Brazilian ichthyologists have named a new species of thorny catfish after doradid expert Mark Sabaj Pérez in the latest issue of the journal Copeia.
Brazilian ichthyologists have named a new species of thorny catfish after doradid expert Mark Sabaj Pérez in the latest issue of the journal Copeia.
Authors José Birindelli and Leandro Sousa distinguish the new catfish, which they named Leptodoras marki, from congeners in having a combination of a large dark submarginal blotch on the distal half of the dorsal-fin spine and anteriormost dorsal-fin branched rays, the lower labial extension of the modified oral hood extending more posteriorly than the upper labial extension, relatively few midlateral scutes (34–37).
It also differs from congeners in having a swim bladder of a moderate size and not reduced, the paired bony capsules on the anteriormost vertebrae reduced to paired cup-like laminar ossifications separated by a triangular septum, a pair of small, diverticula on each side of the anterior chamber of gas bladder that resemble a swelling, a well-developed anterior nuchal plate and the parieto-supraoccipital not contacting the middle nuchal plate, and the presence of nuchal foramina.
The new species is known only from the Fresco River, a tributary of the Xingu River in Brazil, where it was collected over sandy beaches in relatively shallow (depth less than 2 metres) water with moderate current.
For more information, see the paper: Birindelli, JLO and LM Sousa (2010) New species of the thorny catfish genus Leptodoras (Siluriformes: Doradidae) from Rio Fresco, Xingu basin, Brazil. Copeia 2010, pp. 292–299.