New species of Curimatopsis from the río Caroni, Orinoco basin, Venezuela, with comments on C. macrolepis (Characiformes: Curimatidae)

Abstract

<jats:p>ABSTRACT A new species of Curimatopsis is described from the highlands of the western Guiana Shield in the río Carapo and río Paragua, tributaries of the río Caroni in the Orinoco basin, southeastern Venezuela. The new species belongs to the Curimatopsis macrolepis clade due to its possession of a long lower jaw that projects past the anterior margin of the upper jaw, and separate first and second hypurals. The new species is diagnosed from remaining species of the Curimatopsis macrolepis clade by having a small-sized inconspicuous dark spot on the midlateral surface of the caudal peduncle, by details of body and fin pigmentation, and by additional morphometric characters. The distribution of C. macrolepis in the Amazon and Orinoco basins is updated based on the examination of museum specimens.</jats:p>

Biogeography of curimatid fishes reveals multiple lowland–upland river transitions and differential diversification in the Neotropics (Teleostei, Curimatidae)

“…Curimatids are important parts of the fish faunas in the lowland rivers of the Amazon, Orinoco, and La Plata basins, upland rivers of the Guiana and Brazilian shields ( e.g ., Essequibo, Tocantins, São Francisco, and Paraná basins), and swiftly flowing rivers west of the Andes ( e.g ., Maracaibo, Magdalena, Atrato and Pacific coastal basins from northern Peru to Costa Rica) (Frable, 2017 ; Vari, 1988 ). The alpha taxonomy and higher‐level systematics of curimatids have attracted substantial attention ( e.g ., Vari et al, 2012 ; Melo, 2017 , 2020 ; Melo & Oliveira, 2017 ; Bortolo et al, 2018 ) using both morphological and molecular evidence (Dillman et al, 2016 ; Dorini et al, 2020 ; Melo et al, 2016 , 2018 ; Vari, 1989 ). The family is represented by 117 valid species in eight extant genera, representing one of the ten most species‐rich families in the Amazon basin (Dagosta & de Pinna, 2019 ; Fricke et al, 2021 ; Vari, 1989 ).…”