Two new, remarkably colored species of the Neotropical catfish genus Cetopsorhamdia Eigenmann & Fisher, 1916 (Siluriformes, Heptapteridae) from Chapada dos Parecis, western Brazil, with an assessment of the morphological characters bearing on their phylogenetic relationships

Two new species of heptapterid catfish genus Cetopsorhamdia are described from close localities in western Brazil, at Chapada dos Parecis, an area with extremely high level of endemism. One species is from the upper Rio Madeira system, Rondônia State, and the other from the upper Rio Tapajós system, Mato Grosso State. The two species are diagnosed, among several other features, by their markedly distinctive color patterns, with the former having well-defined quadrangular marks in trunk flanks while the latter bearing irregular, vertical bars along the trunk. The monophyly of Cetopsorhamdia is discussed, with two putative synapomorphies being proposed to support the genus. Potentially informative morphological characters to resolve the internal relationships of the genus are presented and discussed. Despite the striking external differences between the two species herein described, they are found to likely form a clade

Phylogenetic relationships of Chanidae (Teleostei: Gonorynchiformes) as impacted by Dastilbe moraesi, from the Sanfranciscana basin, Early Cretaceous of Brazil

Fossil gonorynchiform fishes range from the Lower Cretaceous to the early Miocene, and are represented by a few dozen living species. The order is currently divided into two major clades: Gonorynchoidei, which includes the families Gonorynchidae and Kneriidae, and Chanoidei, encompassing a single family, Chanidae, with a single recent species, the Indo-Pacific Chanos chanos, and several fossil taxa. Chanidae includes some poorly known taxa, such as Dastilbe moraesi, described from the Aptian (Lower Cretaceous) of the Areado Formation, Sanfranciscana basin, Brazil. This species is currently considered to be a junior synonym of the type species of its genus, Dastilbe crandalli, from Santana Formation, Aptian, northeastern Brazil. The analysis of abundant D. moraesi specimens revealed several new morphological features, many of which had previously been misinterpreted. Dastilbe moraesi was incorporated into a gonorynchiform character matrix as revised and modified for the Chanidae. We obtained a single most parsimonious tree in which D. moraesi is distinct and phylogenetically apart from D. crandalli. According our analysis, D. moraesi forms a sister pair with Chanos, a clade which is closely related to Tharrhias, all composing the tribe ChaniniGonorynchiformes fósseis ocorrem desde do Cretáceo inferior ao Mioceno inferior, e são representados por alguns representantes viventes. A ordem está dividida atualmente em dois clados principais: Gonorynchoidei, que inclui as famílias Gonorynchidae e Kneriidae, e Chanoidei, compreendendo uma única família, Chanidae, com uma única espécie vivente, Chanos chanos, do Indo-Pacífico, além de vários representantes fósseis. Chanidae inclui alguns táxons problemáticos, tais como Dastilbe moraesi, descrito do Aptiano (Cretáceo Inferior) da Formação Areado, bacia Sanfranciscana, Brasil. Esta espécie é atualmente considerada um sinônimo júnior da espécie-tipo de seu gênero, Dastilbe crandalli, da Formação Santana, Aptiano do nordeste do Brasil. A análise de abundante material de D. moraesi revelou várias novas características anatômicas, muitas das quais haviam sido previamente mal interpretadas. Dastilbe moraesi foi incorporado em uma matriz revisada de caracteres da família Chanidae. Nós obtivemos uma única árvore mais parcimoniosa na qual D. moraesi é distinto e filogeneticamente distante de D. crandalli. De acordo com nossa análise, D. moraesi é o grupo-irmão de Chanos, um clado intimamente relacionado a Tharrhias, com todos compondo a tribo ChaniniThis study was supported by CNPq (process # 401818/2010-1) and project CGL2013-42643P, Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación de Españ

The earliest iconographic record of Gobioides broussonnetii La Cepède, 1800 (Gobiiformes: Gobiidae): the species identity of the “Caramuru” paintings of Dutch Brazil (1624-1654)

During the Mauritian period of Dutch Brazil (1637‑1644), a great deal of information about the biota of northeastern Brazil was obtained, consisting of both written records and paintings. Among them is an eel-like fish, depicted in two paintings labeled “Caramurû” and “Caramuru”, whose taxonomic identity is controversial. One of them, attributed to Albert Eckhout, is part of the Theatrum Rerum Naturalium Brasiliae collection, stored at the Jagiellonian University Library, in Poland. This painting was possibly a model for the second “Caramuru”, of unknown authorship, which is deposited at the Archive of the Russian Academy of Sciences. These paintings are doubtfully identified as the snake eel Echiophis intertinctus (Ophichthidae, Anguilliformes), a proposal likely induced by the vulgar name “caramuru”, which is applied to muraenids and ophichthids in Brazil. After careful examination of these two paintings regarding the anatomical details depicted, we concluded that the fish corresponds, with great certainty, to Gobioides broussonnetii (Gobiidae, Gobiiformes), popularly known as “aimoré” and “tajasica”. Furthermore, we suggest the possibility that the written counterpart of these paintings is the description associated with the woodcut of the fish labeled as “Tajasica” in the Historia Naturalis Brasiliae (Marggraf in de Laet, 1648). The confusion probably stems from mismatches between Georg Marggraf’s descriptions and the images of organisms produced at the time, perhaps before the return of Johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen’s entourage to Europe. In an attempt to support our conclusions about the identity of that fish, as well as for historical purposes, we also discuss the vernacular names applied to G. broussonnetii and the authorship of the notes made on those paintings

Trichomycterus maracaya, a new catfish from the upper rio Paraná, southeastern Brazil (Siluriformes: Trichomycteridae), with notes on the T. brasiliensis species-complex

Trichomycterus maracaya, a new species of Trichomycteridae, is described from a streamlet in the upper rio Paraná, Poços de Caldas, State of Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil. The following putative autapomorphies distinguishes T. maracaya from congeneric species: 1) row of lateral blotches not forming a stripe at any phase during ontogeny; 2) superficial layer of pigmentation of juveniles and large (presumably adults) specimens consisting solely of scattered chromatophores. Furthermore, the new species is characterized by a combination of yellow ground color in life and mottled pattern formed by small to medium-sized, brown, irregularly-coalescent, well-defined deeper-lying blotches, and more superficial dots on the body. Trichomycterus maracaya is assigned to the T. brasiliensis species-complex (which includes T. brasiliensis, T. iheringi, T. mimonha, T. potschi, T. vermiculatus, and several undescribed species apparently endemic to the main river basins draining the Brazilian Shield) based on the presence of: 1) blotches in four longitudinal rows of deeper-lying pigmentation on the trunk large, horizontally-elongated, and well-defined; 2) pectoral fin with I+5-6 rays; 3) separation between the anterior and posterior cranial fontanels by the primordial epiphyseal cartilaginous bar being present only in larger specimens; and 4) pelvic-fin bases very close to each other, sometimes in contact.Trichomycterus maracaya, uma espécie nova de Trichomycteridae, é descrita de exemplares obtidos num riacho do alto rio Paraná, Poços de Caldas, Estado de Minas Gerais, sudeste do Brasil. As seguintes supostas autapomorfias distinguem T. maracaya de outras espécies do gênero: 1) fileira de manchas laterais que não se fundem em listra em nenhuma fase da ontogenia; 2) camada superficial de pigmentação de juvenis e exemplares maiores (supostamente adultos) consistindo somente de cromatóforos dispersos. Além disso, a nova espécie é caracterizada pela combinação de coloração de fundo amarela em vida e padrão mosqueado, formado por manchas castanhas pequenas a médias bem definidas e aglutinadas irregularmente, situadas em camada mais profunda do tegumento, além de pontos mais superficiais espalhados pelo corpo. Trichomycterus maracaya é aqui designada ao complexo de espécies T. brasiliensis (que inclui T. brasiliensis, T. iheringi, T. mimonha, T. potschi e T. vermiculatus, além de várias espécies não descritas, aparentemente endêmicas às bacias dos rios principais que drenam o Escudo Brasileiro), com base em: 1) manchas horizontalmente alongadas, grandes e bem definidas, situadas mais profundamente no tegumento e dispostas em quatro fileiras longitudinais no corpo; 2) nadadeira peitoral com I+5-6 raios; 3) separação entre as fontanelas cranianas anterior e posterior, por barra cartilaginosa primordial da epífise, apenas nos exemplares maiores; e 4) bases das nadadeiras pélvicas muito próximas uma da outra, por vezes em contato.617

Two new, remarkably colored species of the Neotropical catfish genus Cetopsorhamdia Eigenmann & Fisher, 1916 (Siluriformes, Heptapteridae) from Chapada dos Parecis, western Brazil, with an assessment of the morphological characters bearing on their phylogenetic relationships

Bockmann, Flávio A., Reis, Roberto E. (2021): Two new, remarkably colored species of the Neotropical catfish genus Cetopsorhamdia Eigenmann & Fisher, 1916 (Siluriformes, Heptapteridae) from Chapada dos Parecis, western Brazil, with an. Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia (Pap. Avulsos Zool., S. Paulo) 61: 1-33, DOI: 10.11606/1807-0205/2021.61.56, URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.11606/1807-0205/2021.61.5

Photography-based taxonomy is inadequate, unnecessary, and potentially harmful for biological sciences

The question whether taxonomic descriptions naming new animal species without type specimen(s) deposited in collections should be accepted for publication by scientific journals and allowed by the Code has already been discussed in Zootaxa (Dubois & Nemésio 2007; Donegan 2008, 2009; Nemésio 2009a–b; Dubois 2009; Gentile & Snell 2009; Minelli 2009; Cianferoni & Bartolozzi 2016; Amorim et al. 2016). This question was again raised in a letter supported by 35 signatories published in the journal Nature (Pape et al. 2016) on 15 September 2016. On 25 September 2016, the following rebuttal (strictly limited to 300 words as per the editorial rules of Nature) was submitted to Nature, which on 18 October 2016 refused to publish it. As we think this problem is a very important one for zoological taxonomy, this text is published here exactly as submitted to Nature, followed by the list of the 493 taxonomists and collection-based researchers who signed it in the short time span from 20 September to 6 October 2016

Brazilian legislation on genetic heritage harms biodiversity convention goals and threatens basic biology research and education

Univ Fed Rio de Janeiro, Museu Nacl, Dept Bot, Quinta Boa Vista S-N, BR-20940040 Rio de Janeiro, RJ, BrazilUniv Fed Rio de Janeiro, Museu Nacl, Dept Vertebrados, Quinta Boa Vista S-N, BR-20940040 Rio de Janeiro, RJ, BrazilInst Oswaldo Cruz, Fundacao Oswaldo Cruz, Ave Brasil 4365, BR-21040360 Rio De Janeiro, RJ, BrazilUniv Fed Rural Rio De Janeiro, Inst Biol, Dept Biol Anim, BR-23851970 Seropedica 74503, RJ, BrazilUniv Fed Rio de Janeiro, Museu Nacl, Dept Geol & Paleontol, Lab Sistemat & Tafon Vertebrados Fosseis, Quinta,Boa Vista S-N, BR-20940040 Rio de Janeiro, RJ, BrazilMuseu Paraense Emilio Goeldi, Coordenacao Zool, Av Magalhaes Barata 376, BR-66040170 Belem, PA, BrazilUniv Fed Paraiba, Ctr Ciencias Exatas & Nat, Dept Sistemat & Ecol, UFPB,CCEN, Campus 1, BR-58059900 Joao Pessoa, Paraiba, BrazilCtr Pesquisa Aggeu Magalhaes, Ctr Pesquisas Aggeu Magalhaes, Fundacao Oswaldo Cruz, Av Prof Moraes Rego S-N, BR-50670420 Recife, PE, BrazilInst Nacl de Pesquisas da Amazonia, Programa Colecoes & Acervos Cient, Av Andre Araujo 2936, BR-69060001 Manaus, AM, BrazilUniv Fed Rio de Janeiro, Dept Zool, UFRJ, CCS, Bloco A, BR-21941590 Rio De Janeiro, RJ, BrazilUniv Estado Rio de Janeiro, Inst Biol, Dept Ecol, Rua Sao Francisco Xavier 524, BR-20550019 Rio De Janeiro, RJ, BrazilUniv Sao Paulo, Museu Zool USP, Lab Diptera, Av Nazare 481,Sala 404, BR-04263000 Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilUniv Estadual Paulista, Dept Zool, 12, Av 24 A,1515, BR-13506900 Rio Claro, SP, BrazilUniv Estadual Paulista, Ctr Aquicultura, 12, Av 24 A,1515, BR-13506900 Rio Claro, SP, BrazilInst Nacl Canc, Coordenacao Pesquisa, Rua Andre Cavalcanti 37,4 Andar, BR-20231050 Rio De Janeiro, RJ, BrazilUniv Estadual Paulista, Lab Ecol & Comportamento Anuros, Dept Morfol & Fisiol Anim, Fac Ciencias Agr & Vet, Via Acesso Prof Paulo Donato Castellane Km 05, BR-14884900 Jaboticabal, SP, BrazilUniv Fed Fronteira Sul, Rua Jacob Reinaldo Haupenthal 1580, BR-97900000 Cerro Largo, RS, BrazilUniv Estadual Paulista, Dept Zool & Botan, Inst Biociencias Letras & Ciencias Exatas, BR-15054000 Sao Jose Do Rio Preto, SP, BrazilUniv Fed Minas Gerais, Inst Ciencias Biol, Dept Biol Geral, Av Antonio Carlos 6627,CP 486,Sala L3-244, BR-31270010 Belo Horizonte, MG, BrazilUniv Fed Juiz De Fora, Inst Ciencias Biol, Dept Bot, Campus Univ, BR-36036900 Juiz De Fora, MG, BrazilUniv Sao Paulo, FFCLRP, Dept Biol, Av Bandeirantes 3900, BR-14040901 Ribeirao Preto, SP, BrazilInst Butantan, Lab Especial Colecoes Zool, Av Dr Vital Brasil 1500, BR-05503900 Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilUniv Fed Vicosa, Ctr Ciencias Biol & Saude, Campus Univ S-N, BR-36570000 Vicosa, MG, BrazilUniv Brasilia, Dept Zool, Inst Ciencias Biol, BR-70910900 Brasilia, DF, BrazilInst Chico Mendes Conservacao Biodiversidade ICMB, Reserva Biol Guaribas, PB 071,Km 01 Estrada Jacarau, BR-58280000 Mamanguape, PB, BrazilFundacao Oswaldo Cruz, Estrada Rodrigues Caldas 3400, BR-22713375 Rio De Janeiro, RJ, BrazilUniv Fed Uberlandia, Pesquisa, Rua Ceara S-N, BR-38400902 Uberlandia, MG, BrazilUniv Estadual Campinas, Multiusuario Bioacust, Lab Hist Nat Anfibios Brasileiros, Dept Biol Anim,Inst Biol, BR-13083970 Campinas, SP, BrazilUniv Fed Rio Grande do Sul, Inst Biociencias, Soc Brasileira Ictiol, Dept Zool,Agron, Av Bento Goncalves 9500, BR-91501970 Porto Alegre, RS, BrazilUniv Fed Rio de Janeiro, Museu Nacl, Dept Entomol, Quinta,Boa Vista S-N, BR-20940040 Rio De Janeiro, RJ, BrazilUniv Sao Paulo, Inst Biociencias, Soc Brasileira Herpetol, Dept Ecol, Rua Matao,Trav 14, BR-05508090 Sao Paulo, BrazilUniv Fed Sao Joao Del Rei, Dept Ciencias Nat, Praca Dom Helvecio 74, BR-36301160 Sao Joao Del Rei, MG, BrazilUniv Sao Paulo, Museu Zool USP, Dept Vertebrados, Av Nazare 481,Caixa Postal 42494, BR-05422970 Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilUniv Estadual Santa Cruz, Dept Ciencias Biol, Km 16, BR-45662900 Ilheus, BA, BrazilInst Nacl Pesquisas Espaciais, Coordenacao Ciencia Sistema Terrestre, Ave Astronautas 1758, BR-12227010 Sao Jose Dos Campos, SP, BrazilPontificia Univ Catol Rio Grande Sul, Escola Ciencias, Av Ipiranga 6681,Predio 40,Sala 110, BR-90619900 Porto Alegre, RS, BrazilUniv Fed Goias, Inst Ciencias Biol, Lab Ecol & Comportamento Anim, Dept Ecol, BR-74000970 Goiania, Go, BrazilUniv Estadual Paulista, Dept Zool, 12, Av 24 A,1515, BR-13506900 Rio Claro, SP, BrazilUniv Estadual Paulista, Ctr Aquicultura, 12, Av 24 A,1515, BR-13506900 Rio Claro, SP, BrazilUniv Estadual Paulista, Lab Ecol & Comportamento Anuros, Dept Morfol & Fisiol Anim, Fac Ciencias Agr & Vet, Via Acesso Prof Paulo Donato Castellane Km 05, BR-14884900 Jaboticabal, SP, BrazilUniv Estadual Paulista, Dept Zool & Botan, Inst Biociencias Letras & Ciencias Exatas, BR-15054000 Sao Jose Do Rio Preto, SP, Brazi