anterior margin except for 1-4 feeble serrations that can be seen on the distal part. The species also has a maxillary barbel with a smooth membrane which is proximally at least as broad as the barbel thread and located on the posterior basal two third of the barbel. The fish is equipped with 12-19 mandibular teeth, 10-13 gill rakers on the ceratobranchial of the first branchial arch, and a triangular humeral process.

If you want to learn more, you can find the description of the fish in Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters 19[2].

New species of catfish from the Woleu River

This new species of mochokid catfish has long been confused with another similar species, Synodontis batesii, but has now been recognized as a species in its own right thanks to the work of researchers John Friel and John Sullivan. The new species has been given the name Synodontis woleuensis after the river Woleu and has is known to be present in the Woleu/Mbini/Uoro and Ntem basins of Gabon and Equatorial Guinea in west central Africa.

Synodontis woleuensis sports a dark background colour decorated with numerous small light spots of irregular shapes. A pair of light spots can be seen anterior and posterior to the adipose fin, and a narrow depigmented curved band runs along the anterior margin of the caudal fin. Another notable feature is the serrations on the anterior edge of the dorsal spine of the fish. 

If you wish to learn more about this new species, you can find the description in the latest issue of Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia[3].