Tuesday, May 15, 2012

[Ichthyology • 2008] Australoheros ribeirae • A new species of the genus Australoheros from the rio Ribeira do Iguape basin, So Paulo, Brazil


Australoheros ribeirae Ottoni, Oyakawa & Costa, 2008


Brazilian scientists have described a new species of cichlid 
in the genus Australoheros from southeastern Brazil.

The description of Australoheros ribeirae by Felipe Ottoni, Osvaldo Oyakawa and Wilson Costa is published in the most recent issue of the journal Vertebrate Zoology.

Australoheros ribeirae is distinguished from other members of the genus in having a combination of the following characters: 9"10 dorsal-fin rays, 6"7 anal-fin spines, 8 anal-fin rays, 14 precaudal vertebrae, 12 caudal vertebrae, 26 total vertebrae, 24"26 scales in longitudinal series, 16"18 scales in the superior lateral line, head depth 95.4"98.9 % head length, last dorsal-fin spine length 16"16.8 % standard length, body depth 47.4"51.3 % standard length, pelvic fin length 32.4"37.2 % standard length, predorsal length 47.1"49.6 % standard length, preorbital depth 64.2"73.3 % head length, head width 48.9"53.6 % head length, narrow ectopterygoid narrow, truncate process of the second vertebra, two long tubular processes on the second epibranchial, long anterior arm of the first epibranchial, trunk bars never ventrally forked, fifth trunk bar dorsally straight, straight connection above upper lateral line between the fifth and sixth trunk bars, dorsal portion of the second to fourth trunk bars inclined posteriorly, slightly curved first trunk bar lacking an expanded anterior margin, opercle without spots and usually red sides of the body usually red.

The new species is known from the Ribeira do Iguape drainage in southeastern Brazil, after which it is named.


Ottoni, FP, OT Oyakawa and WJEM Costa. 2008. A new species of the genus Australoheros from the rio Ribeira do Iguape basin, So Paulo, Brazil (Labroidei: Cichlidae: Cichlasomatinae). Vertebrate Zoology. 58: 75 - 81.