Description of Neblinichthys peniculatus, a new species of loricariid catfish from the río Paragua drainage of Venezuela

Abstract

Neblinichthys peniculatus is described from specimens collected in the río Carapo (río Paragua - río Caroni drainage), which drains the southern flank of Cerro Guaiquinima in southeastern Venezuela. Neblinichthys peniculatusdiffers from all congeners by having mottling on the caudal peduncle consisting of dark spots and dashes (vs. caudal peduncle all about the same color or light below and dark above) and by having spots on the head (spots less conspicuous in nuptial males as the head is darker; vs. no spots). Uniquely among Neblinichthys for which nuptial males are known, the hypertrophied odontodes on the snout are rather short, none as large as the eye diameter.

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

“…Interestingly, Armbruster, Taphorn (2013) described N. peniculatus based on the material collected by Carl Ferraris, Antonio Machado-Allison, and colleagues in 1990 in the río Carapo, which also yelded the specimens of Curimatopsis sabana described here. Those authors pointed out that the río Carapo is located in a remote region near tepui Cerro Guaiquinima above Salto Uraima, a large waterfall of the río Paragua (Armbruster, Taphorn, 2013). Curimatopsis sabana appeared at first to be another endemic to that remote region, but a single paratype extends the distribution of the species to the río Paragua in the Caroni basin.…”

“…The río Caroni drains into the Gran Sabana of eastern Venezuela and its headwaters come from the highlands of tepuis on the borders of Brazil, Guyana and Venezuela (Lasso et al, 1989). Several fish species are endemic to the río Caroni, for example Brycon coquenani Steindahner, 1915, Lebiasina uruyensis Fernández-Yépez, 1967 and Neblinichthys peniculatus Armbruster, Taphorn, 2013(Fernández-Yépez, 1967Armbruster, Taphorn, 2013;Lima, 2017). Interestingly, Armbruster, Taphorn (2013) described N. peniculatus based on the material collected by Carl Ferraris, Antonio Machado-Allison, and colleagues in 1990 in the río Carapo, which also yelded the specimens of Curimatopsis sabana described here.…”

“…Several fish species are endemic to the río Caroni, for example Brycon coquenani Steindahner, 1915, Lebiasina uruyensis Fernández-Yépez, 1967 and Neblinichthys peniculatus Armbruster, Taphorn, 2013(Fernández-Yépez, 1967Armbruster, Taphorn, 2013;Lima, 2017). Interestingly, Armbruster, Taphorn (2013) described N. peniculatus based on the material collected by Carl Ferraris, Antonio Machado-Allison, and colleagues in 1990 in the río Carapo, which also yelded the specimens of Curimatopsis sabana described here. Those authors pointed out that the río Carapo is located in a remote region near tepui Cerro Guaiquinima above Salto Uraima, a large waterfall of the río Paragua (Armbruster, Taphorn, 2013).…”

A new species of Chaetostoma (Siluriformes: Loricariidae) from the Orinoco basin with comments on Amazonian species of the genus in Colombia

“…The same dimorphic feature was reported for all species of the genus Dolichancistrus by Ballen & Vari (2012, p. 502); nonetheless, these authors did not illustrate such conditions in that genus as all plates illustrate adult males and no females. Armbruster and Taphorn (2013, p. 65) followed the latter work when sexing specimens of Neblinichthys peniculatus , so it is present at least in some species of Neblinichthys . Lujan et al .…”