Mario de pinna

• University of São Paulo

Quantitative traits are a source of evolutionary information often difficult to handle in cladistics. Tools exist to analyse this kind of data without subjective discretization, avoiding biases in the delimitation of categorical states. Nonetheless, our ability to accurately infer relationships from continuous characters is incompletely understood,...

Listrura and Microcambeva are two genera of small, rare and elusive catfishes of the Trichomycteridae family, endemic to the Atlantic Forest coastal drainages in Brazil. Listrura comprises 13 species with slender bodies, absent pelvic fins, and a distinct caudal-fin and caudal-peduncle morphology, while Microcambeva includes eight species with tran...

Listrura is a genus of small pencil catfishes of Trichomycteridae that currently comprises 12 valid species in coastal drainages of Southern and Southeastern Brazil, all with fossorial dwelling habitats and eel-like morphology. Here, we describe a new species of Listrura known from only two specimens collected in an interval of 24 years in order to...

The upper rio Paraná basin drains the most developed and environmentally degraded region in South America: the Brazilian southeast. While it is one of the most well-known Neotropical fish assemblages, it is also one of the most threatened by anthropic activity. Urbanization, deforestation, dam construction, invasive species, and water pollution not...

A new miniature tridentine catfish is described from the rio Purus drainage, Amazon basin, Brazil. It differs from all other tridentines in having several unique autapomorphies: conspicuous anteromedial protuberance in the snout; set of symphyseal premaxillary and dentary teeth inclined posteromedially; distal process of the hyomandibula directed a...

A taxonomic revision is presented of the genus Paracanthopoma, probably the least-known vandelliine genus at present. The work is based on most of the material available in museums worldwide and includes a major expansion in the knowledge about the genus. Paracanthopoma is circumscribed as a monophyletic group on the basis of nine putatively synapo...

Tarumania walkerae is a rare fossorial freshwater fish species from the lower Rio Negro, Central Amazonia, composing the monotypic and recently described family Tarumaniidae. The family has been proposed as the sister group of Erythrinidae by both morphological and molecular studies despite distinct arrangements of the superfamily Erythrinoidea wit...

The catfish genus Trichomycterus is a recognized taxonomic bottleneck in Neotropical ichthyology. The hitherto poorly-known diversity of Trichomycterus in the Rio Doce Basin, Brazil, is here investigated using an iterative approach based on morphology and cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) sequence data. Specimens from the entire Rio Doce Drainage...

Freshwater fossil fish faunas have long been used to infer past drainage connections, given that they are bounded by physical freshwater barriers. Here we study a middle Miocene (15.0–15.5 Ma) freshwater fish fossil fauna (Makaraipao) from the Castilletes Formation in northern Colombia, nowadays west of the Andes. We record the presence of lungfish...

Freshwater fossil fish faunas have been long used to infer past drainage connections, as they are bounded by physical freshwater barriers. Here we study a middle Miocene (15.0-15.5 Ma) fossil fauna (Makaraipao) from the Castilletes Formation in northern Colombia, nowadays west of the Andes. We record the presence of lungfishes (Lepidosiren), pacus...

Two new species of particular biogeographic significance are described from the upper rio Paraguay basin, one of the genus Paracanthopoma (Trichomycteridae, Vandelliinae) and the other of the genus Ernstichthys (Aspredinidae, Hoplomyzontinae). The two species occur sympatrically in the Rio Taquarizinho, tributary of the Rio Taquari, in the upper Pa...

Microcambeva bendego, a small psammophilous catfish species, is described from the rio Guapi-Macacu basin at Guanabara Bay in Rio de Janeiro State, an Atlantic Forest remnant. This coastal drainage has been explored by several naturalists and fish researchers since the 19th century. It is a drainage with remarkably high endemism and species richnes...

1. Freshwater ecosystems represent less than 0.01% of Earth's surface water but pro- portionately encompass the most species-rich environment on the planet, includ- ing nearly one-third of all vertebrate species. Even though inland continental waters are widely regarded as highly endangered ecosystems, their species assem- blages are mostly ignored...

A new species of the rare genus Trichogenes is reported on the basis of specimens without locality and other associated data. The obvious distinctiveness, taxonomic relevance, and phylogenetic importance of the new taxon justify its description with material at hand. Trichogenes beagle, new species, differs from all congeners by the presence of tri...

Sarcoglanidinae and Glanapteryginae catfishes are among the most unusual elements of the Neotropical freshwater fish fauna. Microcambeva ribeirae, M. barbata and M. draco are miniaturized Sarcoglanidinae known to occur in sandy microhabitats in drainages of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Due to their specific habitats, specimens of Microcambeva are...

A recent study based on genomic data by Roxo et al. (2019) provided a phylogeny of the Loricariidae, the largest catfish family and second largest Neotropical fish family with approximately 1,000 species. The study represents a valuable and innovative contribution for understanding higher-level relationships within the family. The phylogenetic tree...

The Ichthyological Collection at MZUSP houses ca. 130,000 lots and more than 1,5 million fish specimens belonging to over 350 families, 1,800 genera, and 9,000 species. The vast majority of this material, 99.7%, is from the Neotropics, especially from Brazil, Peru, and Venezuela. This article recovers the history of the Ichthyological Collection of...

A new species of Trichomycterus is described from rocky and psammic sectors near the main channel of the middle and upper Rio Doce basin in Southeastern Brazil. Trichomycterus astromycterus n. sp., is distinguished from all congeners by a number of autapomorphic characters, such as the distally expanded maxilla; the short and thick mesethmoid cornu...

We provide a general compilation of the diversity and geographical distribution of Amazonian fishes, updated to the end of 2018. Our database includes documented distributions of 4214 species (both Amazonian and from surrounding basins), compiled from published information plus original data from ichthyological collections. Our results show that th...

A new species of the Copionodontinae genus Copionodon is described from the riacho do Mosquito, tributary to rio Santo Antônio, rio Paraguaçu basin in the Diamantina Plateau, Bahia State, northeastern Brazil. This species represents the northernmost occurrence of the subfamily yet known and is a relictual population, apparently restricted to an und...

The history of knowledge about Amazonian biogeography is as rich as its fish community, and a fascinating theme of study in itself. Several current paradigms and controversies about Amazonian fish biogeography are rooted in principles dating from the second half of the 18th to the first half of the 19th centuries. The present work establishes a rel...

ABSTRACT A new species of the copionodontine genus Copionodon is described from the upper reaches of a tributary to the rio Paraguaçu in the Diamantina Plateau, Bahia State, northeastern Brazil. This species represents the northernmost occurrence of the subfamily yet known. The new species can be readily recognized by its large eye without a free o...

To address the rapid and massive loss of biodiversity worldwide, scientific research must inform agile decision-making. The political leaders of Brazil, the country with the planet’s greatest biological wealth (1), continue to undermine this goal. In 2001, citing the laudable objective of preventing biopiracy, the government created the Genetic Her...

We present the taxonomic description of Tarumaniidae, a new family of South American freshwater fishes including a new genus (Tarumania) and species (Tarumania walkerae) from the Central Amazon. The new taxon displays an extraordinary set of unique characteristics, which sets it apart from all other known bony fishes, either in South America or els...

In order to change that situation, a new method of sample management has been designed and implemented since October, 2016. The basic principles of this system are: the absolute correlation sample-voucher (individuals as operational units); the partial independence from the “main collection” (lots as operational units); and the optimal cost- benefi...

Over 122 thousand lots are catalogued in the fish collection of the Museum of Zoology of the University of São Paulo (MZUSP), the largest fish collection in Latin America. Traditionally devoted to biodiversity and systematic studies based mainly on morphology, the physical and informational organization of the collection was optimized according to...

Biogeography of Amazonian fishes (2,500 species in vastly disjunct lineages) is complex and has so far been approached only partially. Here, we tackle the problem on the basis of the largest database yet on geographical distribution and phylogenetic relationships of Amazonian fishes, including all information available. Distributions of 4,095 speci...

The question whether taxonomic descriptions naming new animal species without type specimen(s) deposited in collections should be accepted for publication by scientific journals and allowed by the Code has already been discussed in Zootaxa (Dubois & Nemésio 2007; Donegan 2008, 2009; Nemésio 2009a–b; Dubois 2009; Gentile & Snell 2009; Minelli 2009;...

This plot is not part of the published stance but derives from it. The plot shows the number of authors by geographic region (courtesy of Dr. Diego Astua).

A review is made of the impact of the landmark Ph. D. Thesis of Jonathan N. Baskin from 1973 on the development of the phylogenetics of catfishes and some of its main subgroups and on neotropical ichthyology in general. Baskin’s work is the first to propose a hypothesis of relationships for loricarioid catfishes and for the family Trichomycteridae...

O bagre lepidofágico Stegophilinae Ochmacanthus batrachostoma (Miranda-Ribeiro, 1912) é endêmico da bacia Paraná-Paraguai e é único membro do gênero presente na drenagem. Permanece um táxon pouco conhecido principalmente devido à escassez histórica de espécimes para estudo. A espécie é aqui redescrita com base em espécimes tipo e não tipo provenien...

We report on the only known case of independent discovery of unrooted trees in a historical science outside of biological systematics. The method of textual criticism (ecdotics, i.e., the building of text-version genealogies) created by French philologist Henri Quentin (1872–1935) proposes the use of a type of branching scheme equivalent to unroote...

The upper Paraná River system (UP) is a highly diverse biogeographic province for freshwater fishes, but little is known about processes which shaped that diversity. This study describes the phylogeographic pattern in Hypostomus ancistroides, a suckermouth catfish species that is widespread in the UP and also reported from the adjoining Ribeira do...

Species tot sunt diversae quot diversas formas ab initio creavitiv — A dialogue on species

The muscles serving the ventral portion of the gill arches ( = infrabranchial musculature) are poorly known in bony fishes. A comparative analysis of the infrabranchial muscles in the major percomorph lineages reveals a large amount of phylogenetically-relevant information. Characters derived from this anatomical system are identified and discussed...

The genus Spatuloricaria is diagnosed by a number of conspicuous characteristics that set it apart from other genera in the subfamily Loricariinae. The genus has a broad geographical distribution extending from Argentina to Panama. Despite the flood of new loricariid taxa described in the past decades, no new species of Spatuloricaria have been new...

Ituglanis australis new species, is described from tributaries of the Laguna dos Patos and Río Uruguay, in Brazil and Uruguay. This represents the southernmost record of the genus and the first occurrence of a species of Ituglanis in those systems. It is distinguished from all its congeners, except Ituglanis parahybae and Ituglanis cahyensis, by it...

The psammophilic trichomycterid genus Typhlobelus is rediagnosed on the basis of additional synapomorphic characters, including: 1) the premaxilla displaced posteriorly, and connected to shaft of the mesethmoid rather than to its anterior tip; 2) the premaxilla with complex tridimensional shape, with a large dorsal process directed mesially and bea...

In light of recent terminological controversy, this article reviews cladistic conceptions of character states coded as absences, symplesiomorphies, and secondary losses. The first section addresses absence as a question of ontology vs. epistemology. The second and third sections address the evidentiary status of symplesiomorphy in cladistics, the f...

The genus Listrura, Glanapteryginae, currently comprises six valid species of small and elongated trichomycterid catfishes that inhabit coastal plains of Southern and Southeastern Brazil. As primarily fossorial dwellers, species of the genus display unusual morphological adaptations and restricted habitats, which make these fishes particularly susc...

A recent review of the homology concept in cladistics is critiqued in light of the historical literature. Homology as a notion relevant to the recognition of clades remains equivalent to synapomorphy. Some symplesiomorphies are “homologies” inasmuch as they represent synapomorphies of more inclusive taxa; others are complementary character states t...

Trichomycterus anhanga is described from the Amazon basin, northern Brazil. The species is diagnosed by the latero-sensory system which is restricted to LL1 and LL2, the pectoral fin with two branched rays, the absence of pelvic fins and girdle, the reduced jaws and pharyngeal dentition, the presence of six to seven interopercular odontodes, the ab...

A new species of sand-dwelling catfish genus Pygidianops, P. amphioxus, is described from the Negro and lower Amazon basins. The new species differs from its three congeners in the elongate eel-like body, the short barbels, and the small caudal fin, continuous with the body, among other traits of internal anatomy. The absence of anal fin further di...

The rediscovery of the enigmatic subterranean characiform Stygichthys typhlops is reported almost a half-century after the collection of the holotype, the only specimen previously known. Thirty-four specimens were collected in two shallow hand-dug wells at the region of the type locality, c. 13 km south-west of the town of Jaíba, Minas Gerais, Braz...

A new species of the formerly monotypic genus Trichogenes is described from a high-altitude stream of the rio Itapemirim system, an isolated Atlantic drainage in the State of Espírito Santo, southeastern Brazil. Trichogenes claviger, new species, differs from all other trichomycterids by the sexually dimorphic posterior process of the opercle, much...

Four new species of the trichomycterid subfamily Glanapteryginae are described from the Río Orinoco basin of Venezuela. Two new species each in Pygidianops Myers 1944 and Typhlobelus Myers 1944 represent the first documented occurrence of these genera in Venezuela, and for Pygidianops the first occurrence outside the Río Negro basin. The new specie...

A well-developed second ural half-centrum is a peculiar characteristic of the caudal skeleton of certain siluriforms, not seen in other Recent ostariophysans. Although the character has been previously recorded in the literature, its exact taxonomic distribution, structure, ontogeny, and phylogenetic meaning within siluriforms are not yet determine...

A new species of the rare copionodontine genus Glaphyropoma is described from subterranean waters in the Diamantina Plateau, Bahia State, central northeastern Brazil. This is the first troglomorphic species in the subfamily Copionodontinae. It is distinguished from all other copionodontines by the presence of opercular odontodes, and further distin...

The Copionodontinae is described as a new subfamily of the neotropical catfish family Trichomycteridae. It comprises two new genera and three new species from north-eastern Brazil: Copionodon gen. nov. (including C. pecten sp. nov. and C. orthiocarinatus sp. nov.) and Glaphyropoma gen nov. (including G. rodriguesi sp. nov.) The Copionodontinae can...

Trichomycterus crassicaudatus is described as a new species from the Rio Iguacu basin in southern Brazil. The new species has an exceptionally deep posterior region of the body (caudal peduncle depth 22.8-25.4% SL), resulting in an overall shape which distinguishes it at once from all other members of the Trichomycteridae. The caudal fin of the spe...

A new species of Trichomycterus is described for the rio Iguacu drainage in Southern Brazil. Trichomycterus igobi, new species, is readily distinguishable from all other species currently in the genus by its extremely large head (23.8-26.8% SL), which is proportionally the largest head in any Trichomycteridae. That characteristic plus the relativel...

A hypothesis on the phylogenetic relationships of the neotropical catfish family Cetopsidae is proposed on the basis of the parsimony analysis of 127 morphological characters and most of the species currently recognized. The family and its two recognized subfamilies, the Cetopsinae and Helogeninae, are corroborated as monophyletic, in agreement wit...

A new species of the previously monotypic catfish genus Phreatobius is described from an artificial well in the village of Rio Pardo, located 90 km south of the city of Porto Velho, State of Rondônia, Brazil, in the drainage area of the Rio Branco (Rio Madeira system, Amazon basin). Phreatobius dracunculus n. sp. differs from its only congener, P....

Fishes of the tropical region constitute one of the most fascinating subjects of study in comparative biology. The myriad radiations and adaptive modifications displayed by different groups of tropical fishes cover practically all important phenomena in evolutionary biology. In many instances, tropical fishes provide unique case studies for specifi...

The cephalic portions of the latero-sensory canal system in Denticeps clupeoides are described and analyzed. The species, a small herring-like fish from relictual West African streams, is the most primitive living clupeomorph and sole Recent representative of suborder Denticipitoidei. As sister group to over 360 species in Clupeoidei, Denticeps is...

The catfishes of the subfamily Cetopsinae of the Neotropical family Cetopsidae are revised. Four genera, Cetopsidium new genus, Cetopsis, Denticetopsis, and Paracetopsis Bleeker are recognized as valid. Bathycetopsis, Hemicetopsis, and Pseudocetopsis are considered synonyms of Cetopsis and Paracetopsis Eigenmann & Bean and Cetopsogiton synonyms of...

Silvinichthys bortayro, new species, is described from an aquifer at 1200 m elevation in the Andean Cordillera of Salta, Argentina. The new species is distinguished from all other species included in the subfamily Trichomycterinae by the following combination of characters: the extreme elongation of the opercle and its narrow odontode-bearing dista...

Data on new specimens of the rare subterranean catfish Phreatobius cisternarum are reported. Specimens were collected from hand-dug wells in the region of the mouth of the Amazon river, Brazil. A revised diagnosis of Phreatobius is proposed, and P. cisternarum is redescribed on the basis of new and previously available material. Included are data o...

Heptapterus collettii Steindachner, 1881, a catfish described from La Plata basin in South America, has a puzzling set of characters for Neotropical siluriforms. Examination of one syntype shows that H. collettii does not belong to Heptapteridae or any other Neotropical family but rather to Olyra, a genus of Bagridae endemic to South Asia. Thus, it...

The evolution of the Weberian apparatus in otophysan fishes has been a source of confusion and debate among ichthyologists. This paper reexamines this debate in light of a proposed sister-group relationship between clupeomorphs and ostariophysans. Results from this study suggest that the Weberian apparatus may not have evolved as a single unit as i...

Ituglanis nebulosus is described from the Aprouague basin in French Guiana. It differs from all other species of Ituglanis by a color pattern composed of large, round spots irregularly distributed on body and not coalesced into longitudinal stripes. It is also diagnosable from most congeners by the round caudal fin and the reduced number of vertebr...

The claustrum, one of the Weberian ossicles of otophysans, is here proposed as homologous to the accessory neural arch (ANA) of lower teleosts. This idea is based on structural and topographical correspondence, as well as on ontogenetic timing of differentiation and ossification. Claustrum and ANA are similar in general shape and occupy the same po...

A new species of the poorly known glanapterygine genus Listrura is described from the State of Paraná, Southern Brazil. Listrura boticario, new species, is distinguished from its congeners by the absence of a dorsal fin and the autapomorphic presence of two pectoral-fin rays, a unique trait within trichomycterids. The limited phylogenetically infor...

A new miniaturized species of the trichomycterid genus Ammoglanis is described from the Rio Orinoco basin in Venezuela. It is distinguished from its only congener, A. diaphanus, by: a banded color pattern formed by internal chromatophores; 5 or 6 pectoral-fin rays (7 in A. diaphanus), 5/5 principal caudal-fin rays (6/6 in A. diaphanus), ii+6 dorsal...

Concepts of species proposed within the phylogenetic paradigm arecritically reviewed. Most so called phylogenetic species concepts relyheavily on factors immaterial to phylogenetic hypotheses. Thus, theyhave limited empirical content and offer weak bases on which to makedecisions about real problems related to species. Any workable notion ofspecies...

A second species of the genus †Hypsidoris is described from the primitive catfish family †Hypsidoridae. The new species is from Eocene freshwater deposits of the Clamo Formation of central Oregon and is known by numerous well-preserved skeletons. Like the type species from the Green River Formation of Wyoming, the Oregon species has a well-develope...

A new species of the glanapterygine trichomycterid genus Glanapteryx is described from the upper Rio Negro in Brazil, State of Amazonas. The new species, currently represented by a single specimen, is the only fish so far known to occur in the remote "Morro dos Seis Lagos" lake complex, a region with high levels of natural radioactivity. Glanaptery...

Logical equivalence between the notions of homology and synapomorphy is reviewed and supported. So‐called transformational homology embodies two distinct logical components, one related to comparisons among different organisms and the other restricted to comparisons within the same organism. The former is essentially hierarchical in nature, thus be...