A new species of shiner has been discovered in the Ro Calabazas in San Luis Potos state, central Mxico.
The cyprinid, which has been named Notropsis calabazas, was described this week by John Lyons and Norman Mercado-Silva of the University of Wisconsin in the ichthyological journal Copeia.
Lyons and Mercado-Silva found the new species in the Ro Calabazas, a tributary of the Ro Verde in the Ro Pnuco basin in San Luis Potos state, Mexico.
It's believed to be a member of the Notropis calientis species complex, because it has reduced and interrupted cephalic and lateralis sensory canals.
The new species is rare in its natural habitat and the authors have suggested that the fish designated a protected species.
For details on identifying the new Notropsis see the paper: John Lyons and Norman Mercado-Silva (2004) - Notropis calabazas (Teleostei; Cyprinidae): New Species from the Ro Pnuco Basin of Central Mxico. Copeia: Vol. 2004, No. 4, pp. 868-875.