Crenicichla hu

Crenicichla hu, paratypes, male (below) and female (above) (photos from publication)

Icthyologists from Argentina in conjunction with scientists from the Czech Republic have finally unveiled a new species of pike cichlid which makes its home in the Parana River drainage of Argentina.

This new cichlid was dubbed Crenicichla hu in a recently published paper in the journal Zootaxa. The lead author, Lubomir Pialek along with coauthors have distinguished this new cichlid from similar species in the area as they have a combination of dark gray or dark brown to black color body and fins, 7 to 9 black spots on their flanks, 47 to 54 scales in row E1, and the dorsal fin on the adult female species has a pattern of black and white horizontal stripes or blotches.

This new species of cichlid has formally been confirmed and recognized by a phylogenetic study which was carried out in the same paper by using the mitochondrial ND2 gene.

The cichlid was scooped up from a swiftly running, clear stream with a substrate mud, stone and sand. Its name, Crenichlia hu, comes from the Guarani word for black (hu), referring to its dark coloring.

If you would like to read more about this fascinating new cichlid, you can check out the paper by clicking the link below.
http://www.mapress.com/zootaxa/2010/f/zt02537p046.pdf

Brazilian ichthyologists Julia Giora and Luiz Malabarba have described a new species of electric knifefish and named it Brachypopomus gauderio.

The fish lives in the central, southern and coastal regions of the Rio Grande do Sul state in Brazil, as well as in Uruguay and Paraguay, and its name is derived from the word “gaúcho”, a local term denoting a person living in the countryside (pampas) of the Rio Grande do Sul state, southern Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina.

Brachypopomus gauderio inhabits river banks, slow-moving creeks, lagoons, and flooded areas with muddy or sandy bottoms and has only been found among surfacing or floating plants.

You can distinguish Brachypopomus gauderio from its close relatives by its yellow dorsal surface, and on the brown markings which form a reticulate pattern.

I have not been able to find a picture.

The description has been published in the journal Zootaxa.

”Giora, J and LR Malabarba (2009) Brachyhypopomus gauderio, new species, a new example of underestimated species diversity of electric fishes in the southern South America (Gymnotiformes: Hypopomidae). Zootaxa 2093, pp. 60–68.”

The cichlid genus Crenicichla now has two new described members: Crenicichla tesay and Crenicichla mandelburgeri.

Crenicichla tesay

Crenicichla tesay lives in the Paraná River drainage and was described by Argentinian ichthyologists Jorge Casciotta and Adriana Almirón. The fish was caught in the Iguazú River upstream of Iguazú falls in Argentina, an environment characterized by falls and pools with clear and rapidly flowing water. The bottom in this habitat consists of stones, mud and sand.

The name Crenicichla tesay is derived from the Guaraní word for tears; the fish displays a tear-shaped suborbital stripe. You can distinguish Crenicichla tesay from its close relatives by the existence of a serrated posterior preopercle border, the number of scales on the E1 row, the length of the snout, and the colour pattern which consists of a suborbital stripe, 4–6 dark blotches and numerous irregularly scattered dots on the sides of the body.

The description has been published in the journal Revue Suisse de Zoologie[1]. For more information, see the paper: Casciotta, J and A Almirón (2008) Crenicichla tesay, a new species of cichlid (Perciformes: Labroidei) from the río Iguazú basin in Argentina. Revue Suisse de Zoologie 115, pp. 651–660.

Crenicichla mandelburgeri

Just like Crenicichla tesay, this newly described cichlid hails from the Paraná River drainage. It was described by Swedish ichthyologist Sven Kullander and named Crenicichla mandelburgeri in honour of Paraguayan ichthyologist Darío Mandelburger.

The Crenicichla mandelburgeri specimens were collected from two different environments. Some lived in the rapids of a large stream (5-10 meters wide and up to 1 meter deep) with turbid, brownish water. Others lived in a much smaller stream (up to 3 meters wide) with shallower brown water where both velocity and transparency fluctuated. In this environment, the bottom consisted of stones and sand and was generally without any plants.

Young Crenicichla mandelburgeri cichlids feature numerous narrow vertical bars along the side, which changes into an irregular dark horizontal band as the fish matures. You can also distinguish Crenicichla mandelburgeri from other crenicichlas by the distinct caudal blotch, the number of scales in the lateral row and in the E1 row, the lower jaw (which is longer than the upper), and the serrated preopercular margin.

For more information, see the paper: Kullander, SO (2009) Crenicichla mandelburgeri, a new species of cichlid fish (Teleostei: Cichlidae) from the Paraná river drainage in Paraguay. You can find it in Zootaxa 2006: 41–50.[2]

Crenicichla

Crenicichla is the cichlid genus where you can find the largest number of described species, about 75 species. They live on the South American continent where they inhabit freshwater rivers, streams, pools and lakes. The richest variation of species is encountered in the Amazon region, but you can find Crenicichla cichlids as far north as Guyana, Venezuela and Colombia and as far south as Uruguay and central Argentina where the water can become fairly cold in the winter.

This week, Chilean president Michelle Bachelet signed into law a measure that outlaws all whale hunting in the Chilean part of the Pacific Ocean. The law prohibits all types of whale hunting; both commercial and scientific.

Whales have not been hunted off the Chilean coast for over three decades, but the government decided that a law was needed to emphasise the Chilean commitment to protect whales in Chilean territorial waters. President Bachelet says the law is “a big step ahead in the protection of nature and a major legacy to future generations.”

Several South- and Central American countries has already banned whale hunting, including Chile’s neighbour Argentina (Green on the map). Chile has a 6,435 km long coast line along the Pacific side of South America’s southernmost part, while Argentina has a 4,665 km long coastline along the corresponding Atlantic side of the continent. As you can see on the map, the new Chilean law has led to the creation of a whale sanctuary around the entire southern tip of South America. (Chile is red on the map)

Chile = Red, Argentine = Green