In a river drainage alongside the japanese coast of Brazil, fast flowing freshwater pours into the Atlantic Ocean.
Right here, the rocks make the water turbulent, so few fish are capable of navigate the present pulling towards the ocean.
However in between the sleek stones, brightly coloured fish with fleshy whiskers transfer all through the water.
They’re species of Microglanis, a household of catfish identified extra for his or her presence in aquariums and fish tanks than out within the wild.
Hoping to stock the fish species that decision the river drainage dwelling, a bunch of researchers collected samples from the river on a number of expeditions between 2012 and 2019, in keeping with a examine printed within the Journal of Fish Biology on April 22.
Once they took a more in-depth take a look at a number of of the catfish, it didn’t look fairly just like the others.
It was a brand new species.
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The technicolored fish was comparable in shade to a identified species, Microglanis cibelae, however the darkish bands that wrapped across the physique reached farther right down to the fins on the underside of the fish, in keeping with the examine.
The group of fish is typically known as bumblebee catfish due to this striped coloration.
The brand new fish additionally had a “clear spot” on the base of the fish’s backbone, the researchers stated.
When the researchers regarded on the construct of the fish, they noticed that the brand new species had a “depressed” physique with “decrease head and physique depth,” shorter fins alongside the again and shorter barbels, the appendages that seem like whiskers on the entrance of their face.
The DNA of the brand new fish confirmed their suspicions, and the brand new fish was named Microglanis lucenai, honoring ichthyologist Carlos Alberto Santos Lucena, who they credit score with aiding within the “growing data” of neotropical fish, in keeping with the examine.
“Microglanis lucenair inhabits rapids, an uncommon surroundings for Microglanis species,” the researchers stated. “These rivers are characterised by a basaltic substrate composed of ample rocks and pebbles, with robust present and crystal clear water.”
The flattened physique form and whiskers “appears to be variations to stay amongst rocks in fast-flowing environments,” in keeping with the examine.
M. lucenair is a sympatric species, that means it shares a typical ancestor with one other dwelling species, and the 2 species advanced on the similar time however in numerous instructions, the researchers stated. This explains why the brand new species wasn’t found till now, because it seems similar to its sympatric species.
The brand new species was present in Santa Catarina, a state on the southeastern coast of Brazil.
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