the amazon Basin is an unquestionable biodiversity hotspot, containing the highest freshwater biodiversity on earth and facing off a recent increase in anthropogenic threats. The current knowledge on the spatial distribution of the freshwater fish species is greatly deficient in this basin, preventing a comprehensive understanding of this hyper-diverse ecosystem as a whole. Filling this gap was the priority of a transnational collaborative project, i.e. the AmazonFish project -https://www.amazon-fish.com/. Relying on the outputs of this project, we provide the most complete fish species distribution records covering the whole Amazon drainage. The database, including 2,406 validated freshwater native fish species, 232,936 georeferenced records, results from an extensive survey of species distribution including 590 different sources (e.g. published articles, grey literature, online biodiversity databases and scientific collections from museums and universities worldwide) and field expeditions conducted during the project. This database, delivered at both georeferenced localities (21,500 localities) and sub-drainages grains (144 units), represents a highly valuable source of information for further studies on freshwater fish biodiversity, biogeography and conservation.Scientific Data | (2020) 7:96 | https://doi.collections from Peru 25,26 and by initiating sampling campaigns in detected gaps in Colombia, Peru and Brazil. All these spatial gaps in the database will also be prioritized in future updates through literature and web-based sources checking. Researchers holding fish distribution data from any of the current gaps or under-sampled areas (Fig. 2) and that wish to share these data are welcome to join the project. This information will be included with the complete source, after validation, in the next update of the database.

Trichomycteridae is the second most diverse family of the order Siluriformes, its members are widely distributed through the freshwaters of Central and South America, exhibiting an exceptional ecological and phenotypic disparity. The most diverse subfamily, Trichomycterinae, represented mainly by the genus Trichomycterus, historically has been recognized as non-monophyletic and various characters used to unite or divide its constituents are repeatedly called into question. No comprehensive molecular phylogenetic hypothesis regarding relationships of trichomycterids has been produced, and the present study is the first extensive phylogeny for the family Trichomycteridae, based on a multilocus dataset of three mitochondrial loci and two nuclear markers (3284bp total). Our analysis has the most comprehensive taxon-sampling of the Trichomycteridae published so far, including members of all subfamilies and a vast representation of Trichomycterus diversity. Analysis of these data showed a phylogenetic hypothesis with broad agreement between the Bayesian (BI) and maximum-likelihood (ML) trees. The results provided overwhelming support for the monophyletic status of Copionodontinae, Stegophilinae, Trichomycterinae, and Vandelliinae, but not Sarcoglanidinae and Glanapteryginae. A major feature of our results is the support to the current conceptualization of Trichomycterinae, which includes Ituglanis and Scleronema and excludes the "Trichomycterus" hasemani group. Divergence time analysis based on DNA substitution rates suggested a Lower Cretaceous origin of the family and the divergence events at subfamilial level shaped by Paleogene events in the geohistory of South America. This hypothesis lays a foundation for an array of future studies of evolution and biogeography of the family.

The present work is part of a process to create a Catalogue of the Freshwater Fishes of Colombia and consisted in the depuration and updating of the taxonomic and geographic components of the checklist of the freshwater fishes of Colombia. An exhaustive revision of the 1435 species recorded in 2008 was necessary to: 1. Add new species described since 2009 and species originally described from Colombia but inadvertently omitted in 2008; 2. Add new records of already described species; 3. Delete species whose presence in Colombia was not supported by voucher specimens in ichthyological collections; and 4. Revise the geographic distribution of the species listed in 2008. This process resulted in the following numbers: 1. Total number of freshwater fish species in Colombia: 1494; 2. Number of species recorded by hydrographic region - Amazon: 706, Orinoco: 663, Caribbean: 223, Magdalena-Cauca: 220, Pacific: 130; and 3. Number of endemic species: 374 (76% from the trans-Andean region). Updating the current checklist is a fundamental requirement to ensure its incorporation in the decision-making process with regard to the conservation of Colombian aquatic species and ecosystems, which are facing transformation processes as a result of activities such as mining, construction of hydroelectric plants, expansion of the agricultural frontier and subsequent deforestation, industrial and domestic pollution, development of waterways, introduction of exotic species, and climate change.

The family Trichomycteridae is one of the most diverse groups of freshwater catfishes in South and Central America with eight subfamilies, 41 genera and more than 300 valid species. Its members are widely distributed throughout South America, reaching Costa Rica in Central America and are recognized by extraordinary anatomical specializations and trophic diversity. In order to assess the phylogenetic relationships of Trichomycteridae, we collected sequence data from ultraconserved elements (UCEs) of the genome from 141 specimens of Trichomycteridae and 12 outgroup species. We used a concatenated matrix to assess the phylogenetic relationships by Bayesian inference (BI) and maximum likelihood (ML) searches and a coalescent analysis of species trees. The results show a highly resolved phylogeny with broad agreement among the three distinct analyses, providing overwhelming support for the monophyletic status of subfamily Trichomycterinae including Ituglanis and Scleronema. Previous relationship hypotheses among subfamilies are strongly corroborated, such as the sister relationship between Copionodontinae and Trichogeninae forming a sister clade to the remaining trichomycterids and the intrafamilial clade TSVSG (Tridentinae-Stegophilinae-Vandelliinae-Sarcoglanidinae-Glanapteryginae). Monophyly of Glanapteryginae and Sarcoglanidinae was not supported and the enigmatic Potamoglanis is placed outside tridentinae. Unraveling the relationships of major sections of the Tree of Life is one of the most daunting challenges of the evolutionary biology. Massively parallel DNA sequencing (so-called Next-gen sequencing) is a promising tool that is helping to resolve the interrelationships of longstanding problematic taxa 1-4. One of the most common classes of phylogenomic methods involves the sequence capture of nuclear regions in the flanks and cores of the ultraconserved elements (UCEs) 2. The more variable flanking UCE regions allow a better resolution of nodes across a broad range of evolutionary timescales in a given phylogeny 2. As variation in the flanks increases with distance from the core UCE, this combined approach displays a balance between having a high enough substitution rate while minimizing saturation, thus providing information for estimating phylogenies at multiple evolutionary timescales 2,3. Recent studies of actinopterygians 5 , flatfishes 6 , cichlids 7 , ostariophysan 8 , acanthomorphs 9 , Loricariidae 10 , knifefishes 11 , among other vertebrates groups 3,12 , have shown that UCEs are excellent markers for phylogenetic studies because of their ubiquity among taxonomic groups 13 , low degrees of paralogy 14 , and low saturation 3. According to Gilbert et al. 15 , the phylogenetic informativeness of the combined flank and core regions of UCEs outperfoms protein-coding genes used in multilocus studies. Additionally, phylogenomic approaches are characterized by their potential to collect data from at least one order of magnitude more loci than the traditional sequencing techniques applied to protein-coding le...

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A new Trichomycterus is described from a highland tributary of the río Meta (Orinoco basin), along the east flank of Páramo de Cruz Verde, Eastern Cordillera of Colombia. The new species is distinguished from most of its congeners by having a reduced posterior cranial fontanel, restricted to the parieto-supraoccipital, cleithrum pierced by several foramina, and an unique combination of four irregular rows of conic teeth in premaxilla and dentary, 13-14 opercular odontodes, 41-43 interopercular odontodes, 6-7 branchiostegal rays, 40 or 41 free vertebrae, 14-18 ribs, first ray of pectoral fin slightly projected as a short filament, 7-8 branched pectoral-fin rays, dorsal-fin origin at same level of pelvic-fin insertion, anal-fin origin posterior to dorsal-fin base, caudal-fin margin slightly rounded, a single upper hypural plate (3+4+5), and coloration pattern consisting in ground color dark brown with a thin mid-lateral dark stripe. Phylogenetic relationships of the new species based on the shared presence of derived features related to posterior cranial fontanel and cleithrum are discussed. The new species is also compared to the only two described species from Andean tributaries of río Orinoco basin.É descrita uma espécie nova de Trichomycterus de um pequeno tributário dos Andes da bacia do río Meta (bacia do río Orinoco), no flanco oriental do Páramo de Cruz Verde na Cordilhera Oriental da Colômbia. A espécie nova distingue-se da maioria de seus congêneres por apresentar uma fontanela craniana posterior reduzida, restrita ao parieto-supraoccipital, cleitro perfurado por vários forames e uma combinação única de quatro fileiras irregulares de dentes cónicos no pré-maxilar e no dentário, 13-14 odontódeos operculares, 41-43 odontódeos interoperculares, 6-7 raios branquiostégios, 40 ou 41 vértebras livres, 14-18 costelas, o primeiro raio da nadadeira peitoral ligeiramente projetado em um curto filamento, 7-8 raios ramificados na nadadeira peitoral, origem da nadadeira dorsal no mesmo nível de inserção das nadadeiras pélvicas, origem da nadadeira anal posterior à base da nadadeira dorsal, margem da nadadeira caudal ligeiramente arredondada, uma única placa hipural superior (3+4+5) e padrão de coloração em um fundo de cor marrom escuro com uma fina listra escura média lateral. As relações filogenéticas da espécie nova com base na presença compartilhada de caracteres derivados relacionados com a fontanela craniana posterior e o cleitro são discutidas. A espécie nova também é comparada com as duas únicas espécies descritas de afluentes dos Andes da bacia do río Orinoco.

The Amazon River basin hosts the most diverse freshwater ichthyofauna in the world, and yet huge areas of the basin remain unexplored. This is the case for the upper tributaries of the rio Negro, especially those draining the Colombian territory. Here we present a list of 224 species derived from the examination of specimens collected in the Mitú region (Vaupés Department, Colombia), the middle basin of the río Vaupés. Of the species identified in our study, 10 species are recorded from Colombia for the first time, and 26 species are newly recorded from the Colombian Amazon. The number of species we present here comprise almost one-third of the known species diversity of the Colombian Amazon and nearly a tenth of the total number of those known across the entirety of the Amazon basin. The most diverse orders were Characiformes (120 species) and Siluriformes (65 species), and the remaining six orders comprised less than 20% of total species. The study area comprised blackwater systems, which are considered to be nutrient-poor environments. We discuss some ecological aspects that might explain how this highly diverse ichthyofauna originates and is maintain in less productive systems. The list presented here adds an important number of new records and complements the information derived from previous studies, carried out thus far with regards to the fish fauna of the Colombian Amazon.

Two new species of Imparfinis are described from the trans-Andean region of Colombia. Imparfinis timana is diagnosed by having longer anal fin base , in combination with long adipose fin (24.6-31.3% in SL), 5-6 gill rakers on the first ceratobranchial, 42-43 vertebrae and additional measurements. Imparfinis usmai is distinguished by the combination of first ray of dorsal fin longest, but not projected as a long filament, long adipose fin (21.1-27.0% in SL), maxillary barbel exceeding pelvic-fin base, 39-40 vertebrae, upper caudal-fin lobe pointed and longer than lower lobe, lower lobe rounded, 7-8 gill rakers on the first ceratobranchial, as well as additional measurements. Imparfinis timana is only known from río Guarapas, a small tributary of the upper course of the río Magdalena. Imparfinis usmai is broadly distributed in the upper basin of ríos Cauca and Magdalena, and in the lower Patía river basin. The restricted distribution of I. nemacheir to transAndean drainages (Atrato, Magdalena, and Lago de Maracaibo) is also discussed.Duas novas espécies do gênero Imparfinis são descritas da região transandina da Colômbia. Imparfinis timana é diagnosticada por possuir as nadadeiras adiposa e anal compridas (24,6-31,3% e 12,4-15,5% no CP, respectivamente), 5-6 rastros branquiais no primeiro ceratobranquial, 42-43 vértebras, além de outros caracteres de morfometria. Imparfinis usmai é diferenciada pela combinação do primeiro raio da nadadeira dorsal longo, mas não projetado como um filamento comprido, nadadeira adiposa longa (21,1-27,0% na CP), barbilhões maxilares ultrapassando a base da nadadeira ventral, 39-40 vértebras, lóbulo superior da nadadeira caudal pontiagudo e mais longo que o lóbulo inferior, lóbulo inferior arredondado, 7-8 rastros branquiais no primeiro ceratobranquial e outros caracteres de morfometria. Imparfinis timana é conhecida somente para o rio Guarapas, pequeno tributário da bacia do alto rio Magdalena. Imparfinis usmai é amplamente distribuída nas bacias dos rios Cauca, Magdalena e Patía. A distribuição restrita de I. nemacheir nas bacias da região transandina (Atrato, Magdalena e Lago de Maracaibo) é discutida.