A new species of Trichomycterus catfish has been described from the ParaÃba do Sul River drainage in southeastern Brazil in the most recent issue of the journal Vertebrate Zoology.
tern Brazil in the most recent issue of the journal Vertebrate Zoology. Maria Barbosa and Wilson Costa name the new catfish Trichomycterus maculosus.
The new species differs from congeners in having a broad metapterygoid (a bone in the skull), which is wider than it is deep, the absence of a bony articulation between the metapterygoid and the quadrate (another bone in the skull), 45–52 interopercular odontodes, 17–18 opercular odontodes, conical opercular and interopercular odontodes, seven branchiostegal rays, eight pectoral-fin rays, a filamentous pectoral fin, ten anal-fin rays, anal-fin origin at a vertical through the posterior part of the dorsal-fin base, subtruncate caudal fin, a row of horizontally elongate dark grey blotches along the sides of the body, the absence of golden stripes on the flank, and the absence of an unpigmented zone on the front part of the caudal fin.
According to the authors, T. maculosus was found in a clear, fast-flowing stream, where the fish were observed to be swimming in the shallow inshore areas (that have a gravel substrate) during the day.
For more information, see the paper: Barbosa, MA and WJEM Costa (2010) Description of a new species of the catfish genus Trichomycterus (Teleostei: Siluriformes: Trichomycteridae) from the rio Paraíba do Sul basin, southeastern Brazil). Vertebrate Zoology 60, pp. 193–197.