Hypostomus velhomonge, Lustosa-Costa & Ramos & Zawadzki & Lima, 2022

Lustosa-Costa, Silvia Yasmin, Ramos, Telton Pedro Anselmo, Zawadzki, Cláudio Henrique & Lima, Sergio Maia Queiroz, 2022, Review of the armoured catfish genus Hypostomus (Siluriformes: Loricariidae) from the Parnaíba River basin, Northeastern Brazil, with description of a new species, Neotropical Ichthyology (e 210126) 20 (1), pp. 1-26 : 8-16

Hypostomus velhomonge , new species urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:5E1C169B-CA24-460F-8513-BAF6324899CA

( Fig. 3 ; Tab. 2)

Hypostomus sp. 2 . —Ramos et al., 2014 (listed, ichthyofauna of the Parnaíba River). —Silva et al., 2015 (listed, ichthyofauna of the Gurgueia River). —Lima et al., 2017 (listed, ichthyofauna of the Caatinga).

Holotype. UFPB 9565 , 118.0 mm SL, Brazil, Maranhão State, Sambaíba, rio Balsas, tributary of Parnaíba River , 07°08’33”S 45°20’45”W, 8 Feb 2009, T. P. A. Ramos, P. Charvet, R. T. C. Ramos, G. Moro & E. França.

Paratypes. All from Brazil. Parnaíba River basin, Maranhão State. MZUSP 5068 , 3 , 23.5–98.7 mm SL, Grajaú , rio Grajaú , 15 Jun 1966, Department of Zoology Tour. MZUSP 98591 , 1 , 81.2 mm SL, Balsas , rio Balsas , Parnaíba River basin, 07°32’13”S 46°02’20”W, O. T. Oyakawa, A. Akama, V. Garutti & J. C. Nolasco. NUP 15658, 2, 100.3– 108.9 mm SL, collected with holotype. MNRJ 52967 , 5 , 51.9–89.2 mm SL, Alto Parnaíba, Parnaíba River , 09°06’53.8”S 45°55’37.8”W, 6 Feb 2009, T. P. A. Ramos, P. Charvet, R. T. C. Ramos, G. Moro & E. Franca. UFPB 7444 , 10 , 51.9–89.2 mm SL, Alto Parnaíba, Parnaíba River , 09°06’53.8”S 45°55’37.8”W, 6 Feb 2009, T. P. A. Ramos, P. Charvet, R. T. C. Ramos, G. Moro & E. Franca. UFPB 8250 , 19 , 24.6–91.9 mm SL, Alto Parnaíba, Parnaíba River , 09°06’52”S 45°55’35”W, 1 Apr 2010, T. P. A. Ramos & S. A. Q. A. Ramos. UFPB 9567 , 4 , 70.3–96.3 mm SL, Alto Parnaíba, Parnaíba River , 09°06’52”S 45°55’35”W, 24 Apr 2011, T. P. A. Ramos & S. A. Q. A. Ramos. Piauí State. NUP 15948, 11, 45.0– 85.5 mm SL, Alto Parnaíba, at divide to Santa Filomena in Piauí State, Parnaíba River , 09°05’21.4”S 45°55’32.26”W, 9 Aug 2013, C. H. Zawadzki, T. Debona & D. Baumgartner. UFPB 9646 , 21 , 77.7 -107.0 mm SL, collected with holotype. UFPB 8015 , 1 , 61.70–91.2 mm SL, Santa Filomena, Parnaíba River , 09°08’04.2”S 45°55’45.2”W, 15 Sep. 2009, T. P. A. Ramos, M. J. Silva & G. Moro .

Non-types. All from Brazil. Parnaíba River basin, Maranhão State. UFPB 8252, 5, 53.5–70.3 mm SL, São Francisco do Maranhão, Parnaíba River, 06°15’02”S 42°51’19”W, 6 Apr 2010, T. P. A. Ramos & S. A. Q. A. Ramos. UFPB 9547, 1, 71.3 mm SL, Alto Parnaíba, Barra do Brejo village, Parnaíba River, 09°18’16.3”S 45°54’13.0”W, 5 Feb 2009, T. P. A. Ramos, P. Charvet, R. T. C. Ramos, G. Moro & E. Franca. UFPB 9548, 2, 13.1–15.1 mm SL, Cachoeira stream, São Raimundo das Mangabeiras, tributary of Balsas River, 07°2’00.1”S 45°27’52”W, 8 Feb 2009, T. P. A. Ramos, P. Charvet, R. T. C. Ramos, G. Moro & E. Franca. UFRN 5514, 63.71–83.03 mm SL, Muquem stream, Manga, Barão do Grajaú, S. Costa, L. Neto, T. Ramos & Y. Ponce, 10 Dec 2018. UFRN 3092, 23, 14.51–84.50 mm SL, Parnaíba River, Alto Parnaíba, 09°06’54.3”S 45°55’37.8”W, 23 Jun 2014, S. M. Q. Lima, T. P. A. Ramos & M. J. Silva. Piauí State. MNRJ 42593, 3, 61.7–91.2 mm SL, Santa Filomena, Parnaíba River, 09°30’45.3”S 45°20’39.2”W, 15 Sep 2009, T. P. A. Ramos, M. J. Silva & G. Moro. MZUSP 5125, 1, 64.9 mm SL, Teresina, Parnaíba River, 19 Jun 1966, Department of Zoology Tour. MZUSP 74921, 4, 71.6–91.2 mm SL, rio Sorubim, tributary to rio Longá, 17 Nov 2001, M. C. C. De Pinna. NUP 15956, 1, 67.9 mm SL, Corrente, rio Corrente, 10°26’29.4”S 45°10’23.2”W 12 Aug 2013, C. H. Zawadzki & D. Baumbartner. UFPB 8249, 11, 39.9–81.7 mm SL, Santa Filomena, Parnaíba River, 09°08’04.2”S 45°55’45.2”W, 2 Apr 2010, T. P. A. Ramos and S. A. Q. A. Ramos. UFPB 9549, 2, 52.5–66.6 mm SL, Ribeiro Gonçalves, Parnaíba River, 07°33’24.6”S 45°14’58.2”W, Jul 2005, W. Severi. UFPB 9550, 2, 33.4–57.8 mm SL, Amarante, Parnaíba River, 06°14’36.3”S 42°51’24.7”W, Jul 2005, W. Severi. UFPB 9566, 44, 51.3-85.6 mm SL, Santa Filomena, Parnaíba River, 09°08’04.2”S 45°55’45.2”W, 21 Oct 2010, T. P. A. Ramos & S. A. Q. A. Ramos. UFPB 9568, 1, 82.1 mm SL, Ribeiro Gonçalves, Parnaíba River, 07°33’24.6”S 45°14’58.2”W, 23 Apr 2011, T. P. A. Ramos & S. A. Q. A. Ramos. UFRN 2720, 3, 53.9–86.8 mm SL, Rio Corrente, Corrente, 10°25’30.6”S 45°11’47.4”W, 18 Apr 2014, T. Ramos, L. Neto, M. Germano & L. Medeiros. UFRN 2806, 1, 66.5 mm SL, headwaters of Rio Gurguéia, São Gonçalo do Gurguéia, 10°4’38.8”S 45°20’18.2”W, 19 Jun 2014, S. Lima, R. Paiva, M. Silva & Y. Ponce. UFRN 3006, 1, 82.6 mm SL, Rio Uruçuí Vermelho, Barreiras do Piauí, 09°58’53”S, 45°33’11.7”W, 21 Jun 2014, S. Lima, T. Ramos and M. Silva.

Diagnosis. Hypostomus velhomonge differs from congeners, except Hypostomus alatus Castelnau, 1855 , H. arecuta Cardoso, Almirón, Casciotta, Aichino, Lizarralde & Montoya-Burgos, 2012 , H. bolivianus (Pearson 1924) , H. denticulatus Zawadzki, Weber & Pavanelli, 2008 , H. francisci (Lütken, 1874) , H. freirei Penido, Pessali & Zawadzki, 2021 , H. isbrueckeri Reis, Weber & Malabarba, 1990 , H. jaguar Zanata, Sardeiro & Zawadzki, 2013 , H. kuarup Zawadzki, Birindelli & Lima, 2012 , H. leucophaeus Zanata & Pitanga, 2016 , H. luteomaculatus (Devincenzi, 1942) , H. meleagris (Marini, Nichols & LaMonte 1933) , H. multidens Jerep, Shibatta & Zawadzki, 2007 , H. mutucae Knaack, 1999 , H. myersi (Gosline, 1947) , H. Paulinus (Ihering, 1905) , H. regani (Ihering, 1905) , H. strigaticeps (Regan, 1908) , H. ternetzi (Boulenger, 1895) , H. unae (Steindachner, 1878) , H. uruguayensis Reis, Weber & Malabarba, 1990 , and H. yaku Martins, Langeani & Zawadzki, 2014 by having high number of teeth on premaxillary (62–95, mode 73) and dentary (64–110, mode 76) (vs. smaller number of teeth on both premaxillary and dentary, rarely more than 50). Hypostomus velhomonge differs from H. alatus , H. arecuta , H. francisci , H. luteomaculatus , H. meleagris , H. multidens , H. myersi , H. regani , H. sertanejo and H. strigaticeps by having dark spots over body and fins (vs. pale spots). The new species is distinguished from H. bolivianus , H. denticulatus , H. freirei , H. isbrueckeri , H. jaguar , H. johnii , H. ternetzi , H. uruguayensis and H. leucophaeus by having ventral region of head and anteromedial region of abdomen naked, even on larger specimens (vs. ventral region of head and anteromedial region of abdomen covered by plates at least on larger specimens). Additionally, H. velhomonge differs from H. bolivianus by having bicuspid teeth (vs. unicuspid teeth); from H. denticulatus by having teeth with asymmetric cusps (vs. teeth with symmetrical cusps); from H. isbrueckeri by having homogeneous caudal-fin ground color, without marks (vs. yellow band on distal caudal-fin margin in mature males); from H. jaguar by possessing faint, small dark spots on head, the spots, smaller than the pupil (vs. head covered with large spots, larger than the pupil); from

Head length 32.3 32.6–37.6 34.2 1.2 Cleithral width 30.2 29.6–32.9 30.8 0.7 Head depth 17.5 17.2–20.0 18.4 0.7 Interdorsal length 17.0 14.9–22.3 17.0 1.4 Caudal-peduncle length 31.0 29.7–35.1 31.4 1.2 Caudal-peduncle depth 9.8 9.0–10.6 9.9 0.3 Dorsal-spine length 21.7 21.7–27.0 24.8 1.6 Predorsal plates 3 3 3 Plates bordering supraoccipital 2 1–2 1 Dorsal plates below dorsal-fin base 7 7 7 Plates between dorsal and adipose fin 6 6–7 6 Plates between adipose and caudal fin 3 3–4 4 Plates between end of anal-fin base and caudal fin 12 12–13 12 Premaxillary teeth 95 62–95 73

Dentary teeth 110 64–110 76

H. johnii by presenting the caudal-fin ventral lobe slightly longer than dorsal lobe (vs. ventral lobe of caudal-fin much longer than dorsal lobe); from H. ternetzi by having roughly flat interorbital and predorsal region (vs. interorbital and predorsal region with strong median keel); from H. unae by having compressed caudal peduncle, its depth larger than its width at adipose-fin origin (vs. rounded caudal peduncle, its depth equal to its width at adipose-fin origin); from H. vaillanti by having ventral region of head and abdomen usually without spots; dark spots present in few specimens (vs. ventral region of head and abdomen with conspicuous spots in the shape of whole or half rings,); from H. uruguayensis by having one predorsal plate bordering supraoccipital (vs. three predorsal plates bordering supraoccipital). The new species can be distinguished from Hypostomus kuarup by having large dark spots on sides of body, spots similar in length to eye diameter (vs. small dark spots, similar in length to pupil diameter); from H. mutucae by having narrower dentaries, each dentary length about half interorbital width (vs. similar in length to interobital width; see figs. in p. 103 and 106 of Knaack, 1999 and fig. 7 in Zawadzki et al., 2012), by having smaller angle between dentaries, from 115° to 135° (vs. from 160° to 170°), and by having round oral disk (vs. clearly transversally elongated); from H. yaku by lacking hypertrophied odontodes on flanks (vs. hipertrophied odontodes on flanks, more developed in mature males).

Description. Meristic and morphometric data are shown in Tab. 2. Largest specimen examined 120.9 mm SL. Body moderately depressed. Greatest body width at cleithral region, progressively tapering to end of caudal peduncle. Dorsal profile raising slightly convex from tip of snout to dorsal-fin origin; some individuals with a straight area between supraoccipital posterior portion and dorsal-fin origin; slightly concave from dorsal-fin origin to region of dorsal procurrent caudal-fin rays. Head and snout wide and moderately depressed. Head depth approximately half its width at eyes; dorsal region of head totally covered by dermal bones with odontodes. Ventral region of head, scapular bridge and abdomen mostly naked, except for some dispersed few plates at anterior branchial opening, scapular bridge and some plates around pectoral-fin origin and on preanal region in specimens about 100 mm SL ( Fig. 4 ). Inconspicuous bulge formed by mesethmoid from snout tip to upper region between nostrils. Orbit narrow, dorsolaterally positioned, 14.7–18.7% in head length. Supraoccipital with median crest. Predorsal region with three unpaired plates and slightly divergent keel. Dorsal fin II,7; origin slightly anterior to vertical pelvic-fin insertion; dorsal fin when depressed almost to just reaching adipose-fin origin; distal border slightly convex. Pectoral fin I,6; spine long and depressed, reaching 1/3 to half pelvic-fin unbranched ray length, and covered by hypertrophied odontodes on distal region (more developed in larger specimens); distal margin straight. Pelvic fin i,5; unbranched ray long, depressed and slightly curved inward reaching anal-fin insertion. Anal fin, i,5; extending to sixth plate after its origin; distal border slightly thin. Caudal fin i,14,i; emarginate, with ventral unbranched ray equal to slightly longer than dorsal unbranched ray.

Body covered by five lateral series of plates. Dorsal series with keel from its origin to adipose fin. Mid-dorsal series without keel. Median series lacking keel. Median series bearing complete lateral line, with 25 to 26 plates. Mid-ventral series strongly bent until fourth or fifth plates. Ventral series slightly bent to form straight caudal peduncle roof. Tip of snout covered by odontodes, except for a central area similar in size to eye diameter. Adipose fin straight and oriented approximately 30° backward from dorsal surface of caudal peduncle.

Dorsal and lateral region of trunk covered by three predorsal plates and by five longitudinal series of dermal plates. Dorsal series origin below dorsal-fin spine, bent until adipose-fin insertion. Mid-ventral series without keels. Median series with origin at posterior region of scapular bridge, devoid of keels and supporting continuous lateral line. Mid-ventral series with first four to five plates bent. Ventral series bent ventrally. Oral disk round, with numerous small papillae; papillae larger proximally to mouth. Mouth without hypertrophied medial buccal papilla. Maxillary barbel slightly smaller than eye pupil. Dentaries moderately lengthened, angling approximately 115° to 135° to each other. Premaxilla with 62 to 95, and dentary with 64 to 110 teeth; all teeth slender and bifid with internal cusps shorter than external ones. Crowns bent inward mouth.

Coloration in alcohol. Predominant general color light brown. Usually faded dark spots on anterior region of body, larger backwards. Over the head, faded dark, round, close together spots present, with maximum size similar to the pupil, most of them smaller; spots less visible anterior to eyes. Towards posterior portion of body spots reaching similar size to eye diameter, mainly at caudal peduncle region; the spots form somewhat diagonal rows from dorsal to ventral surface, including caudal peduncle. On trunk, some specimens without visible spots. Fins with dark, round spots on spines, soft rays and interradial membranes, predominantly over the latter. Caudal fin with elongate spots, predominantly located on spines and soft rays. Caudal fin spots transversely aligned to form series of concentric semicircles. Dorsal, pectoral and pelvic fins with spots aligned in somewhat irregular series parallel to rays. Spots over spines ranging from 2–3 series (pectoral fin) and from 1–2 (other fins). Abdominal region between pectoral and pelvic girdle, and around anus whitish; area corresponding to girdles light to very light brown; ventral surface of caudal peduncle light brown without spots.

Coloration in life. Color pattern of living specimens similar to individuals preserved in alcohol, except for more brownish gray color on body and fins and conspicuous dark spots in living specimens ( Fig. 5 ).

Geographical distribution. Hypostomus velhomonge is apparently endemic to Parnaíba River basin and, so far, the species has only been found in the upper and middle portions of the basin, restricted to Cerrado areas in the drainage ( Fig. 6 ).

Ecological notes and habitat. Hypostomus velhomonge was recorded in cooccurrence with other loricariids such as H. vaillanti in the Muquém stream, in Barão de Grajaú, Maranhão, with Loricaria parnahybae Steindachner, 1907 and Loricariichthys derbyi Fowler, 1915 in the rio Balsas. All localities where Hypostomus velhomonge were recorded presented riparian forest typical of the Cerrado biome ( Fig. 6 ). The type locality, Balsas River, has clear waters, rocky and sandy substrate and varying amounts of remnants of riparian vegetation.

Etymology. The specific epithet, “velhomonge ”, is a reference to the Parnaíba River, commonly known as ‘Velho Monge’ (Old Monk, in English). One of the versions on the origin of this name portrays that a poet called Costa e Silva gave the river the nickname “Velho Monge” because, when seen from the city of Amarante, the confluence of Canindé River with Parnaíba River forms a landscape that, in profile, reminds the silhouette of a monk and whose foam suggests its long beard. A noun in apposition.

Common names. Cari, acari, bodó.

Conservation status. Hypostomus velhomonge possesses a relatively broad distribution, occurring in the upper and middle portions of the Parnaíba River basin. Therefore, apparently does not match any of the extinction risk it is classified as Least Concern (LC) according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) categories and criteria (IUCN Standards and Petitions Subcommittee, 2019).

Figures

FIGURE 3 | Hypostomus velhomonge, UFPB 9565, holotype, 118.0 mm SL, rio Balsas, tributary of Parnaíba River, Maranhão State, Brazil.

FIGURE 4 | Ontogenetic development of plates from the anteromedial region of Hypostomus johnii and H. velhomonge. A. Hypostomus velhomonge, UFPB 8015, 73.58 mm SL; B. H. johnii UFPB 9535, 71.81 mm SL; C. H. velhomonge, UFPB 8015, 90.26 mm SL; D. H. johnii UFPB 9535, 90.54 mm SL; E. H. velhomonge, UFPB 9565, 118.29 mm SL; F. H. johnii UFPB 9267, 114.28 mm SL.

FIGURE 5 | Hypostomus velhomonge, color in life, UFPB 9566, paratype, 88.0 mm SL, with non-deposited material. Parnaíba River, Santa Filomena, Piauí, Brazil.

FIGURE 6 | Geographic distribution of Hypostomus velhomonge in the Parnaíba River basin, Northeast Brazil.