A new species of Hyphessobrycon Durbin (Characiformes: Characidae) from the rio Juruena basin, Central Brazil, with notes on H. loweae Costa & Géry

Abstract

A new species of Hyphessobrycon, H. peugeoti, is described from the middle portions of the rio Juruena drainage, upper rio Tapajós basin, Mato Grosso State, Brazil. It can be distinguished from all congeners, with the exception of H. loweae and H. heliacus, by a filamentous elongation of the dorsal fin and the approximately straight margin of the anal fin in adult males. It can be distinguished from both H. loweae and H. heliacus by an overall red coloration in life (vs. a golden coloration in life in the latter). Additionally, it can be distinguished from H. heliacus by the lack of chevron-like dark markings along the midline (vs. presence of chevron-like dark-markings in H. heliacus), and from H. loweae by the presence of only five horizontal scale rows between the dorsal-fin origin and the lateral line (vs. 6-7 in H. loweae), and the higher number of branched anal-fin rays (21-24, modally 22, vs. 17-21, modally 20, in H. loweae). Additional meristic, morphometric, and distributional data are provided for Hyphessobrycon loweae, including its first record in the rio Araguaia/Tocantins basin. Comments on a putative monophyletic group including H. peugeoti, H. loweae, H. heliacus, H. elachys, and H. moniliger are presented. © 2013 Sociedade Brasileira de Ictiologia.