A new pseudopimelodid catfish from the Batrochoglanis genus has been discovered in the Mato Grosso in Brazil.
The new species, which has been named Batrochoglanis melanurus, was found in the Corrego Cancela area of Mato Grosso State in a water system which feeds the Rio Cuiba and eventually drains into the Rio Paraguai basin.
Four species of Batrochoglanis were already known to science, but none had previously been seen in the Rio Paraguai basin.
Subsequent taxonomic research by Pavanelli and Shibatta, which has just been published in the journal Zootaxa, showed the fish collected at Corrego Cancela to be a new and undescribed species and a first for the genus in the Rio Paraguai basin.
Ugly customerIn common with most members of the Pseudopimelodidae, the new fish isn't a great looking fish and has the stocky and bull-headed appearance that is typical to members of the Batrochoglanis genus.
Most of the specimens of the new species collected measure around 14cm/5" in length and are brown in colour with a series of muddy stripes on the flanks and tail. The stocky little catfish gets its species name "melanurus" from the black colour of its caudal fin.
The species is closely related to B. raninus (formerly Pseudopimelodus raninus), a species that sometimes enters the aquarium trade.
The other species in the genus are B. raninus, B. transmontanus, B. villosus and B. acanthochiroides. Shibatta and Pavanelli provide a new details to identifying the species in the genus in the paper.
For further information see the paper: Shibatta, O and C. Pavanelli. (2005) - Description of a new Batrochoglanis species (Siluriformes,
Pseudopimelodidae) from the rio Paraguai basin, State of Mato
Grosso, Brazil. Zootaxa 1092: 21-30 (2005).