Brazilian scientists have described a new species of tetra from Venezuela.
The description of the new species, named Hemigrammus taphorni, is published in a recent issue of the journal Zootaxa.
According to the authors Ricardo Benine and Guilherme Lopes, H. taphorni can be distinguished from other members of the genus in having ...an elongate dorsal fin (more evident in adult males) with an anterior dark area; concentration of dark pigments on the distal portion of the second through fourth branched anal-fin rays (resulting in a dark dash in this area); presence of a single humeral spot and caudal spot reaching the tip of the middle caudal-fin rays; premaxillary teeth of the outer row bearing only three cusps; three scale rows below the lateral line....
The new species is a member of the H. unilineatus species-group and is known only from the Caura River, a tributary of the Orinoco River in Venezuela.
Hemigrammus taphorni is named after the Venezuelan ichthyologist Donald Taphorn, who first collected this species.
For more information, see the paper: Benine, RC and GAM Lopes (2007) A new species of Hemigrammus Gill, 1858 (Characiformes: Characidae) from Ro Caura, Venezuela. Zootaxa 1610, pp. 53"59.