#IchthyofaunaChecklist - Researchers in this study produced a database of the ichthyofauna for Parque Nacional dos Lençóis Maranhenses and adjacent areas in northeastern Brazil by integrating molecular and morphological data, enabling a revision of the ichthyofauna, including nomenclatural updates and correct identifications. Studies like this are essential for conservation strategies, providing critical baselines for the conservation and management of regional fish fauna.
Accurate species identification is a challenge in megadiverse regions, where morphology alone can lead to overestimation or underestimation of biodiversity. In this context, the incorporation of molecular approaches, such as DNA barcoding, has been useful for accurately estimating regional biodiversity, revealing cryptic diversity, and enabling non-specialists to identify species.
"results show that the diversity of some genera has been underestimated in previous studies (e.g. 𝐸𝑖𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑛𝑖𝑎 Jordan & Evermann, 1896, with three instead of one species previously recorded from PNLM and adjacent areas), while other genera had their diversities overestimated (e.g. 𝐵𝑟𝑦𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑜𝑝𝑠 Kner, 1858, with one instead of two species, although two morphotypes are recognized) (other examples can be found in Table 2), and are discussed below."
"Previous studies recorded 60 fish species in PNLM and adjacent areas, and some of these previously recorded species had their identifications revised in the present study...... Consequently, this study expands the known ichthyofaunal diversity of the PNLM and its surrounding areas to a total of 70 species."
Ichthyofauna checklists and rapid assessments are important tools for biologists, researchers, conservationists, and government bodies/NGOs. They provide critical baselines for the conservation and management of regional fish fauna. Our understanding of species composition in a territory evolves due to species movements across borders, extinctions, introductions, and new taxonomic evidence.
𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗧𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲
Unveiling fish diversity in the Parque Nacional dos Lençóis Maranhenses and adjacent areas through DNA barcoding, Northeastern Brazil
Open-access -
link.springer.com/article/10…
𝗖𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
de Oliveira Vieira, L., Kuranaka, M., Garcia-Ayala, J.R. et al. Unveiling fish diversity in the Parque Nacional dos Lençóis Maranhenses and adjacent areas through DNA barcoding, Northeastern Brazil. Biologia 81, 142 (2026).
doi.org/10.1007/s11756-026-0…
𝗔𝗯𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁
Accurate species identification is a challenge in megadiverse regions, where morphology alone can lead to overestimation or underestimation of biodiversity. In this context, the incorporation of molecular approaches, such as DNA barcoding, has been useful in accurately estimating regional biodiversity, revealing cryptic diversity, and enabling identification by non-specialists.
This study generated a molecular database of fishes for Parque Nacional dos Lençóis Maranhenses and adjacent areas, based on sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene. Haplotype analyses were conducted using Maximum likelihood (ML), and the delimitation of Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs) combined the following methods: Kimura 2-parameter model (K2P), Assemble Species by Automatic Partitioning (ASAP) and Poisson Tree Processes (PTP) methods, using K2P ≥ 2% to resolve cases of incongruence between ASAP and PTP. A total of 59 species were recorded, distributed across 51 genera, 29 families, and 13 orders. In total, 258 sequences were analyzed (Two hundred and fifty-three generated in this study and five additional from GenBank), corresponding to the 59 species. K2P genetic distances revealed a clear separation between intraspecific and interspecific variation, with maximum and minimum values of 1.78% and 3.63%, respectively, resulting in a barcoding gap of 1.85% without overlap, demonstrating the high efficiency of the COI marker in species discrimination.
Five new records for the area were identified, including two non-native species. The integration of molecular and morphological data enabled a revision of the ichthyofauna, including nomenclatural updates and the correction of identifications. These findings are essential for conservation strategies.
𝗣𝗵𝗼𝘁𝗼 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁
See study Figures for details.
© 2026 the Author(s). Published in the journal Biologia. An open access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC-BY-4.0) licence.
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