Nemadoras cristinae, new species of thorny catfish (Siluriformes: Doradidae) with redescriptions of its congeners

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Nemadoras cristinae is described from the upper Amazonas/Solimoes and Madeira basins in Brazil, Colombia and Peru, with additional specimens from the upper Meta (Orinoco basin), Colombia, tentatively treated as conspecific. Nemadoras cristinae is distinguished from congeners by having 3–9 premaxillary teeth in approximately two rows in juveniles and adults, outermost teeth weakly spatulate and innermost more acicular (vs. premaxillary edentulous in adults of all congeners and limited to 1–6 acicular teeth in juveniles of N. elongatus, N. humeralis, N. leporhinus and N. ternetzi); and mental barbels with extremely elongate (filiform) papillae, length of longest papillae about 4–7 times its width at base (vs. papillae shorter, length of longest <3 times its width at base). Nemadoras cristinae most closely resembles N. leporhinus, but is further distinguished from that species by having shaft and primary fimbriae of maxillary barbel smooth (vs. outer margin of shaft and margins of primary fimbriae ...