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. 2023 Jul 12;18(7):e0287120.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0287120. eCollection 2023.

Rediscovery of Rhyacoglanis pulcher (Boulenger, 1887) (Siluriformes: Pseudopimelodidae), a rare rheophilic bumblebee catfish from Ecuadorian Amazon

Junior Chuctaya  1   2   3 , Oscar Akio Shibatta  4 , Andrea C Encalada  5 , Karla S Barragán  5 , Maria de Lourdes Torres  5   6 , Estefanía Rojas  5 , Valeria Ochoa-Herrera  5   7 , Juliano Ferrer  1
Affiliations

Rediscovery of Rhyacoglanis pulcher (Boulenger, 1887) (Siluriformes: Pseudopimelodidae), a rare rheophilic bumblebee catfish from Ecuadorian Amazon

Junior Chuctaya et al. PLoS One. .

Erratum in

Abstract

Rhyacoglanis pulcher is a rare Neotropical rheophilic bumblebee catfish known only from the type locality in the Cis-Andean Amazon region, Ecuador, and the type-species of the genus. So far, the three syntypes collected in 1880 were the only specimens unambiguously associated to the name R. pulcher available in scientific collections. Recently, a specimen was discovered in a fast-flowing stretch of the Villano river, a tributary of the Curaray river, Napo river basin, Ecuador, representing a new record after nearly 140 years. Here, we present this new record, identified by morphology, provide the DNA barcode sequence of the specimen, and propose why the species of Rhyacoglanis are scarce in zoological collections. Additionally, we discuss the intraspecific variation in the color pattern observed in R. pulcher.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Rhyacoglanis pulcher, MECN-DP 4372, 82.1 mm SL, new record collected in Villano river, Napo river basin, Ecuador.
Right pectoral and pelvic fins removed for tissue samples.
Fig 2
Fig 2. Color in life, Rhyacoglanis pulcher, MECN-DP 4372, 82.1 mm SL, new record collected in Villano river, Napo river basin, Ecuador.
Dorsal view. (Photo: Jose Vieira).
Fig 3
Fig 3. Ossified portion of left pectoral-fin spine of Rhyacoglanis pulcher from the Villano river, Napo river basin, Ecuador, MECN-DP 4372.
Scale bar = 2.0 mm.
Fig 4
Fig 4. Geographical distribution of Rhyacoglanis pulcher in the Amazon basin based on examined specimens.
Red star: type locality, black dot: the new record for the species. Base map is downloaded from the USGS National Map Viewer (open access) at http://viewer.nationalmap.gov/viewer/.
Fig 5
Fig 5. Collection station of Rhyacoglanis pulcher in the Villano river, tributary of Curaray river, Napo river basin, Ecuador.
Fig 6
Fig 6. Scatterplot of individual scores of the syntypes of Rhyacoglanis pulcher syntypes (blue squares) and the specimen from Villano river (red cross) on the second and third principal components axis.
Fig 7
Fig 7
Syntypes of Rhyacoglanis pulcher, A: BMNH 1880.12.8.105-107c, 58.5 mm SL; B: BMNH 1880.12.8.105-107a, 67.4 mm SL; C: BMNH 1880.12.8.105-107b, 68.5 mm SL, from Canelos, Ecuador.
Fig 8
Fig 8. Species delimitation analyses based on sequences of Cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) sequences, using Assemble Species by Automatic Partitioning (ASAP), Poisson Tree Processes (PTP), and General Mixed Yule Coalescent (GMYC) methods.
Bayesian (posterior probability, PP; above) support value for each node in the Bayesian phylogenetic COI tree. (*) sequences identity corrected to Rhyacoglanis sp.; (**) sequence of R. pulcher from Napo river basin, (***) sequences identity corrected corrected to R. paranaensis. AMA = Amazon river, ANC = Anchicava river, ARA = Das Mortes river, Araguaia river basin, ATR = Atrato river, CAU = Cauca river, IVA = Ivaí river, MAG = Magdalena river, MET = Meta river, MIR = Mira river, ORI = Orinoco river, PAM = Panamá, PAR = Paraná river, PPP = Paranapanema river, SFR = San Francisco river, SNU = Sinú river, TRO = Trombetasriver, and URU = Albino stream, Uruguay river basin.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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