Ichthyofauna of streams of the Rio Sapucaí basin, upper Rio Paraná system, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Abstract

The Rio Sapucaí basin, in Minas Gerais State, Brazil, is one of the many watersheds of the upper Rio Paraná system. Ichthyofauna surveys in this basin, in general, are scarce. In addition, small rivers and streams of the region have been targets of anthropogenic actions (e.g., pollution) - which suggest that more ichthyological studies must be performed within the watershed. In this study we provide a survey of species that occur within three streams of the lower Rio Sapucaí basin. Samples were collected in April, July, and November 2017 and in May 2018. Collections resulted in 349 individuals belonging to 28 species, five orders, and 12 families. Among our findings are three putatively undescribed species and the first record of Oligosarcus argenteus and Pareiorhina hyptiorhachis within the Rio Paraná system.

A new inventory for fishes of headwater streams from the rio das Cinzas and rio Itararé basins, rio Paranapanema system, Paraná, Brazil

“…With the predominance of Siluriformes and Characiformes, the taxonomic composition of the 24 sampled streams follows the pattern described for the Neotropical freshwater fish fauna (Castro 1999 recorded in Characidae, Loricariidae, and Heptapteridae also follows the pattern of the most species-rich families in the upper rio Paraná system (Langeani et al 2007). Similarly, several studies have indicated the prevalence of these families in other streams of this drainage system (e.g., Hoffmann et al 2015;Bifi et al 2017;Batista-Silva et al 2018;Claro-García et al 2018;Azevedo-Santos et al 2019b), especially for streams of the rio Paranapanema system, such as the rio das Cinzas (Costa et al 2013) and the rio Itararé (Cetra et al 2016) basins.…”

Knowing biodiversity: Fishes from the Guareí River basin, a tributary of the Jurumirim reservoir, Paranapanema River, Brazil

“…Psalidodon cf. paranae (Eigenmann 1914) integrates the complex 'Astyanax' scabripinnis, which presents similar morphology (Bertaco & Lucena 2006), including undescribed species (e.g., Azevedo-Santos et al 2019). Until a better definition of P. paranae, we treat the form captured in the Guareí River basin with caution.…”

“…For instance, the main tributaries of the basin, such as the Tietê, Grande and Paranapanema rivers, are regulated by cascade of dams (Petesse & Petrere Jr. 2012;Loures & Pompeu 2018;Pelicice et al 2018), blocking migratory dynamics and affecting population recruitment . Ichthyological surveys remain incomplete in these highly disturbed systems, and once conservation initiatives rely mainly on those data (Azevedo- Santos et al 2019), more research is needed to provide basic information in these impacted waterbodies.…”