When destruction comes first: Two new species of Hypostomus Lacépède, 1803 (Siluriformes: Loricariidae) from a deeply‐impacted river in the Rio São Francisco basin in Brazil
Autor: | Iago De Souza Penido, Tiago Casarim Pessali, Cláudio Henrique Zawadzki |
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Rok vydání: | 2021 |
Předmět: |
0106 biological sciences
Human life Loricariidae Environmental disaster Biodiversity Mandible Aquatic Science Structural basin 010603 evolutionary biology 01 natural sciences Mining Disasters Rivers Species Specificity stomatognathic system Animals Hypostomus Catfishes Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics biology 010604 marine biology & hydrobiology biology.organism_classification Fishery Genus Hypostomus Tooth Brazil Catfish |
Zdroj: | Journal of Fish Biology. 98:1371-1384 |
ISSN: | 1095-8649 0022-1112 |
Popis: | Environmental disasters affecting Brazilian rivers have been frequent recently, especially involving mining activities. Two recent dam-rupture events suddenly released millions of cubic meters of iron tailings downstream into two major Brazilian watersheds. These events generated major losses to the environment and human life. Additionally, the biodiversity in both watersheds was still incompletely known. Two new species of the armoured catfish genus Hypostomus were discovered in the Rio Paraopeba and surrounding rivers of the Rio São Francisco Basin. The species share some main characteristics including a depressed body, large dark spots on a clearer background and the absence of keels on flanks. However, while one species (Hypostomus freirei sp. n.) has a large mandibular ramus and numerous slender teeth, the other (Hypostomus guajupia sp. n.) has a shorter mandibular ramus and few robust teeth. The discovery of these two new mid-sized fish species emphasizes the presumption that the effects of major environmental disasters cannot be fully estimated as local biodiversity is not completely known. This discovery in a recently devastated area also shows that tough environmental laws for the protection, supervision and mitigation of major impacts are urgently needed in developing countries. |
Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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