Multilocus phylogeny, diagnosis and generic revision of the Guiana Shield endemic suckermouth armoured catfish tribe Lithoxini (Loricariidae: Hypostominae)
Nathan K. Lujan, Jonathan W. Armbruster und Nathan R Lovejoy
Abstract
With > 450 species, Hypostominae is the most species-rich subfamily of suckermouth armoured catfishes (Loricariidae). Both morphological and molecular analyses of Hypostominae strongly support monophyly of ten distinctively small-bodied (< 9 cm standard length), highly depressed (maximal head depth > 7.2 times in standard length) species comprising two currently valid genera (
Exastilithoxus and
Lithoxus) that are restricted to fast-flowing, rocky-bottomed rivers and streams draining the Guiana Shield in northwestern South America.
We describe the tribe Lithoxini for this clade and present a multilocus phylogeny for eight Lithoxini species, including type species of all nominal genera and subgenera. Based on morphological and molecular data, we resurrect and redescribe the previously synonymized subgenus
Paralithoxus for a strongly supported clade of eight species that are restricted to rivers south and east of Venezuela and have seven to nine interdorsal plates and five rows of plates on the caudal peduncle. We also erect the new genus
Avalithoxus for
Lithoxus jantjae, a species that is narrowly endemic to the Ventuari River immediately upstream of Salto Tencua and is unique in Hypostominae for having only 12 branched caudal-fin rays.
Lithoxus is restricted to
Lithoxus lithoides from the Essequibo and Correntyne rivers in Guyana and Suriname. A redescription of
Paralithoxus bovallii based on recently collected specimens and an identification key to all four genera are also provided. Geographical distributions of Lithoxini clades suggest that geological uplift and geodispersal via stream capture played important roles in promoting vicariance and allopatric speciation.
--
Da
Lithoxus lithoides ebenso wie
Avalithoxus jantjae meines Wissens nicht in der Aquaristik vertreten sind, gehören nun alle aquaristisch bekannten bisherigen
Lithoxus-Arten in die Gattung
Paralithoxus.
Ich werde die DB in den nächsten Tagen entsprechend aktualisieren.
Link zum Abstract (das Paper ist leider zugangsbeschränkt).
Gruß,
Karsten