Neoplecostomus paraty, Cherobim & Lazzarotto & Langeani, 2016

Cherobim, Arieli Matheus, Lazzarotto, Henrique & Langeani, Francisco, 2016, A new species of the catfish Neoplecostomus (Loricariidae: Neoplecostominae) from a coastal drainage in southeastern Brazil, Neotropical Ichthyology (Neotrop. Ichthyol.) 14 (4), No. e 160015, pp. 1-12 : 2-8

Neoplecostomus paraty , new species

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Fig. 1

Neoplecostomus sp. Pereira et al., 2003: 8 (rio Carrasquinho below the Cachoeira do Tobogã, upper Perequê-Açú basin, collected with Hemipsilichthys nimius ).

Neoplecostomus parati Malabarba & Lundberg, 2007: 264 (MCP 32149, name listed in comparative material, not satisfying provisions of Article 13 of ICZN; a nomen nudum, not available).

Neoplecostomus P sp. n. Pereira, 2008: 28 (species included in phylogenetic analysis).

Holotype. DZSJRP 20429, 82.2 mm SL, male, Brazil, Rio de Janeiro State, Parati Municipality, coastal drainage, rio Perequê- Açú affluent, stream on the road Parati-Cunha , Serra da Bocaina National Park , 23°11’54”S 44°49’48”W, altitude 378 m, 27 May 2015, F. Langeani, A. M. Cherobim, H. Lazzarotto & A. Angulo.

Paratypes. All from Brazil, Rio de Janeiro State, Parati Municipality, coastal drainage. Rio Perequê-Açú basin: DZSJRP 12481, 10, 44.2-75.3 mm SL (3, 53.5-75.3 mm SL), 1 c&s (53.5 mm SL, female), tissue samples of 3 specimens, stream on the road Parati-Cunha , near the Serra da Bocaina National Park , 23°12’53.5”S 44°47’29.0”W, altitude 179 m, 20 May 2010, F. Langeani, M. C. Chiachio & F. O. Martins. DZSJRP 13914, 8, 32.4- 68.3 mm SL (3, 55.7-68.3 mm SL), 1 c&s (59.6 mm SL, male), tissue samples of 2 specimens (included in the molecular analysis), stream on the road Parati-Cunha, Penha neighborhood, near Serra da Bocaina National Park , 23°12’53.7”S 44°47’28.6”W, altitude 179 m, 2 Jun 2011, F. Langeani, M. C. Chiachio & F. O. Martins. DZSJRP 18726, 2, 59.3-75.1 mm SL (all measured), stream on the road Parati-Cunha, in front of the Cantina das Pedras Bar, 23°12’53.5”S 44°47’29.0”W, altitude 179 m, 6 Jul 2013, F. Langeani, B. N. Andrade & A. M. Cherobim. DZSJRP 18733, 1, 35.8 mm SL (not measured), stream on the road Parati-Cunha, near the village, 23°13’28”S 44°46’32”W, altitude 38 m, 6 Jul 2013, F. Langeani, B. N. Andrade & A. M. Cherobim. DZSJRP 20425, 2, 86.8-92.0 mm SL (all measured), rio Perequê-Açú , at the end of the branch road on the road Parati-Cunha, 5 km from the SP/RJ border, Serra da Bocaina National Park , 23°11’29”S 44°50’41”W, altitude 1043 m, 27 May 2015, F. Langeani, A. M. Cherobim, H. Lazzarotto & A. Angulo. DZSJRP 20433, 11, 35.7-66.6 mm SL (5, 51.8- 66.6 mm SL), tissue sample of 1 specimen (included in the molecular analysis), rio Carrasquinho , road Parati- Cunha, 23°12’34”S 44°47’39”W, altitude 296 m, 27 May 2015, F. Langeani, A. M. Cherobim, H. Lazzarotto & A. Angulo. MCP 49449, 19 , 24.6-61.2 mm SL (7, 51.1-61.2 mm SL), originally DZSJRP 20433. MNRJ 24914 , 3 , 46.8-62.8 mm SL, (1, 62.8 mm SL), rio Carrasquinho , Penha neighborhood, 800 m upstream of Poço do Tarzan , 23°12’33”S 44°47’38”W, 20 Feb 2003, H. L. Almeida, U. Fidélis & G. Southern. MNRJ 41726 , 5 , 47.3-68.6 mm SL (4, 50.5-68.6 mm), 1 c&s (50.5 mm SL, female), rio Carrasquinho , road Parati-Cunha , downstream of Penha , 23°12’49”S 44°47’29”W, 24 Jun 2013, R. Souza-Lima & R. R. Rodrigues Junior. MNRJ 44219 , 4 , 62.0- 70.4 mm SL (all measured), Córrego do Sousa , second entrance in the road Caminho do Ouro , near km 9.5, right on the road Parati-Cunha , 23°12’9.8”S 44°48’15.0”W, altitude 417 m, 27 Apr 2014, R. Souza-Lima , R. R. Rodrigues Júnior & F. V. Guimarães. Rio Graúna basin: DZSJRP 20440, 2, 83.0- 90.6 mm SL (all measured), stream on the right bank of rio Graúna , Graúna’s village , 23°08’58”S 44°43’55”W, altitude 89 m, 28 May 2015, F. Langeani, A. M. Cherobim, H. Lazzarotto & A. Angulo. Rio Corisco or Mateus Nunes basin: DZSJRP 20442, 22, 35.4-79.3 mm SL (8, 51.0- 79.3 mm SL), tissue sample of 3 specimens, rio Corisco or Mateus Nunes , 23°15’16”S 44°48’18”W, altitude 386 m, 28 May 2015, F. Langeani, A. M. Cherobim, H. Lazzarotto & A. Angulo .

Non-types. MNRJ 41727 , 12 , 30.6-67.5 mm SL (7, 50.1- 67.5 mm SL), 1c&s (52.0 mm SL, male), rio Carrasquinho , branch road “Caminho do Ouro em Mãe da Água”. The specimens of the lot MNRJ 41727 were measured and counted, but they are not included in the type series due to poor preservation .

Diagnosis. Neoplecostomus paraty differs from most congeners by having the accessory process of ceratobranchial 1 more slender than the main body of the ceratobranchial (vs. accessory process with same width as main body of ceratobranchial in all other Neoplecostomus species , except N. corumba , N. jaguari and N. ribeirensis ) ( Fig. 2 ), and a very large sesamoid ossification (rarely small), markedly greater than interhyal (vs. smaller than interhyal in other congeners, except N. ribeirensis and N. yapo ) ( Fig. 3 ). The new species is further diagnosed by having well-developed adipose fin (vs. absent or poorlydeveloped in N. paranensis and N. botucatu ); one or two large plates between the humeral process of the cleithrum and the first plate of the lateral series (vs. two or three large plates, arranged in a line, with several small plates above them in N. franciscoensis and N. ribeirensis ); lacking enlarged odontodes and distinct swollen skin along the lateral margins of the snout in mature males (vs. present in N. selenae and N. yapo ); lacking moderate keels along the lateral plate series (vs. present in N. bandeirante ); lacking enlarged fleshy folds between the dentaries (vs. present in N. doceensis ); lacking a extra plate with a channel between the canal plate and ventral extremity of the preopercle (vs. present in N. ribeirensis ); 29-34 lateral-line plates (vs. 34-43 in N. granosus ) and orbital diameter 7.8-10.7% of HL (vs. 12.2-13.0 in N. corumba ). Additionally, N. paraty presents a distinct dorsal color pattern: a conspicuous horseshoe shaped light blotch posterior to the supraoccipital, with a central dark area which rarely contacts the edge of the light area ( Fig. 1 ). Furthermore, three other lighter areas with a central dark spot are located at the dorsal-fin base, posterior to dorsal fin, and posterior to the adipose fin.

Description. Measurements and counts given in Table 1. Body elongated and depressed. Greatest body width at cleithrum, narrowing to caudal peduncle. Dorsal body profile gently convex, elevating from snout tip to dorsalfin origin and descending to first caudal-fin ray. Greatest body depth at dorsal-fin origin. Trunk and caudal peduncle dorsally rounded in cross section. Body ventrally flattened to anal-fin origin, flattened to slightly ascending towards caudal fin. Dorsal surface of body completely covered by dermal plates, except for naked area around dorsal-fin base. Snout tip with small naked area. Ventral head surface naked except by canal plate ahead of gill openings. Abdomen with conspicuous and small dermal platelets between insertions of pectoral and pelvic fins, forming thoracic shield (heptagonal- or hexagonal-shaped), surrounded by naked areas. One or two plates, arranged linearly and surrounded by naked areas (rarely with one to three small plates in front of them), between humeral process of cleithrum and first plate of lateral series (only exception in left side of holotype - four plates in line and two small ones in front of them).

Head wide and moderately depressed. Head and snout weakly rounded in dorsal view. Interorbital space slightly convex in frontal view. One median ridge from snout tip to area between nares, another one from posterior naris to anterior margin of orbit. Snout convex in lateral profile. Eye moderately small (7.8-10.7% of HL), dorsolaterally placed. Iris operculum present. Lips well developed and rounded, covered by papillae. Lower lip not reaching pectoral girdle. Two or three irregular rows of papillae posterior to dentary teeth; papillae large, conspicuous and transversally flattened. Maxillary barbel short, coalesced with lower lip, and generally bifurcated in free portion (some specimens only with fold of skin instead). Teeth long, slender and bicuspid; mesial cusp longer than lateral. Dentary rami forming an angle of approximately 120°.

Dorsal-fin ii,7; origin posterior to vertical passing through pelvic-fin origin. Nuchal plate not covered by skin. Dorsalfin spinelet generally present, half-moon shaped and wider than dorsal-fin first ray base, absent in some specimens; dorsal-fin locking mechanism absent. Dorsal-fin posterior margin slightly falcate, reaching or surpassing vertical through end of pelvic-fin rays when adpressed. Adipose fin present and well developed, preceded by none, one or two azygous plates. Pectoral-fin i,6; with depressed and inward curved unbranched ray, shorter than longest branched ray. Pectoral-fin posterior margin slightly falcate, reaching or nearly reaching half pelvic-fin length when adpressed. Pelvic-fin i,5; posterior margin nearly straight, reaching or nearly reaching anal-fin insertion when adpressed. Pelvicfin unbranched ray ventrally flattened, with dermal flap on dorsal surface in males. Pectoral and pelvic-fin unbranched rays with odontodes on lateral and ventral portions. Analfin i,5; posterior margin nearly straight. Anal-fin unbranched ray only with ventral odontodes. Caudal-fin i,7,7,i; bifurcate; lower lobe longer than upper. Vertebrae 31-32 (32).

Coloration. Dorsal surface ground color yellowish with light or dark brown blotches. Head with straight yellowish line from snout tip to anterior nares. Another large, less conspicuous and more laterally placed line running from snout border to slightly posterior of nares transverse line. Three other light areas between and around eyes and posterior to opercle and preopercle. Body with four transverse dark brown stripes at anterior portion of dorsalfin base and a little posterior; at posterior portion of dorsalfin base; from vertical through posterior portion of anal-fin base to adipose-fin spine; and at caudal peduncle.

Posterior to supraoccipital, a conspicuous light and horseshoe shaped spot with dark center ( Fig. 4a ), slightly faded in some specimens ( Fig. 4b ). Between dorsal dark stripes, three other lighter areas with dark blotches. Juveniles lacking dark blotches or with blotches only slightly demarcated ( Fig. 4a ). Ventral surface of head and body yellowish medially; light brown laterally from snout tip to region just anterior of anus; light brown posterior of anus to the caudal peduncle. All fins with irregular dark brown areas; sometimes forming inconspicuous transverse stripes. Adipose fin with dark brown spine and hyaline membrane.

Sexual dimorphism. Males with a dermal flap on the anterior dorsal surface of the pelvic fin and a short urogenital papilla posterior to anus, as common for other Neoplecostomus species.

Geographic distribution. Neoplecostomus paraty is known from four small coastal drainages: rio Mateus Nunes (also named rio Corisco), rio Perequê-Açú, rio Graúna, and rio Taquari, Parati, Rio de Janeiro State, southeastern Brazil ( Fig. 5 ).

Ecological notes. Neoplecostomus paraty was found in streams draining the Serra da Bocaina mountain range in the Parati Municipality, with clear and cold water, direct sunlight, fast flow, large rocks at the bottom, depths between 10 to 50 cm and moderate riparian vegetation ( Fig. 6 ). Some sites in the Parati Municipality are probably among the lowest altitudes (e. g. 38 m) at which Neoplecostomus species have been collected, since the genus commonly occurs at altitudes higher than 700 m. Other loricariids collected together with N. paraty are: Kronichthys heylandi (Boulenger 1900) , Pareiorhina sp. , Hemipsilichthys nimius Pereira, Reis, Souza & Lazzarotto 2003 and Schizolecis guntheri (Miranda Ribeiro 1918) .

Etymology. The specific epithet refers to “Paraty”, the original spelling of the municipality of Parati, Rio de Janeiro. Paraty (or Paratii) derived from the Tupi “parati” (the mullet Mugil curema Valenciennes, 1836 ) and “i” (river). A noun in apposition.

Conservation status. Neoplecostomus paraty occurs in four small and independent coastal drainages which run through unprotected land and also some conservation areas, such as Serra da Bocaina National Park and Serra do Mar State Park. The extent to which these conservation areas protect this species is unknown. Outside these parks (and to some extent also within these parks) streams and rivers are threatened by a range of anthropogenic threats associated with urbanization and the growth of the tourist industry, including Parati-Cunha road construction ( Avena, 2003). Although N. paraty does not meet the criteria for any category of threat (IUCN, 2016), its highly endemic status demands special attention regarding conservation actions, and highlights the importance of the maintenance and even expansion of the protected areas in the region.

Molecular analyses. Partial sequences of the COI gene were taken from 21 specimens, resulting in a matrix with 663 base pairs (bp) from which 559 sites were invariant, 97 were variable, and 35 were parsimony informative. The nucleotide frequencies were, on average, 23.3% adenine, 25.7% thymine, 30.7% cytosine and 20.3% guanine. A single haplotype was found in both N. paraty and the population of N. microps from rio Guapi-Açu basin, whereas two haplotypes were found in both populations of N. microps from rio Paraíba do Sul and rio Macaé, totaling 6 haplotypes throughout the specimens sequenced. Molecular distances among all assessed populations are given in Table 2.

Considering the specimens from each basin as separate species or evolutionary units, the intraspecific distance values were zero for N. paraty and N. microps from Guapi- Açu and 0.15% for both N. microps from rio Paraíba do Sul and rio Macaé, due to a single nucleotide different on one specimen each.

A maximum-likelihood analysis showed that haplotypes from each basin are separate lineages well-suported by high bootstrap values ( Fig. 7 ). Lower bootstrap values occur for the clades including more than one lineage within N. microps , suggesting that it may be a species complex. The analysis indicates, however, that N. paraty is the sister taxon to a clade containing all populations of N. microps .

Figures

Fig. 1. Holotype of Neoplecostomus paraty, new species, DZSJRP 20429, 82.2 mm SL, male, stream on the road Parati- Cunha, affluent of rio Perequê-Açú, Serra da Bocaina National Park, Parati, Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil.

Fig. 2. Branchial skeleton in dorsal view, showing the accessory process of ceratobranchial 1 (black arrow) in (a) Neoplecostomus paraty, DZSJRP 13914, 59.6 mm SL, male and (b) Neoplecostomus microps, DZSJRP 2144, 62.8 mm SL, female. Scale bars = 1 mm.

Fig. 3. Right suspensorium in mesial view, showing the size of the sesamoid ossification (black arrow) compared to the size of the interhyal (white arrow) (a) Neoplecostomus paraty, DZSJRP 13914, 59.6 mm SL, male and (b) Neoplecostomus microps, DZSJRP 2144, 62.8 mm SL, female. Scale bars = 1 mm.

Fig. 4. Color pattern variation in dorsal view of (a) Neoplecostomus paraty, DZSJRP 12481, 58.9 mm SL, female, (b) Neoplecostomus paraty, DZSJRP 18726, 75.1 mm SL, male, and (c) Neoplecostomus microps, DZSJRP 13913, 91.6 mm SL, male. Detail of the light blotch, horseshoe shaped, with a central dark area (white arrow), posterior to supraoccipital.

Fig. 5. Southeastern Brazil showing geographic distribution of Neoplecostomus paraty (red circle) and Neoplecostomus microps (white circle). Type locality indicated by yellow circle. Symbols can represent more than one locality.

Fig. 6. Stream on the road Parati-Cunha, Penha neighborhood, near Serra da Bocaina National Park, rio Perequê-Açú affluent, coastal drainage, Parati Municipality, Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil, near the type locality of Neoplecostomus paraty.

Fig. 7. Maximum-likelihood tree for the mitochondrial DNA gene Cytochrome Oxidase C subunit 1 for specimens of Neoplecostomus microps from rio Paraíba do Sul, rio Guapi- Açu and rio Macaé, and of Neoplecostomus paraty, using TN93+G model (n=21). Neoplecostomus paranensis and Neoplecostomus ribeirensis were used as outgroups.