A new species of Jupiaba tetra has been described by Brazilian ichtyologists Birindelli, JLO, AM Zanata, LM Sousa and AL Netto-Ferreira.

The fish has been given the name Juipaba kurua, a name derived from the type locality; the Curuá River which is part of the Xingu River drainage. The river name Curuá comes from the tupo language kurua.

Researchers analysed the gut content of these fishes to find out more about their habits and the results indicate that Juipaba kurua is an omnivore clearwater species that feeds along the entire length of the water column.

The faint dark Juipaba kurua is differs from its close relatives by sporting an elongate humeral blotch, a distinct dark spot on the caudal peduncle, and a pattern of dark spots on most of the scales on the sides of the body. The fish has teeth cusps of similar size and the lower jaw teeth gradually decrease in size posteriorly. The number of branched anal-fin rays varies from 21 to 24.

The description of Juipaba kurua was published in the latest issue of the journal Neotropical Ichthyology.

Birindelli, JLO, AM Zanata, LM Sousa and AL Netto-Ferreira (2009) New species of Jupiaba Zanata (Characiformes: Characidae) from Serra do Cachimbo, with comments on the endemism of upper rio Curuá, rio Xingu basin, Brazil. Neotropical Ichthyology 7, pp. 11–18.

Two new species of the genus Leporinus has been described from the Araguaia-Tocantins River system in the Amazon basin: Leporinus unitaeniatus and Leporinus geminis.

Brazilian ichthyologists Julio Garavello and Geraldo Santos describe them both in a paper* published in the most recent issue of Brazilian Journal of Biology.

Leporinus unitaeniatus

Leporinus unitaeniatus derives its name from its distinguishing colour pattern; uni is the Latin word for one and taenia means ribbon. This fish is adorned with a conspicuous longitudinal dark brown bar along the lateral line on the flanks. Other distinguishing characteristics are the slender and elongated body, the narrow snout, and the small eyes. The mouth is sub-inferior and filled with elongated, incisor-like teeth forming a straight cutting edge. There are 42–44 lateral line scales; 6 scale rows above and 5 scale rows below the lateral line; and 16 circumpeduncular scales.

Picture credit: http://www.scielo.br

Leporinus geminis

Juvenile Leporinus geminis fish look very similar to juveniles of the close relative Leporinus unitaeniatus, hence the name Leporinus geminis. Geminius is the Latin word for twin.

Leporinus geminis is decorated with three large and vertically elongated brown blotches on the trunk and has one inconspicuous dark bar on the body. The body is deep, the snout is blunt, and the eyes are large. The mouth is sub-inferior and fitted with large incisor-like teeth forming a curved cutting edge. There are 40–42 lateral line scales; 5.5 or 6 scale rows above and 5 scale rows below the lateral line; and 16 circumpeduncular scales.

Picture credit: http://www.scielo.br

* Garavello, JC and GM Santos (2009) Two new species of Leporinus

Agassiz, 1829 from Araguaia-Tocantins system, Amazon basin, Brazil (Ostariophysi, Anostomidae). Brazilian Journal of Biology 69, pp. 109–116.

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

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].

Wild-caught pets are often recommended against, since the harvest of wild caught specimen may deplete wild populations. In the Brazilian rainforest, the harvesting of popular aquarium species such as cardinal tetras have however helped prevent deforestation and made it possible for local residents to earn a living without resorting to logging, mining, cattle ranching, and slash-and-burn agriculture.

“All this is very counter-intuitive,” says Scott Dowd, an Amazon biologist at the New England Aquarium who has been researching the dark acidic waters of Rio Negro, a major Amazon tributary in Northern Brazil, for the past two decades. “You would think biologists would not want to take fish out of the rainforest. But the fish are the key to miminizing deforestation. The people’s other economic options – timber harvest, cattle ranching and gold mining – are environmental disasters.”
The Rio Negro region has been a major fish exporter for over half a century and 60 percent of local populations rely in this source of income for their sustenance. Since deforestation is known to be detrimental to the survival of financially valuable fish species like the cardinal tetra fish, the Brazilian government has protected the Rio Negro rainforest from logging and burning – at least until now. The situation may be about to change dramatically as more and more aquarium shops switch from wild-caught fish to farm-raised specimens. Wild-caught specimens are used to the dark, soft and highly acidic water conditions of Rio Negro, while farm-raised fish tend to be acclimatized to common tap-water conditions (i.e. clear water that is not very soft or acidic) and therefore easier to keep.

To prevent the market for wild-caught Rio Negro fish from collapsing, Dowd is participating in a “Buy a Fish, Save a Tree” campaign. “The local fisheries look like they are headed for collapse”, Down explains. “But there’s hope that this threat can be addressed. If you ask fish hobbyists if they care about the environment, a very high percentage say they care about it deeply.”

Dowd hopes that the “Buy a Fish, Save a Tree” branding will help Brazilian fish harvesters to benefit from the growing trend of cause labelling, such as Fair Trade and FSC (Forest Stewardship Council).

Another important step in making wild-caught Rio Negro fish a popular alternative to farmed-raised specimens is to adapt them to normal aquarium conditions, and the New England Aquarium is therefore helping local fishermen to efficiently acclimatize wild-caught tetras to a pH-value around 7.0.

Dowd also hope to take advantage of the Internet, by assigning lot numbers to every batch of aquarium fish caught in Rio Negro. “Imagine if you could go online and see a video of the actual fisherman who caught your tropical fish, says Dowd. “I want hobbyists to know directly how their choices can affect people thousands of miles away and how they can make a contribution to saving the rainforest. Things don’t look good, but we can begin to turn all of this around.”