Two new species of Jupiaba tetras from the Tapajós and Madeira river drainages have been described by Brazilian ichthyologists in a recent issue of the journal Zootaxa.
Andre Netto-Ferreira, Angela Zanata, Jose Birindelli and Leandro Sousa name the two new tetras Jupiaba iasy and J. paranatinga.
Jupiaba iasy, from the Tapajós and Madeira river drainages, is distinguished from congeners by a color pattern consisting of a single posteriorly displaced dark crescent-shaped humeral blotch, situated over the first 5 to 7 lateral line scales, and an inconspicuous dark spot at the end of caudal peduncle.
It also differs from all remaining Jupiaba by the following combination of characters: 34–36 lateral line scales, 19–21 branched anal-fin rays, 8–10 predorsal scales arranged in a regular row, six rows of scales above and four below the lateral line, body depth 32.3–36.1% standard length, and the absence of filamentous extensions in the first dorsal and anal-fin rays.
Jupiaba iasy is named after the goddess of the moon in Tupi mythology, in allusion to the crescentic humeral blotch. According to the authors, this species was collected over sandy beaches, where it was found to feed chiefly on aquatic invertebrates.
Jupiaba paranatinga, from the Tapajós River drainage, is distinguished from congeners in having a combination of: 34–35 lateral line scales, two vertically elongate humeral blotches, a conspicuous spot at the end of the caudal peduncle extending over 8–10 median caudal-fin rays, eye diameter 43.7–46.9% head length, and body depth 31.3–35.5% standard length.
Jupiaba paranatinga is named after the former name of the type locality (Paranatinga River, now Teles Pires River), where it was collected over sandy beaches and found to feed on aquatic invertebrates and plants.
For more information, see the paper: Netto-Ferreira, AL, AM Zanata, JO Birindelli and LM Sousa (2009) Two new species of Jupiaba (Characiformes: Characidae) from the rio Tapajós and rio Madeira drainages, Brazil, with an identification key to species of the genus. Zootaxa 2262, pp. 53–68.