A revision of Astyanax (Characiformes: Characidae) in Central and North America, with the description of nine new species

Abstract

Since the restriction of Astyanax fasciatus to Brazil, most authors have assigned Central American and southern Mexican forms of Astyanax to A. aeneus. However, molecular studies support the hypothesis that more than one taxon is involved. With the aim of clarifying the number and status of species hidden behind the name ‘A. aeneus’, this revision comprises 80 populations of Astyanax (and ‘Bramocharax’) from Panama to Texas, with comparative material from South America, based on morphological characters (mostly osteological). Astyanax aeneus is hereby restricted to the Pacific slope, from Río Papagayo, Guerrero, to Honduras. Several species are resurrected from synonymy or redescribed: A. altior (restricted to north-western Yucatán), A. argentatus (Texas and northern Mexico), A. belizianus (central-southern Belize, Izabal, Caribbean Honduras), A. brevimanus (upper Usumacinta and Grijalva, Chiapas, Quiché, Alta Verapaz), A. finitimus (Veracruz, Tabasco, northern Chiapas), A. mexicanus (restricted to Colima and the Balsas River basin), A. nicaraguensis (Caribbean Nicaragua to Sixaola, Panama), A. orstedii (south-eastern Nicaragua, Costa Rica and westernmost Panama), A. panamensis (Pacific Panama), and A. petenensis (Campeche, Petén). Nine species are newly described: A. acatlanensis sp. nov. (inland Oaxaca and Puebla), A. bacalarensis sp. nov. (Quintana Roo, northern Belize, Petén), A. cubilhuitz sp. nov. (Alta Verapaz), A. macal sp. nov. (Maya Mountains, Belize), A. ocotal sp. nov. (Lake Ocotal, highland Chiapas), A. rioverde sp. nov. (San Luis Potosí), A. salvatoris sp. nov. (Tamazulapan, Oaxaca), A. tamiahua sp. nov. (northern Veracruz) and A. tehuacanensis sp. nov. (Papaloapan, Oaxaca). Others were already recognised as different from A. aeneus, among these A. cocibolca and A. nasutus, as well as species included before in the genus Bramocharax. http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:ABC57223-DF66-49B6-8FE0-87CFF5D3EA03.