Annotated checklist of the freshwater fishes of continental and insular Honduras

Abstract

The freshwater fishes of Honduras were surveyed for a period of four years (2005–2008). Surveys were supplemented with both literature and museum collection reviews. Our results show that there are at least 172 species of fishes inhabiting Honduran mainland and insular freshwater systems, 166 native and six exotic. Primary freshwater fish diversity was low, with only eigth species (4.8%). The remaining species were either secondary freshwater (47 species, 28.3%) or peripheral (111 species, 66.9%). This checklist includes 36 new records for Honduras, and 12 range expansions. Nine species were found to be endemic; however, just two of them (Amphilophus hogaboomorum and Theraps wesseli) are already described. The depauperate primary freshwater fishes fauna of Honduras (8) is congruent with low primary freshwater fishes diversity found in the region between the Usumacinta River and the Nicaraguan great lakes. Although many previously unsampled regions of Honduras were visited as part of this project, there are a variety of remote areas that remain unstudied. While this paper contributes much to the understanding of the distribution and diversity of Honduran freshwater fishes, it is likely that much diversity there remains undocumented.

Checklist of the continental fishes of the state of Chiapas, Mexico, and their distribution

“…This could explain the presence of a great number of peripheral species recorded in the continental environments of Chiapas. This pattern is comparable with other countries of Central America such as Guatemala (Kihn-Pineda et al, 2006), Honduras (Matamoros et al 2009) and El Salvador (McMahan et al 2013). …”

Derivation of the freshwater fish fauna of Central America revisited: Myers's hypothesis in the twenty‐first century

“…Because several taxa range beyond these limits, and to facilitate testing of biogeographic hypotheses, we also included distribution records from adjacent R ıo Magdalena and R ıo Atrato basins of northern Colombia (Maldonado-Ocampo et al, 2006, 2008Mojica et al, 2006) and rivers of southern Chiapas and Mexican portions of the R ıo Grijalva-Usumacinta drainage (Schmitter-Soto, 1999;Miller et al, 2005). Distributional data were compiled through literature searches of books and peerreviewed checklists for Panama (Loftin, 1965;Smith and Bermingham, 2005), Costa Rica (Bussing, 2002;Smith and Bermingham, 2005), Nicaragua (Villa, 1982;Smith and Bermingham, 2005;Matamoros et al, 2012a), Honduras (Matamoros et al, 2009, 2012a), El Salvador (McMahan et al, 2013, Guatemala (Kihn-Pineda et al, 2006) and Belize (Greenfield and Thomerson, 1997).…”

“…These results were published mainly in the form of new species descriptions and regional species inventories (e.g. Belize—Greenfield and Thomerson, ; Costa Rica—Bussing, ; Nicaragua—Villa, 2002; Panama and Costa Rica—Smith and Bermingham, ; Guatemala—Kihn‐Pineda et al., ; Honduras—Matamoros et al., ; El Salvador—McMahan et al., ).…”

A new species of Profundulus (Cyprinodontiformes: Profundulidae) from the Honduran central highlands

“…Despite its middle location in Central America, Honduran ichthyofauna is one of the least studied of the region (Matamoros et al , 2009). As anthropogenic pressures mount, there is an increasing need to document biodiversity to facilitate management and conservation of natural resources in the region.…”