Vol. 61, 2022

(update: 2022.5.5)

Integrative Taxonomy, Distribution and Ontogenetic Colouration Change in Neotropical Mountain Catfishes of the Trichomycterus nigroauratus Group (Siluriformes: Trichomycteridae)

, José Leonardo O. Mattos

, Sâmela Lopes

, and Axel M. Katz^1,2,*

¹Laboratory of Systematics and Evolution of Teleost Fishes, Institute of Biology, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Caixa Postal 68049, CEP 21941-971, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. *Correspondence E-mail: wcosta@acd.ufrj.br (Costa). E-mail: jlomattos@gmail.com (Mattos); samelallemos@hotmail.com (Lopes); pedro_f_a@hotmail.com (Amorim); axelmk@gmail.com (Katz)

Received 25 September 2021 / Accepted 28 January 2022
Communicated by Felipe Ottoni

Catfishes of the genus Trichomycterus comprise the most diverse fish group in mountain river basins crossing the Atlantic Forest of south-eastern Brazil, with a great concentration of species in the Rio Paraíba do Sul basin. The present study is directed to the T. nigroauratus group, endemic to the Rio Paraíba do Sul basin, comprising species commonly found associated with bottom leaf litter. Field studies revealed two sympatric, distinct colour morphs, one comprising small specimens with a black longitudinal stripe over a pale brown ground colour on the flank and another comprising a single larger specimen with small dark browns spots scattered over a pale-yellow ground colour. These specimens were found in the upper Rio Paraitinga drainage, an area disjunct from the area inhabited by the other species of the group. We performed coalescent single-locus analyses for species delimitation using a cytochrome b fragment (1088 bp) for specimens from eight localities, including sequences taken from specimens exhibiting different colouration morphs and topotypes of all the three nominal species of the T. nigroauratus group. The analyses supported the two colouration morphs as belonging to a single species that is herein described. It is distinguished from other congeners by its unique colour pattern, dorsal and anal fins fin more posteriorly placed, and by the morphology of the opercle, metapterygoid and pelvic bone. The Maximum Likelihood analysis indicated the new species as sister to a clade containing all other
congeners of the group, which is corroborated by osteological data. The occurrence of different lineages in neighbouring areas of the upper Rio Paraíba do Sul basin is interpreted as a possible vestige of a past complex paleogeographical scenario during the Cenozoic. The present record of striking ontogenetic colouration change, revealed only after checking DNA sequences of individuals exhibiting different colouration phenotypes, again highlights the importance of combining morphological and molecular data in taxonomical studies.

Key words: Atlantic Forest, Mountain biodiversity, Osteology, Rio Paraíba do Sul, Unilocus species delimitation.

Citation: Costa WJEM, Mattos JLO, Lopes S, Amorim PF, Katz AM. 2022. Integrative taxonomy, distribution and ontogenetic colouration change in Neotropical mountain catfishes of the Trichomycterus nigroauratus group (Siluriformes: Trichomycteridae). Zool Stud 61:11. doi:10.6620/ZS.2022.61-11.