A new species of Leporinus tetra has been described from central Brazil by Brazilian scientists in the most recent issue of the journal Neotropical Ichthyology.
The new tetra, named Leporinus venerei by Heraldo Britski and Jos Birindelli, differs from other members of the genus in having four teeth on the premaxilla (upper jaw) and three teeth on the dentary (lower jaw) and in having a combination of: 36"37 pored scales in the lateral line, 4 scales in the transversal series from the origin of the dorsal fin to the lateral line and 4.5 to 5 scales from the lateral line to the base of the pelvic fin; 16 scales around the caudal peduncle; three round dark blotches on the lateral line, the first at the vertical through the dorsal fin, the second at the vertical through the adipose-fin origin and the third at the base of the caudal peduncle (the latter two blotches, particularly the last one is usually small or inconspicuous).
Leporinus venerei is named after Paulo Cesar Venere who collected the first known specimens of this new species.
It is known from the Araguaia River drainage in Mato Grosso and Gois states in central Brazil, where it is found living in lagoons and borrow pits.
No images of the new species were available for publication.
For more information, see the paper: Britski, HA and JLO Birindelli (2008) Description of a new species of the genus Leporinus Spix (Characiformes: Anostomidae) from the rio Araguaia, Brazil, with comments on the taxonomy and distribution of L. parae and L. lacustris. Neotropical Ichthyology 6, pp. 45"51.