A new Hyphessobrycon (Characiformes: Characidae) of the Hyphessobrycon heterorhabdus species-group from the lower Amazon basin, Brazil

Abstract

A new species of Hyphessobrycon belonging to the Hyphessobrycon heterorhabdus species-group from the lower rio Tapajós, state of Pará, Brazil, is described. The new species is allocated into the Hyphessobrycon heterorhabdus species-group due to its color pattern, composed by an anteriorly well-defined, horizontally elongated humeral blotch that becomes diffuse and blurred posteriorly, where it overlaps with a conspicuous midlateral dark stripe that becomes blurred towards the caudal peduncle and the presence, in living specimens, of a tricolored longitudinal pattern composed by a dorsal red or reddish longitudinal stripe, a middle iridescent, golden or silvery longitudinal stripe, and a more ventrally-lying longitudinal dark pattern composed by the humeral blotch and dark midlateral stripe. It can be distinguished from all other species of the group by possessing humeral blotch with a straight or slightly rounded ventral profile, lacking a ventral expansion present in all other species of the group. The new species is also distinguished from Hyphessobrycon heterorhabdus by a 9.6% genetic distance in the cytochrome c oxidase I gene. The little morphological distinction of the new species when compared with its most similar congener, H. heterorhabdus, indicates that the new species is one of the first truly cryptic fish species described from the Amazon basin.

A new species of Hoplias malabaricus species complex (Characiformes: Erythrinidae) from the Crepori River, Amazon basin, Brazil

“…Integrative taxonomy has contributed in recent years to unravel and describe a large number of cryptic species of fishes ( e.g ., Allen et al ., 2016; Faria et al ., 2021; Guimarães et al ., 2019; Melo et al ., 2016). H. auri is formally described herein and has been previously reported as H. malabaricus (Silva, 2017) and assumed as a putative undescribed new species from the H. malabaricus species‐group, based on DNA barcoding distances (Guimarães, 2020).…”

“…The adoption of molecular tools, such as DNA barcoding, allied with traditional morphology and other markers provides increased power to investigate taxonomic boundaries among species, in a way that is commonly referred to as ‘integrative taxonomy’ (Dayrat, 2005). It has proven to be effective for clarifying cryptic species hidden in species complex and is becoming usual in taxonomic fish studies ( e.g ., Faria et al ., 2021; Guimarães et al ., 2019; Melo et al ., 2016; Rosso et al ., 2016, 2018). Through DNA barcoding, at least 15 new candidate species are expected in the H. malabaricus complex (Cardoso et al ., 2018).…”

Phylogenomics of trans-Andean tetras of the genus Hyphessobrycon Durbin 1908 (Stethaprioninae: Characidae) and colonization patterns of Middle America

“…The characoid genus Hyphessobrycon Durbin 1908 (Characidae: Stethaprioninae) is a representative example of this taxonomic uncertainty. This genus is widely distributed from southern Mexico to Mar Chiquita Lagoon in Buenos Aires, Argentina and includes more than 160 valid species [15][16][17][18][19][20][21] that represent 24% of the species in the hyperdiverse subfamily Stethaprioninae [21]. The majority of Hyphessobrycon species (~95%) are distributed east of the Andes and are hereafter referred to as cis-Andean species.…”

Mitochondrial genomes of five Hyphessobrycon tetras and their phylogenetic implications

“…Although the complex biogeographic patterns of some of these taxa (extending over vast continental areas) have been the focus of much research recently, Characidae, which have small body size and relatively uniform morphology, are still poorly understood. Furthermore, new genera and species in this family are being validated and described (Albornoz‐Garzon et al., 2019 ; DoNascimiento et al., 2017 ; Faria, et al., 2020 ; Faria, et al., 2020 ; Mathubara & Toledo‐Piza, 2020 ). Hyphessobrycon , one of the richest genera of vertebrates with 109 species, is the most diverse fish genus that dominates vertebrate neotropical freshwater.…”

“…Hyphessobrycon , one of the richest genera of vertebrates with 109 species, is the most diverse fish genus that dominates vertebrate neotropical freshwater. Native to the Neotropics, Hyphessobrycon is widely distributed from southern Mexico to Argentina (Rio de la Plata), with the greatest species diversity found in the Amazon River basin (Faria, Bastos, et al., 2020 ; Faria, Lima, et al., 2020 ; Paz et al., 2014 ). Classifying the genus and even the entire family of Characidae is currently challenging.…”