Abstract
Abstract: Freshwater ichthyofauna from Brazil Northeast region was considered as being poorly known until recent years, with a considerable number of publications becoming available in the last decade. The present study provides an inventory of freshwater fish species from the Paraíba do Norte River basin located in Paraíba State, Brazil. This inventory is intended to contribute to the of knowledge to the regional fish diversity, pre-transposition of the São Francisco River. Collecting data was obtained from ichthyological databases of both national and foreign institutions. A total of 47 freshwater fish species are registered within the Paraíba do Norte River basin, represented by 38 genera, 20 families and six orders. Characiformes, comprising 47% (22 species), Cichliformes, and Siluriformes are among the most representative orders, 19% (9 species) each, of total recorded species. Seven species of Cichliformes are reported as introduced species in this basin. Cyprinodontiformes and Gobiiformes also registered in this region and correspond to 5% (two species) and Gymnotiformes, Perciformes and Synbranchiformes, 2% (one species each) of total recorded species. Paraíba do Norte River basin stands out in the current national scenario as it comprises the first region from the Mid-Northeastern Caatinga freshwater ecoregion to receive water from the transposition of the São Francisco River. The current inventory is important as it provides scientific data related to the ichthyofauna of Paraíba do Norte River basin prior to the commencement of the river transposition process. An identification key is also given for the freshwater fish species of the region.
Highlights
Knowledge regarding freshwater fish fauna in Brazil used to be heterogeneous, with major studies focusing on the South and Southeast regions of the country with little emphasis being placed on the Northeast region (Rosa et al 2003, Langeani et al 2009, Ramos et al 2014)
Material from Paraíba do Norte River basin are available in the fish collections at MCT and MCZ only
Paraíba do Norte River basin has 47 fish species that correspond to 54.6% of total ichthyofauna from MNCE and 19.5% of total ichthyofauna from Caatinga biome when compared to the number of species registered in these areas (86 and 240 species, respectively, according to Rosa et al, 2003)
Summary
Knowledge regarding freshwater fish fauna in Brazil used to be heterogeneous, with major studies focusing on the South and Southeast regions of the country with little emphasis being placed on the Northeast region (Rosa et al 2003, Langeani et al 2009, Ramos et al 2014). Lack of research has limited the classification of the local ichthyofaunistic diversity and delayed biogeographic evaluation of groups of fishes from Brazilian Northeastern region (Rosa et al 2003, Ramos et al 2014). This paradigm has recently changed with the publication of a book chapter entitled “Diversity, patterns of distribution and conservation of fishes from Caatinga” in Rosa et al (2003) listed 240 species of freshwater fishes for the Caatinga biome, comprising the broadest evaluation about the freshwater ichthyofauna from this region to date. Knowledge about the ichthyofauna from these river basins is limited, with most of the data available in grey literature
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