New records of the occurrence of Megaleporinus macrocephalus () (Characiformes, Anostomidae) from the basins of the Itapecuru and Mearim rivers in Maranhão, Northeastern Brazil

Almeida, Marcius S.; Moraes, P. S. S.; Nascimento, Maria Histelle Sousa do; Birindelli, José L. O.; Assega, Fernando Massayuki; Barros, Maria Claudene; Fraga, Elmary da Costa

doi:10.1590/1519-6984.232868

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…Both Colossoma macropomum (Cuvier, 1816), which is amply distributed in the Amazon-Orinoco basin, and Megaleporinus macrocephalus (Garavello & Britski, 1988), which is found widely in the Paraguay River, were identified in the Mearim River. These non-native species have enormous potential for aquaculture, and haver been introduced into many Brazilian river basins (Godinho and Godinho, 2003;Barbosa and Soares, 2009;Barbosa et al, 2017;Almeida et al, 2021), including those surveyed in the present study, where they are raised on fish farms. While Cichla sp.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Fish diversity in the rivers that drain the Baixada Maranhense and the Mearim basin in northeastern Brazil

Limeira-Filho,

Moraes,

Almeida

et al. 2023

Braz. J. Biol.

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The Baixada Maranhense Environmental Protection Area of the Brazilian state of Maranhão encompasses a biologically rich region that includes the basins of four principal rivers, the Mearim, Pericumã, Pindaré, and Turiaçu, which form a complex of wetlands. The present study provides a comprehensive inventory of the fish fauna of the rivers that drain the Baixada Maranhense based on the identification of voucher specimens that were deposited in a scientific collection. Expeditions were conducted between 2014 and 2020. The inventory identified a total of 100 fish species representing 79 genera, 34 families, and 11 orders, which are found in both freshwater and estuarine environments. Six (Potamotrygon orbignyi, Leporinus piau, Moenkhausia loweae, Serrasalmus spilopleura, Pachypops fourcroi and Peckoltia greedoi) of the 100 taxa identified here are considered to be new records for one or more of the basins surveyed during this study, based on the existing data, while four – Colossoma macropomum, Megaleporinus macrocephalus, Cichla sp. and Cichla kelberi – are not native. The most speciose orders were the Siluriformes and Characiformes, while the most diverse families were the Loricariidae, Characidae, Auchenipteridae, Cichlidae, and Serrasalmidae. These data are consistent with the findings of most of the previous studies of freshwater ecosystems in the Neotropical region, in particular those of the rivers of Maranhão. The results of the present study represent an important advance in the understanding of the diversity of the fish fauna of the Mearim, Pericumã, Pindaré, and Turiaçu rivers, which are still poorly studied, and have likely had their diversity underestimated up to now.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%