#NewSpeciesAlert - 𝐼𝑚𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑠 𝑚𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑜𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑢𝑠, 𝐼𝑚𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑠 𝑛𝑖𝑔𝑟𝑜𝑝𝑢𝑛𝑐𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑠 and 𝐼𝑚𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑠 𝑡𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑠, three new species of heptapterid catfish, are described from the middle Araguaia River, the upper Araguaia River, and the upper Tapajós River in the Brazilian Shield, respectively. The authors also discuss the distributional patterns of 𝐼𝑚𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑠 within the Amazon River basin in this study.
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mapress.com/zt/article/view/…
𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗧𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲
Morphological and molecular evidence reveal three new species of 𝐼𝑚𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑠 (Heptapteridae: Heptapterini) from the Amazon River basin
𝗖𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
Silva, G.S.C., Lopes, M.M., Carvalho, K.R., Oliveira, C. & Sarmento-Soares, L.M. (2026) Morphological and molecular evidence reveal three new species of 𝐼𝑚𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑠 (Heptapteridae: Heptapterini) from the Amazon River basin. Zootaxa, 5814 (2), 259–275.
doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.581…
𝗔𝗯𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁
The integration of morphological and molecular data for 𝐼𝑚𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑠 species from Amazonian drainages of the Brazilian Shield revealed the presence of three previously undescribed species, which are formally described herein. These species are readily distinguished from their congeners by characters related to coloration: 𝐼. 𝑚𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑜𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑢𝑠, from the middle Araguaia River, has a distinctly darker lower caudal-fin lobe; 𝐼. 𝑛𝑖𝑔𝑟𝑜𝑝𝑢𝑛𝑐𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑠, from the upper Araguaia River, possesses conspicuous black spots on the body; and 𝐼. 𝑡𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑠, from the upper Tapajós River, is characterized by dark blocks of chromatophores on the body, forming a variegated color pattern. Additionally, our species-delimitation analysis recovered these three morphotypes as independent genetic lineages, exhibiting high levels of genetic divergence. A discussion of distributional patterns of 𝐼𝑚𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑠 within the Amazon River basin is provided.
𝗣𝗵𝗼𝘁𝗼 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁
Live specimens of a) 𝐼𝑚𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑠 𝑚𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑜𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑢𝑠, LBP 36347; b) 𝐼𝑚𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑠 𝑛𝑖𝑔𝑟𝑜𝑝𝑢𝑛𝑐𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑠, LBP 32067; c) 𝐼𝑚𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑠 𝑡𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑠, LBP 37269.
© 2026 the Author(s). Published in the journal Zootaxa.
#NewSpecies #Ichthyology #Taxonomy #Biodiversity #AquariumHobby #Fishkeeping #Aquarist #TropicalFish #Catfishes #Imparfinis #Heptapteridae #rioTapajós #Heptapterini #Neotropical #AmazonRiver #Amazon #rioAraguaiari
ALT Silva, G.S.C., Lopes, M.M., Carvalho, K.R., Oliveira, C. & Sarmento-Soares, L.M. (2026) Morphological and molecular evidence reveal three new species of 𝐼𝑚𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑠 (Heptapteridae: Heptapterini) from the Amazon River basin. Zootaxa, 5814 (2), 259–275. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5814.2.5