Australoheros capixaba Ottoni, 2010
Abstract
Australoheros capixaba, new species, is distributed along the rio Itaúnas, rio Barra Seca, rio São Mateus and the lower rio Doce basins. The new species is distinguished from its congeners in the rio Paraná-Uruguay system and Laguna dos Patos system by having 12 caudal vertebrae (vs. 13 – 15). Australoheros capixaba differs from the other species of Australoheros from south-eastern Brazil by its coloration in life (a reddish chest, large spots on the dorsal region of the trunk and a green iridescence on the pelvic fins). It also differs from some of its congeners by having a longer caudal peduncle, a longer anal-fin spine, fewer dorsal-fin spines and fewer anal-fi n rays. Australoheros capixaba sp. n. is the fi rst species from the genus described for the Estado do Espírito Santo, south-eastern Brazil. The phylogenetic placement of the species in the genus cannot be discussed, because there is no phylogenetic work about the Australoheros species from south-eastern Brazil.
Key words: Australoheros facetus, coastal basins, Estado do Espírito Santo, Heroini, Linhares, rio Barra Seca, rio Doce, rio Itaúnas, rio São Mateus, South American cichlids, taxonomy.
Etymology. From the Brazilian idiomatic expression capixaba, meaning people who were born in the Estado de Espírito Santo.
Distribution. Rio São Mateus basin, rio Itaúnas basin, rio Barra Seca basin and lower rio Doce basin, all in south-eastern Brazil (Fig. 2).
Ottoni, F.P., 2010. Australoheros capixaba, a new species of Australoheros from south-eastern Brazil (Labroidei: Cichlidae: Cichlasomatinae). Vertebrate Zoology. 60 (1): 19 – 25
