Wilson J e M Costa

Federal University of Rio de Janeiro | UFRJ · Departamento de Zoologia

Streams in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil are home to a great diversity of endemic freshwater fishes, but some fish groups are still poorly known. In the last 22 years, our field inventories have recorded some species of the mountain catfish genus Trichomycterus that are endemic to the Rio Itabapoana Basin, among which two were not still described....

Mountainous regions typically host a great diversity of small-ranged species, often contributing for delineating world biodiversity hotspots. Species of trichomycterine catfishes have been recorded for several high-altitude areas of tropical South America, but field inventories in top mountains of southern Brazil are still rare. Here we report four...

The mountain ranges of southeastern and southern Brazil are inhabited by a great diversity of catfishes of the genus Cambeva. The Cambeva variegata group, diagnosed by having a prominent skin crest similar to an adipose fin, an interrupted supraorbital laterosensory canal, with an additional supraorbital S4 pore, and a relatively small premaxilla w...

We describe a new species of the genus Atlantirivulus from a small first-order stream on the right margin of the Paraná River basin in the Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. The region of occurrence of the new species is known to be a hotspot for Melanorivulus species. This area, however, is approximately 700 km away from the record of occurrence of its c...

Colour patterns are diverse in trichomycterine catfishes and are often used to diagnose species. Here, we analyse the first case of adults of two syntopic species of Trichomycterus sharing nearly identical colour patterns: a rare new species of the subgenus Paracambeva and Trichomycterus maculosus , a distantly related species of the subgenus Trich...

The Brazilian Atlantic Forest, one the five main biodiversity hotspots in the world, still houses many organisms that are rare and unknown to science, mostly concentrated in mountain ranges. Herein, we describe a rare new species of Cambeva from the Rio Tietê drainage at the Serra da Mantiqueira, exhibiting a caudal fin color pattern comprising a l...

Siluriformes are considered as primarily freshwater and have frequently been a model for the study of historical biogeography. Among catfishes, the most diverse clade is the Loricarioidei, a Neotropical group for which the fossil record extends back to the Palaeocene of Argentina. Here we describe a fossil from the early Late Cretaceous of Morocco,...

Abstract: The Cambeva variegata group (CVG) is endemic to a region situated in the intersection of two endangered biodiversity hotspots, Cerrado and Atlantic Forest, and drained by two important South American river basins, the upper Rio Paraná and upper Rio São Francisco basins. Presently, CVG comprises two nominal species, besides some still unde...

Psammocambeva exhibits the largest geographical distribution amongst the subgenera of Trichomycterus s.s. , with its present northernmost represented by Trichomycterus tete , endemic to the upper Rio de Contas Basin in the Chapada Diamantina Region, north-eastern Brazil. Herein, we describe a new species recently collected in the Chapada Diamantina...

The Rio Doce basin is situated in a biodiversity hotspot, with some fish groups still superficially known. The intense process of habitat loss and water contamination justifies efforts to speed up the pace of describing fish species diversity. Herein, we focus on a clade of trichomycterine catfishes, subgenus Psammocambeva, genus Trichomycterus, pe...

The catfish subfamily Trichomycterinae is widely distributed in South America inhabiting several habitats, but specially mountain streams. Trichomycterus is the most speciose trichomycterid genus and recently due to his paraphyletic condition has been restricted to a clade from eastern Brazil called Trichomycterus sensu stricto comprising around 80...

The presence of paired appendages supported by endoskeleton elements is primarily shared by all gnathostomes, but secondarily lost in different lineages. Absence of pelvic fin and girdle is a condition relatively rare among trichomycterine catfishes, but a recent morphological study suggest that pelvic loss have occurred independently within the ge...

Trichomycterinae catfishes often have high intraspecific variability in colour patterns that may be associated with ontogenetic changes or habitat preferences. In species of the eastern South American genus Trichomycterus s.s., some cases of chromatic polymorphism have been reported but colour pattern is still considered an important tool for speci...

Two new miniature species of the trichomycterid genus Tridens are described from the Madeira River drainage, Acre and Rondônia States, Brazil. Until this work, Tridens was a monotypic genus composed solely of Tridens melanops, from the Putumayo/Içá River drainage, upper Amazonas River basin. Tridens vitreus sp.n. is known from upper and middle Made...

A great diversity of small fish species inhabiting shallow aquatic biotopes of the South American Atlantic Forest have been reported in recent years, but records of interstitial catfishes of the genus Listrura for the southern subtropical Brazilian region are still rare. During field inventories in this region, two new species were collected, which...

The Rio Grande drainage plays a key role in supplying water and electricity to large urban centres, but some components of its rich ichthyofauna are still poorly known. Based on our field inventories in the middle section of the drainage, we recognised 10 trichomycterine endemic species, of which 6 species are new and described herein. A molecular...

Colouration is an important tool for systematists inferring species limits and phylogenetic relationships of teleost fishes, but the use of colouration variation in trichomycterine catfish systematics has generated some controversy. We first report and describe the occurrence of four, geographically disjunct colour morphs in Trichomycterus albinota...

A recent field inventory focusing on catfishes of the trichomycterine genus Cambeva detected the occurrence of two morphotypes, C. barbosae and C. cubataonis, in the Guaratuba-Babitonga-Itapocu area (GBIA) of southern Brazil, reporting some discordance with results of coalescent-based approaches for species delimitation that indicated different est...

Psammocambeva, a subgenus of Trichomycterus s.s., includes a clade endemic to south-eastern Brazil, the Psammocambeva alpha-clade (PAC), containing species with similar colour pattern and fin morphology, making difficult their identification without accurate examination. The greatest diversity of PAC species occurs in the Rio Paraíba do Sul basin a...

The Brazilian Cerrado highlands shelter the headwaters of the three largest South American hydrographic basins, where a great species diversity is concentrated, but some biological groups are still insufficiently known. The focal taxa of this study are trichomycterid catfishes of the subgenus Cryptocambeva, genus Trichomycterus , endemic to mountai...

Cambeva melanoptera sp. nov. is described from stream tributaries of the Rio Iratim, Rio Iguaçu drainage, southern Brazil. This new species is remarkable with a colour pattern not found elsewhere among trichomycterid catfishes, consisting of a broad distal black zone in all unpaired and pectoral fins, strongly contrasting with a pale‐yellow proxima...

Catfishes of the genus Trichomycterus comprise the most diverse fish group in mountain river basins crossing the Atlantic Forest of southeastern Brazil, with a great concentration of species in the Rio Paraíba do Sul basin. The present study is directed to the T. nigroauratus group, endemic to the Rio Paraíba do Sul basin, comprising species common...

Una nueva especie de bagre en peligro de extinción del género Cambeva (Cambeva gamabelardense sp. n.) (Siluriformes, Trichomycteridae) en la cuenca hidrográfica del río Chapecó, en el sur del Brasil Se ha registrado una gran diversidad de especies no descritas para las corrientes rápidas del sur de Brasil, algunas de las cuales habitan zonas somet...

Anablepsoides is a widely distributed Neotropical killifish genus found in shallow streams, in both dense forests and open areas, throughout northern and northeastern South America. The phylogenetic and biogeographic relationships of the genus are here analysed, based on two nuclear and four mitochondrial genes of 26 species and six out‐groups. The...

Recently in this journal, a new trichomycterine from eastern Brazil, Trichomycterus astromycterus, was described and considered possibly related to the Chilean Bullockia maldonadoi due to morphological similarities. Subsequently, osteological data supported T. astromycterus in the subgenus Psammocambeva of Trichomycterus, from eastern Brazil. Phylo...

During recent field studies in the upper Rio Paraná basin, southeastern Brazil, a small undescribed trichomycterine catfish with interstitial habits was found. The combination of morphological character states exhibited by this species did not allow placement to any genus from eastern South America. A multigene phylogeny here performed strongly sup...

During a field inventory directed at trichomycterine habitats, two new species of the genus Cambeva, C. alphabelardense sp. nov. and C. betabelardense sp. nov., were found in the Rio Chapecó drainage, an area under high environmental decline due to intensive soya monoculture. These species share a peculiar head morphology and some unique osteologic...

A new species of the catfish genus Trichomycterus is described from the Rio Paraíba do Sul, south-eastern Brazil. This species exhibits some morphological character states that are unique amongst congeners, including a robust opercle and a long interopercle with numerous odontodes (50–60 opercular and 90–100 interopercular), a black bar on the basa...

The Microcambevinae are a catfish subfamily endemic to the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, comprising rare species with interstitial habits. Microcambevines have been classified in two genera, Listrura and Microcambeva, but the relationships among included intrageneric lineages are still poorly understood. The objectives of this study are to conduct a p...

During a field inventory in the southeastern nucleus of the Serra Geral, southern Brazil, ten undescribed species of Cambeva Katz, Barbosa, Mattos & Costa, 2018 were found in a small area of about 2800 km2. These species are herein formally described: Cambeva diffusa n. sp., Cambeva duplimaculata n. sp., Cambeva grisea n. sp., Cambeva imaruhy n. sp...

A new species of the candiru genus Paracanthopoma is described from the floodplains of the Bananal Island, a transition area between the Cerrado and Amazon, in the Araguaia River basin, central Brazil. Paracanthopoma cangussu sp. nov. is distinguished from its congeners, Paracanthopoma parva and Paracanthopoma saci, by the presence of seven opercul...

The Trichomycterinae is among the most diverse catfish groups in the world, with interesting ecological specializations; however, the taxonomy of Trichomycterinae is still problematic, mainly due to unclear limits and diagnoses of the eight included genera. Herein we infer the phylogenetic position and generic placement of Trichomycterus payaya, a...

Trichomycterus has been considered for a long time to be the most problematic genus of the diverse neotropical subfamily Trichomycterinae. Recently, Trichomycterus was restricted to a clade from eastern South America supported by molecular data, but no unique morphological character state was found to distinguish it, making it difficult to allocate...

The Trichomycterinae is a diversified catfish clade exhibiting numerous ecological specializations, thus offering fine opportunities for studies on vertebrate evolution, but insufficient knowledge on phylogenetic relationships and taxonomy impedes advanced evolutionary studies. Recent studies have contributed to a better taxonomical resolution of s...

The mountain area between the Mantiqueira and Espinhaço ranges of south-eastern Brazil is of special interest for biologists by sheltering headwaters of two of the largest South American river basins, as well as comprising sections of two main world biodiversity hotspots. Mineral exploitation activities have caused great environmental impact, but b...

The fauna and flora of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest have been intensively inventoried since the 19 th century, but some components of this rich biota are still poorly known, and some areas have been poorly sampled. Recent studies on a rich collection of mountain catfishes of the genus Cambeva have revealed a high diversity of species still undescr...

A third pelvic-less species of Cambeva from river basins draining the Geral mountain range in southern Brazil is described. It is distinguished from other congeners lacking pelvic fin and girdle, C. pascuali and C. tropeiro, by having six pectoral-fin rays, 20-23 dorsal procurrent caudal-fin rays, 15-20 opercular and 25-30 interopercular odontodes...

A phylogenetic analysis using fragments of two nuclear and two mitochondrial genes strongly supported sister group relationships between a new species and Trichomycterus albinotatus, corroborated by unique colour patterns of adult specimens and juveniles, and morphology of the autopalatine bone. The new species is distinguished from its closest con...

The origin of melanism has been often associated with cryptic habits, driven by selection for camouflage, sometimes independently arising in closely related species. Field studies in Atlantic Forest rivers of south-eastern Brazil have indicated the occurrence of three melanic species in the catfish genus Trichomycterus: T. immaculatus, T. nigricans...

This study is primarily directed to the most poorly known species of the genus Trichomycterus, comprising five nominal species (T. florensis, T. immaculatus, T. nigricans, T. paquequerensis and T. santaeritae) endemic to southeastern Brazil. One of them, T. nigricans, is the type species of the genus, involved in taxonomic problems for over 150 yea...

The recently described catfish trichomycterid genus Cambeva comprises about 25 valid species, occurring mostly in river basins of south-eastern and southern Brazil. Fifteen species are endemic to the Paraná river basin, of which three are endemic to the Paranapanema river drainage. Herein we describe a fourth new species, Cambeva guareiensis n. sp....

Ammoglanis obliquussp. nov. , a minute catfish species reaching a maximum adult size of 15.5 mm, is described from the Rio Preto da Eva drainage in the central Brazilian Amazon. It is distinguished from all of its congeners in possessing an exclusive combination of character states, including the presence and number of premaxillary and dentary teet...

An undescribed species of Microcambeva, a genus of small psammophilic catfishes from the Atlantic Forest of south-eastern Brazil, was found together the congener M. ribeirae inhabiting the same sand stretch of a stream, in the Rio Ribeira do Iguape basin. The new species and its sympatric congener exhibit highly divergent morphological features, bu...

Interstitial trichomycterid catfishes of the Glanapteryginae and Sarcoglanidinae with uncommon morphology have been known for long time from taxa endemic to the Amazon. In most recent decades, two genera, Listrura and Microcambeva, respectively, placed in Glanapteryginae and Sarcoglanidinae on the basis of morphological characters, have been descri...

Trichomycterid catfishes of the Sarcoglanidinae, which includes small-sized species living in sandy river substratum, have been poorly represented in collections. We herein describe two new species of the sarcoglanidine genus Microcambeva, endemic to river basins draining the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. The presence of a distal widening on the poste...

Specimens found between 1985 and 1988 in the Magé River Basin, south-eastern Brazil were misidentified as L. splendens. The recent rediscovery of other specimens in the Estrela River Basin near the type locality of L. splendens has clarified the species' concept, making it possible to recognise the Magé River Basin specimens as a new species. The n...

Here, we present the first molecular and fossil-dated analysis focusing in the Procatopodidae, a widely distributed and little known African oviparous killifish family. The analysis included 36 species representing all Procatopodidae genera except the monotypic Aapticheilichthys. Procatopodidae relationships were established through maximum likelih...

A recent collection of the seasonal killifish found Leptopanchax splendens c. 5 km from the type locality, 74 years after its last record. The species was historically common in its type locality, the Estrela River basin in south‐eastern Brazil, until 1950, after which it was not encountered and thought to have become extinct due to widespread defo...

The current distribution of the Neotropical ichthyofauna has been widely affected by the main geological events that occurred in South and Central America. However, robust biogeographic information is still scarce or absent for most fish families. The biogeographic relationships of the most diverse anablepid genus, Jenynsia, are herein analysed, us...

A high concentration of endemic species of seasonal killifishes has been recorded for a small area encompassing the highland plateaus associated with the upper section of the Carnaúba de Dentro River drainage and adjacent drainages of the middle section of the São Francisco River basin, northeastern Brazil. The present study is primarily directed t...

Species of Fluviphylax are widely distributed over the Amazon and Orinoco river drainages and are among the smallest fish in the neotropics, inhabiting areas near the margin of slow-flowing clear and black water streams and lakes. Here, we present the first multigene molecular phylogeny of Fluviphylax, including all five nominal species of Fluviphy...

A great diversity of animal species adapted to life in the semi-arid Caatinga of northeastern Brazil, including seasonal killifishes, has been reported in the last three decades. More recently, field and molecular data have shown a high occurrence of cryptic species. The killifish group herein analysed, the Hypsolebiasmagnificus species complex, is...

The miniature seasonal killifish Spectrolebiascostae , first described for the middle Araguaia River basin, has been also recorded from two areas in the middle Tocantins River basin, from where male specimens exhibit some differences in their colour pattern. Analyses directed to species delineation (GMYC and bPTP), using a fragment of the mitochond...

Morphological characters and phylogenetic trees generated by analyses of segments of two mitochondrial genes cytochrome b and cytochrome c oxidase I support recognition of three new species of the ‘Geophagus’ brasiliensis species group from coastal basins of northeast Brazil. All new species were diagnosed by exclusive morphological characters and...

The high diversity of Neotropical fishes has been attributed to major South American palaeogeographic events, such as Andean uplift, rise of the Isthmus of Panama and marine transgressions. However, the unavailability of temporal information about evolution and diversification of some fish groups prevents the establishment of robust hypotheses abou...

List of analysed species with respective GenBank accession numbers for each analysed gene. Bold accession numbers are sequences first used in this study. (DOC)

List of primers for each gene. (DOC)

Best evolutive model for each partition found by PartitionFinder. (DOC)

The Caatinga is the largest nucleus of seasonally dry tropical forests in South America, but little is known about the evolutionary history and biogeography of endemic organisms. Evolutionary diversification and distribution of terrestrial vertebrates endemic to the Caatinga have been explained by palaeogeographical Neogene episodes, mostly related...

Primers used in the analyses. (DOCX)

Maximum Likelihood trees. (TIF)

List of taxa, GenBank accession numbers and coordinates of collecting sites. (DOC)

Best-fitting models of molecular evolution. (DOCX)

Pantanodon, containing two African extant species and four European fossil species, for a long time had an uncertain position among the Cyprinodontiformes due to its peculiar morphology. In the last decades, Pantanodon has been considered closely related to African lamp-eyes of the Procatopodinae clade, which is contained in the Poeciliidae, a tele...

Three new species of Melanorivulus are described from the upper and middle Rio Paraná Basin, central Brazilian Cerrado. These species are members of the M. pictus species group, endemic to central Brazilian plateaus and adjacent areas, and are easily diagnosed by colour pattern characters, but their relationships with other congeners of the group a...

Morphological characters and phylogenetic trees generated by analyses of a segment of the mitochondrial gene cytochrome b support two new species from the Lagoa dos Patos basin, in southern Brazil. The phylogenetic analyses indicate that the two new species are each other’s respective closest relatives among species of A. adloffi group. The clade c...

Two new species of Cynolebias are described from temporary pools of the Verde Grande River drainage, São Francisco basin, in the semiarid Caatinga, a phytogeographical province of northeastern Brazil. Cynolebias elegans sp. n., a member of the C. gilbertoi group, is considered as the smallest species of the genus, reaching about 38 mm of standard l...

Trichomycteridae is a well-corroborated catfish family that comprises about 300 valid species distributed in eight subfamilies. The phyletic status of the Trichomycterinae is uncertain, with different hypothesis regarding the position of the miniaturized Trichomycterus hasemani group. This group comprises four valid species, and neither its monophy...

The rich biological diversity of South America has motivated a series of studies associating evolution of endemic taxa with the dramatic geologic and climatic changes that occurred during the Cainozoic. The organism here studied is the killifish tribe Cynolebiini, a group of seasonal fishes uniquely inhabiting temporary pools formed during the rain...

Nothobranchius guentheri and Nothobranchius melanospilus, the two seasonal killifishes of the genus Nothobranchius occurring in Zanzibar Island, Tanzania, were involved in past taxonomical mistakes and are still misidentified in museum collections. A historical review is herein presented and both species are redescribed on the basis of type materia...