Biodiversity Data Journal : Taxonomic paper
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Corresponding author: Rupert A. Collins (rupertcollins@gmail.com)
Academic editor: John Friel
Received: 15 Oct 2014 | Accepted: 25 Apr 2015 | Published: 29 Apr 2015
© 2015 Rupert A. Collins, Emanuell Duarte Ribeiro, Valéria Nogueira Machado, Tomas Hrbek, Izeni Pires Farias.
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Citation: Collins R, Duarte Ribeiro E, Nogueira Machado V, Hrbek T, Farias I (2015) A preliminary inventory of the catfishes of the lower Rio Nhamundá, Brazil (Ostariophysi, Siluriformes). Biodiversity Data Journal 3: e4162. doi: 10.3897/BDJ.3.e4162
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The Rio Nhamundá is a poorly-known clearwater river draining the southern Guiana Shield of Brazil. In this study we report the findings of a preliminary ichthyological survey, focusing on catfishes (Siluriformes). We identify a total of 36 species (31 genera, seven families) from the Nhamundá, including 11 species already recorded from the river. Overall, our survey results show that even rapid surveys can provide important information on Amazon fish biodiversity, suggesting potential new species, providing range extensions for nominal species, and additionally highlighting taxa in need of taxonomic revision and genetic study. As well as the traditional forms of data collected on biodiversity surveys (i.e. preserved specimen vouchers), our study also provides "new" types of data in the form of DNA barcodes and images of fishes exhibiting colouration in life, information that will be invaluable in future work addressing difficult groups.
O Rio Nhamundá é um rio de água clara, pouco conhecido, que drena parte do Escudo das Guianas em território brasileiro. Nesse estudo, nós reportamos os resultados de um levantamento ictiofaunístico preliminar dessa área, tendo como foco os bagres (Siluriformes). Nós identificamos um total de 36 espécies (31 gêneros, sete famílias) provenientes de nossa coleta, e adicionamos 11 espécies já conhecidas para o rio. De maneira geral, os resultados de nossa pesquisa mostram que mesmo levantamentos rápidos podem gerar informações importantes sobre a biodiversidade de peixes amazônicos, sugerindo potenciais espécies novas, ampliando a área de distribuição de espécies, além de apontar a necessidade de revisões taxonômicas e estudos genéticos para alguns taxa. Para além das formas tradicionais de dados coletados em pesquisas de biodiversidade (i.e. espécimes preservados), nosso estudo fornece "novas" formas de dados, como DNA barcodes e imagens com o padrão de coloração dos espécimes vivos, informações essas que serão de valor inestimável para futuros estudos que abordem grupos taxonômicos difíceis.
Biodiversity, Ichthyology, Checklist, Amazon, Guiana Shield
The Rio Nhamundá is one of the south-draining Guiana Shield tributaries of the Rio Amazonas, Brazil. The river is located between the Uatumã-Jatapú and Trombetas rivers (
Location of the Rio Nhamundá and neighbouring rivers. Inset shows wider Amazon region. Map was created in QGIS (http://www.qgis.org/).
The ichthyofauna of the southern Guiana Shield rivers is poorly known in comparison to the northern Brazilian Shield rivers (
The aim of this study is to assess our current knowledge of Siluriformes (catfishes) of the Rio Nhamundá, and to report the results of a preliminary survey of the lower reaches of the river (i.e. downstream of the last major cataracts).
In order to assess the current knowledge of the catfishes of the Rio Nhamundá we carried out a survey of Web databases as well as published checklists and literature. The Web databases searched were FishBase (
Fishes were collected during the November 2013 dry season using a combination of methods mostly targeting larger species: gill netting, rod and line fishing, spear fishing, hand netting, and hand catching using snorkelling equipment. Fishes were photographed alive whenever possible following the recommendations outlined in
Our survey of the Rio Nhamundá was undertaken at seven main sampling locations on the lower reaches of the river, and these are shown in
Location of sampling sites on the Rio Nhamundá. Map was created with the R package ggmap (
Images of the Rio Nhamundá showing the two distinctive environment types.
Sampling site NH01 comprised a small rocky promontory of a black lateritic conglomerate layer forming part of the island town of Nhamundá (
Habitat descriptions of sampling locations.
Sampling site NH04 comprised a fairly typical representation of the upstream section of the river, mainly characterised by the presence of woody debris (
Measurements of preserved material were taken with dial callipers to a precision of 0.1 mm. All measurements and counts for symmetrical features were taken from the left side of the specimen. For loricariids, measurements and meristic counts follow
We used published literature to identify the specimens collected during our fieldwork, and we also provide here the characters found in those references that we used to make each identification. The identifications of the specimens from the INPA collection were also cross-checked. When required, we examined photographs of type material on the All Species Catfish Inventory Web page (http://acsi.acnatsci.org).
We try to keep terminology consistent across species, but also attempt to maintain a degree of agreement with original authors' work in order to aid in referring back to their characters. For example, when reporting the Farlowella, we refer to the "scutes" of
We were conservative in applying names to the specimens collected, i.e. individuals were assigned to nominal species wherever possible, especially in cases where no modern literature for the group was available. In order to differentiate undetermined from undescribed species, we use consistent and informative tag-names following
DNA barcodes were generated for at least one individual per species. Methodology for DNA extraction, PCR and sequencing follows
We also searched the Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD; http://www.boldsystems.org/; search term: "Genus species") and GenBank (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nucleotide; search term: "Genus species COI"), in order the evaluate the current coverage of deposited COI sequence data for the fishes we collected (date 20-03-14).
This record of a single specimen from the INPA fish collection comprises an undescribed Ageneiosus species referred to as A. sp. n. "vittatus" by
Record follows data from a single specimen in the collection of fishes at INPA.
Identification to species level follows
Three individuals were caught by hand from their lodgements in woody substrates at the margin of the main river (sampling site NH04). An example of a live specimen is pictured in
Identification as a possibly undescribed species similar to Tatia musaica, follows
Specifically, our specimens differ from T. musaica as described by
Sixteen individuals were caught either by hand from their lodgements in woody substrates (sampling sites NH04 and NH08), or more effectively using a hand net at the surface after attracting insects—on which they were feeding—with a light (sampling site NH12); under such conditions they appeared abundant on the lower Nhamundá. An example of a live specimen is pictured in
Two lots of Centromochlus from the INPA fish collection were collected from the Rio Nhamundá. Both were out on loan at the time of this study and could not be examined here, but the first—36 specimens of Centromochlus sp. "orca" (INPA 35086)—contains a fish clearly conspecific with our T. aff. musaica based on the assigned tag name, and so we have included this lot under our T. aff. musaica. We were unsure of the identity of the second—a record of a Centromochlus sp. "pigmento" (INPA 35087) referred to by
Identification to species level follows
Four individuals were caught by hand from their lodgements in woody substrates at the margin of the main river (sampling site NH04). The species was also observed in rocky habitats (sampling sites NH08 and NH12), but were more difficult to catch in this situation. An example of a live specimen is pictured in
Identification to species level follows
Two individuals were caught at night using gill nets set in the margins of the main river. An example of a live specimen is pictured in
Identification to species level follows
Two individuals were caught by hand-net at night over a sandy/silty substrate (sampling site NH12). An example of a live specimen is pictured in
Record follows data from
Record follows data from
Identification to species level for this specimen could not be adequately made using morphological characters due to the small size of the immature specimen. However, rather than exclude the individual, we compared the DNA barcodes to the COI sequences presented by
One individual was caught by hand-net on the Rio Paratucu (sampling site NH10). This specimen is pictured in
Identification to species level follows
One individual was caught by hand-net on the Rio Paratucu (sampling site NH10), and delivered a painful sting, confirming that many heptapterids are venomous (
Tentative identification to genus level follows
Given the large diversity of the group, and the paucity of modern treatments dealing with heptapterids, we are currently unable to identify this fish to species level, and our genus identification is tentative. Important characters include the caudal fin lobes of approximately equal length, maxillary barbels not surpassing anal fin (left barbel is damaged in our specimen), the complete lack of dark longitudinal stripe, the wedge-shaped mark on the dorsal-fin, and the dark saddle anterior to the dorsal fin.
One individual was caught by hand-net on a sandy beach habitat (adjacent to sampling site NH05). This specimen is pictured in
Identification to species level follows
Thirteen individuals were caught by hand from submerged terrestrial vegetation (sampling site NH02). An example of a live specimen is pictured in
Identification to species level follows
We note that Ancistrus, and particularly the Amazonian species, are a group in dire need of taxonomic revision.
Eleven individuals were caught by hand on both woody (sampling site NH04) and rocky substrates (sampling site NH01). The species appeared abundant throughout the river. An example of a live specimen is pictured in
Following
Among the superficially similar nominal Ancistrus—e.g. A. dolichopterus Kner, 1854, A. hoplogenys (Günther, 1864), A. leucostictus (Günther, 1864), A. lithurgicus Eigenmann, 1912, A. macrophthalmus (Pellegrin, 1912), and A. ranunculus Muller, Rapp Py-Daniel & Zuanon, 1994—this fish is most similar in the shape of head and eyes to A. macrophthalmus and A. lithurgicus. However, the fish collected from the lower Nhamundá had just three branched anal-fin rays, compared to four for both of these species. More individuals will need to be collected, and further investigation of available names in Ancistrus carried out in order to discover if this indeed represents an undescribed species.
Two individuals were caught by hand at night from rocky substrates (sampling site NH01). An example of a live specimen is pictured in
Identification to species level follows
Nine individuals were caught by hand from woody substrates (sampling sites NH04 and NH08). In addition to the main river stem, the species was also observed in lake and igarapé habitats, and appeared abundant. It was not found in association with rocks. An example of a live specimen is pictured in
Following
The Hypancistrus from the Nhamundá is ostensibly similar to Hypancistrus furunculus Armbruster, Lujan & Taphorn (2007), but we hypothesise that it represents a distinct species from H. furunculus due to the pronounced supraorbital crests, wide gap between the dentary tooth cups, and colour pattern of wide dark bands and thin pale bands. We await the description of a number of similar species from the Brazilian Shield rivers, some of which may end up being more closely related to this fish than H. furunculus is. The species is known in the aquarium trade as Hypancistrus sp. "L475" (
Twelve individuals were caught by hand at night from rocky substrates (sampling site NH01). Four examples of live specimens are pictured in
Identification to species level follows
Four individuals were caught by hand from woody substrates at the margin of the main river (sampling sites NH04 and NH08). An example of a live specimen is pictured in
Identification to species level follows
One individual was caught by hand from woody substrates at the margin of the main river (sampling site NH08). An example of a live specimen is pictured in
Record follows data from a single specimen in the collection of fishes at INPA.
Identification to species level follows
Two individuals were caught by hand from woody substrates at the margin of the main river (sampling sites NH05 and NH08). An example of a live specimen is pictured in
Identification to species level follows
Three individuals were caught by hand from woody substrates at the margin of the main river (sampling site NH04). An example of a live specimen is pictured in
Identification to species level follows
An interesting observation is that our specimens exhibited variation in terms of the degree of abdomen plating and markings: adult specimens from collection points near the mouth of the river (sampling sites NH01, NH02 and NH12) showed complete abdominal plating and a vermiculated pattern (
Peckoltia cf. vittata live colouration and variation in abdominal plating.
Twenty-eight individuals were caught by hand from both woody substrates (sampling sites NH02, NH04, NH05, and NH08) and rocky substrates (sampling sites NH01 and NH12). Two further specimens of this species are reported from the collection of fishes at INPA.
Identification to genus level follows
Using the above references we were unable to identify the specimens to species level, as the individuals differed from the colour patterns diagnostic of the other species in the genus. We hypothesise that these individuals represent a new species of Pseudolithoxus, and intend to document this in more detail in a separate publication.
Seventeen individuals were captured by hand from crevices in rocky habitats exposed to strong current (sampling site NH08). Live colouration is shown in
Identification to species level follows
The above characters are consistent with F. nattereri, but some key differences in colour pattern are noted.
One individual was caught by hand from shallow, fast flowing water over a rocky/sandy substrate (sampling site NH05). The live specimen is pictured in
Record follows data from a single specimen in the collection of fishes at INPA. The specimen had been identified there as Limatulichthys sp., but we refer to the fish to L. griseus as reported by
Identification to species level follows
One individual was caught by hand from shallow, fast flowing water over a rocky/sandy substrate (sampling site NH05). The live specimen is pictured in
Identification to species level follows
Three adult individuals were caught by hand-net at night over a sandy/silty substrate (sampling site NH12), and four juveniles were caught further upstream on the sandy margins of the river (sampling site NH05). An example of a live adult specimen is pictured in
One further specimen record of this species was obtained from the fish collection at INPA; this individual had been identified as P. aff. laeviuscula, but we include it here under P. laeviuscula until further information becomes available.
Identification to species level follows
Two individuals were caught by hand from shallow, fast flowing water over a rocky/sandy substrate on the main river (sampling site NH05). A live specimen is pictured in
Identification to species level follows
Five individuals were caught after being attracted to the boat by suspending a dead-fish bait in the water (sampling site NH12). An example of a live specimen is pictured in
Identification to species level follows
One individual was caught by baited hand-line in a deep pool of the main river. The live specimen is pictured in
Record follows data from a single specimen in the collection of fishes at INPA.
Identification to species level follows
One individual was caught by gill net, but was not vouchered or photographed.
Identification to species level follows
While we follow the taxonomy of
Four individuals were caught at night using gill nets in a lake connected to the river. An example of two live specimens is pictured in
Identification to species level follows
An important inconsistency should be noted regarding the caudal fin shape.
Four individuals were caught by hand from their lodgements in woody substrates at the margin of the main river (sampling site NH04). An example of a live specimen is pictured in
Record follows data from
Our survey of the online databases revealed a single species record from the Rio Nhamundá: an unidentified Ossancora (Doradidae) which on further investigation was found to comprise two paratype lots of Ossancora asterophysa Birindelli & Sabaj Pérez, 2011 (ROM 88244, MZUSP 7838). The literature survey revealed three further species from the river: Hassar orestis (Steindachner, 1875) (MZUSP 9547); Pygidianops amphioxus de Pinna & Kirovsky, 2011 (MZUSP 104675); and Centromochlus sp. (INPA 35087). By contrast, the survey of the Web databases and checklists for the Trombetas river listed 44 siluriform species, while the study of
The collection of fishes at INPA held nine lots of catfishes previously collected from the Nhamundá. One of these records (Centromochlus sp., INPA 35087) was also recorded in the literature survey (
Our review of the genetic databases shows GenBank holds COI data for nine of the 24 species we obtained DNA barcodes from and identified as a known species (number of records in parentheses): Trachycorystes trachycorystes (1), Astrodoras asterifrons (1), Scorpiodoras heckelii (2), Farlowella nattereri (1), Peckoltia vittata (1), Phractocephalus hemioliopterus (1), Pinirampus pirinampu (7), Pseudoplatystoma reticulatum (12), and Batrochoglanis villosus (1). The BOLD database also holds COI data for nine species: Farlowella nattereri (3), Loricaria cataphracta (5), Peckoltia vittata (16), Pseudoloricaria laeviuscula (3), Rineloricaria lanceolata (3), Phractocephalus hemioliopterus (4), Pinirampus pirinampu (10), Pseudoplatystoma reticulatum (35), and Batrochoglanis villosus (1).
In addition to the species listed above and available in GenBank, we provide COI data for 17 putative species with no current sequences apparently available in either GenBank or BOLD: Auchenipterichthys longimanus, Tatia musaica, T. aff. musaica, T. nigra, Goeldiella eques, Pimelodella sp., Ancistrus dolichopterus, Ancistrus sp. "INPA 43862", Dekeyseria scaphirhyncha, Hypancistrus sp. "INPA 43863", Hypoptopoma incognitum, Hypostomus carinatus, H. macushi, Lasiancistrus schomburgkii, Leporacanthicus galaxias, Pseudolithoxus sp. "INPA 43888", and Calophysus macropterus.
Our desk and museum collection surveys show that few ichthyological surveys of the Rio Nhamundá have taken place, and that our collection is one of the first to be made on the river. Not including the unverified Centromochlus sp., we report three species from the desk survey, eight species from the museum survey, and 28 species from our field survey; three species (Tatia aff. musaica, Peckoltia cf. vittata, Pseudoloricaria laeviuscula) were recorded from both the museum and field surveys. Therefore, a total of 36 siluriform species are currently known from the river. Of these, one we were unable to determine (Pimelodella sp.), and four we suggest could represent undescribed species (Tatia aff. musaica, Ancistrus sp. "INPA 43862", Hypancistrus sp. "INPA 43863" and Pseudolithoxus sp. "INPA 43888").
The checklist is far from complete, however, missing entirely families such the callichthyids and aspredinids, although we sampled habitats most likely to yield these groups, such as igarapés, only superficially. Despite this, we feel that rapid publication of even modest datasets and small-scale surveys can make valuable additions to biodiversity science in the Amazon by both presenting the early discovery of new species and the extension of ranges for known species. The study also highlights the paucity of neotropical ichthyological data in GBIF/GenBank, and makes a small contribution.
The biogeographic composition of the collection is interesting. While many of the species recorded were cosmopolitan inhabitants of the lowland Amazon—e.g. Auchenipterichthys longimanus, Goeldiella eques, Hypoptopoma incognitum, Lasiancistrus schomburgkii, Loricaria cataphracta, Pseudoloricaria laeviuscula, Rineloricaria lanceolata, Calophysus macropterus, Pimelodus blochii, and Phractocephalus hemioliopterus—there are suggestions of connections to more specialised faunas. For example: the presence of Ancistrus dolichopterus and Dekeyseria scaphirhyncha suggests links to the Rio Negro fauna; Tatia nigra, on the other hand, is only known from the neighbouring Uatumã and Trombetas rivers, both south draining rivers of the Guiana Shield; two species—Tatia aff. musaica and the undescribed Pseudolithoxus sp.—appear to have some connection with the Río Orinoco; while the presence of Leporacanthicus galaxias in the Nhamumdá is strange, and may shed some light on its apparently disjunct distribution in the Rio Tocantins,—a north-draining Brazilian Shield river some 2,000 km to the east—the Río Orinoco (
In summary, the Rio Nhamundá may therefore be an important sampling location for uncovering biogeographic patterns of fishes of the Lower Amazon and Guiana Shield. Of more urgent importance, however, is the sensitivity of freshwater ecosystems to anthropogenic activities and the requirement for catchment-specific conservation plans (
We thank Manoel Torres for the use of his boat, as well as Silvio, Maria and Moura for their assistance, hospitality, and collecting expertise during our trip on the Rio Nhamundá. We also thank John Friel, Nathan Lujan, Jonathan Armbruster, José Birindelli, and an anonymous reviewer for suggesting improvements to the paper. We are also grateful to Cláudio Zawadzki for offering his advice with the identification of the Hypostomus, and to Renildo Ribeiro de Oliveira and Lúcia Rapp Py-Daniel for assisting our access to the INPA collection. Permits emitted to Susana Caballero Gaitán (UniAndes) allowed us to collect the topotypic Tatia musaica from the Río Atabapo.