Description of Cathorops mapale, a new species of sea catfish (Siluriformes: Ariidae) from the Colombian Caribbean, based on morphological and mitochondrial evidence

Abstract

A new species of sea catfish (Ariidae), Cathorops mapale, is described from the central and south-western Colombian Caribbean coast. The species is distinguished from other Cathorops species from the western Atlantic by the following combination of features: 20-24 anterior gill rakers on first gill arch, 18-21 anterior gill rakers on second gill arch; maxillary barbels 27.8-39.3% standard length; medial head groove long and deep, extending posteriorly almost to supraoccipital keel. This species has been widely misidentified as C. spixii (Agassiz), a species known from Brazil to the Guianas. Based on mitochondrial evidence (cytochrome b and ATP synthase 8/6), C. mapale is more closely related to the eastern Pacific C. fuerthii (Steindachner) species group (2.2-2.8% sequence divergence) than to the C. spixii clade (5.9-6.2% sequence divergence). C. mapale is distinguished from the C. fuerthii group by having higher anterior gill raker counts on the first (14-15 in the C. fuerthii group) and second (15-17 in the C. fuerthii group) gill arches, and by having a smaller mouth (8.3-10.6% standard length in C. mapale and 11.0-11.6% standard length in the C. fuerthii group). Copyright © 2005 Magnolia Press.