Ichthyologists from Brazil have described a new Astyanax tetra from several localities in the Negro, Solimes and lower Tapajs river drainages, naming it Astyanax ajuricaba.
Publishing the description of this new tetra in a recent issue of the journal Neotropical Ichthyology, Manoela Marinho and Flvio Lima distinguish it from congeners in having a unique colour pattern consisting of a conspicuous, narrow dark midlateral stripe, a well-developed vertically-elongated dark humeral spot, and dark upper caudal-fin lobe and middle caudal-fin rays, with a rounded clear ocellated spot on the front third of the upper caudal-fin lobe.
Astyanax ajuricaba was collected from blackwater habitats, with the type locality being such a stream with a predominantly sandy bottom. The specific epithet honors Ajuricaba, paramount chief of the Manau Indians, which formerly inhabited in the middle rio Negro area.
For more information, see the paper: Marinho, MMF and FCT Lima (2009) Astyanax ajuricaba: a new species from the Amazon basin in Brazil (Characiformes: Characidae). Neotropical Ichthyology 7, pp. 169"174.