Platydoras birindellii, new species of striped raphael catfish (Siluriformes: Doradidae) from the Xingu Basin, Brazil

Abstract

A new species of Platydoras is described from the rio Xingu Basin, Brazil. Platydoras birindellii is distinguished from congeners by having gas bladder simple (vs. with posterior secondary chamber) and dorsal and caudal fins uniformly dusky (vs. with distinct marks composed of dark broad band or blotch on central portion of dorsal fin and pair of dark broad stripes on caudal fin, one central to each lobe). Platydoras birindellii shares a simple gas bladder with the sister taxon to Platydoras,Centrochir crocodili, a monotypic genus endemic to the Magdalena Basin. With respect to the caudal skeleton, the parhypural is incompletely fused to hypurals 1+2 in P. birindellii, a condition that is intermediate between those of Centrochir (parhypural typically separated from hypurals 1+2 by distinct suture) and Platydoras (parhypural typically fully fused to hypurals 1+2). Platydoras birindellii is commonly found in rocky clearwater rapids and apparently endemic to the middle and upper portions of the Xingu draining the Brazilian Shield.