Brazilian ichthyologists have described a new species of bumblebee catfish in the genus Microglanis from southeastern Brazil.
Felipe Ottoni, José Mattos and Maria Barbosa name the new catfish Microglanis minutus in the most recent issue of the journal Vertebrate Zoology.
Microglanis minutus is a member of the M. parahybae species group, and is distinguished from all members of this species group in having mottled or relatively faint bands on the pectoral and anal fins, an emarginate caudal fin that is lightly mottled and with narrow vertical dark brown bands across the central portions of the lobes, dark brown saddles on the trunk, an irregular dark blotch on the caudal peduncle, the adipose fin with a dark saddle beneath it that does not extend ventrally to the anal fin as a continuous bar, the lateral line not reaching the vertical through the origin of the adipose fin, a distinct bony point on the tip of the pectoral spine, a wider head, the absence of a dark band on the distal portion of the anal fin, and a light oval spot below the dorsal spine.
The new species is known from the Barra Seca river drainage in southeastern Brazil, and is named after its comparatively small size (Latin minutus=small).
For more information, see the paper: Ottoni, FP, JLO Mattos and MA Barbosa (2010) Description of a new species of Microglanis from the rio Barra Seca basin, southeastern Brazil (Teleostei: Siluriformes: Pseudopmelodidae). Vertebrate Zoology 60: 187–192.