Ancistrus mullerae Bifi, Pavanelli & Zawadzki, 2009, n. sp.
Creators: name: Bifi, Alessandro Gasparetto
name: Pavanelli, Carla Simone
name: Zawadzki, Cláudio Henrique
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2009
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Actinopterygii
Siluriformes
Loricariidae
Ancistrus
Ancistrus mullerae

description: Ancistrus mullerae, n. sp.
Figure 5; Tables 3, 4
Holotype. MZUSP 104121 [male], 119.1 mm SL, Brazil, Paraná State, Três Barras do Paraná, lower Rio Iguaçu basin, affluent of Rio Iguaçu, Rio Guarani, 25°25'29"S / 53°07'30"W, Nupélia, 26 Jul 1999.
Paratypes. All collected in Brazil, Paraná State, lower Rio Iguaçu basin. Measurements presented refer to SL in mm: MCP 22575, 8, 37.9–80.0, Pérola do Oeste, Rio Lageado Liso, 25°44’01”S / 53°47’59”W, C.A.S. Lucena et al., 6 Dec 1998; MCP 22577, 8 of 16, 52.4–64.4, Catanduvas, stream at PR 477 road between Catanduvas and Três Barras do Paraná, 25°13’59”S / 53°09’42”W, C.A.S. Lucena et al., 6 Dec 1998; MCP 22579, 7 of 14, 40.5–60.9, Francisco Beltrão, affluent of Rio Marrecas, Rio Tuna, 26°00’20”S / 53°05’05”W, C.A.S. Lucena et al., 7 Dec 1998; MHNCI 7079, 2, 68.9–70.1, Três Barras do Paraná, Rio Guarani, E. Grando et al., 24 Feb 1993; MHNCI 7123, 4, 65.8–75.9, Três Barras do Paraná, Córrego Três Barras, E. Grando et al., 25 Feb 1993; MHNCI 11137, 2, 46.4–71.4, Nova Prata do Iguaçu, affluent of Rio Cotegipe, Rio Quieto, 25°35’46”S / 53°29’13”W, L. Bastos & D.P. Azevedo Filho, 6 Apr 2004; MZUSP 104122, 2, 79.1–92.8, Três Barras do Paraná, Rio Guarani, 25°25’29”S / 53°07’30”W, Nupélia, 25 Apr 1999; MZUSP 104123, 1, 108.6, Boa Esperança do Iguaçu, Rio Jaracatiá, 25°37’37”S / 53°16’52”W, Nupélia, 13 Feb 1997; NUP 1626, 6, 47.9– 124.8, Boa Esperança do Iguaçu, Rio Jaracatiá, 25°37’37”S / 53°16’52”W, Nupélia, 13 Feb 1997; NUP 1821, 20, 66.8–115.0, Três Barras do Paraná, Rio Adelaide, 25°27’18”S / 53°18’26”W, Nupélia, 17 Nov 1998; NUP 2864, 4, 50.8–65.8, Três Barras do Paraná, Córrego Três Barras, 25°32’29”S / 53°08’11”W, Nupélia, 7 Feb 2001; NUP 5119, 16, 14.5–54.2, Três Barras do Paraná, affluent of Rio Guarani, Córrego Barra Grande, 25°25’48”S / 53°15’40”W, Nupélia, 8 Feb 2001; NUP 5123, 4, 38.5–61.1, Nova Prata do Iguaçu, Córrego Vorá, 25°34’08”S / 53°19’02”W, Nupélia, 10 Aug 1997; NUP 5124, 7, 25.8–57.9, Nova Prata do Iguaçu, Córrego Vorá, 25°34’08”S / 53°19’02”W, Nupélia, 11 Jan 1998; NUP 5125, 2, 52.1–55.5, Boa Esperança do Iguaçu, affluent of Rio Jaracatiá, Córrego do Marcão, 25°38’06”S / 53°17’22”W, Nupélia, 4 Feb 2001; NUP 5226, 26, 12.6–71.6, Três Barras do Paraná, affluent of Rio Guarani, Córrego Barra Grande, 25°26’34”S / 53°21’02”W, Nupélia, 7 Feb 1997; NUP 5229, 14, 36.3–74.7, Três Barras do Paraná, affluent of Córrego Barra Grande, Córrego Pica-Pau, 25°26’34”S / 53°21’02”W, Nupélia, 7 Feb 1997; NUP 5235, 6, 93.0–123.8, Três Barras do Paraná, Rio Guarani, 25°25’29”S / 53°07’30”W, Nupélia, 7 Jul 1997; NUP 5236, 5, 104.2– 119.7, Três Barras do Paraná, Rio Guarani, 25°25’29”S / 53°07’30”W, Nupélia, 6 Dec 1997; NUP 5237, 5, 99.5–119.5, Três Barras do Paraná, Rio Guarani, 25°25’29”S / 53°07’30”W, Nupélia, 5 Jun 1997; NUP 5238, 2, 82.1–115.5, Três Barras do Paraná, Rio Guarani, 25°25’29”S / 53°07’30”W, Nupélia, 10 May 1997; NUP 5520, 1, 83.8, Três Barras do Paraná, Rio Guarani, 25°25’29”S / 53°07’30”W, Nupélia, 25 Apr 1999; NUP 5522, 2, 119.3–124.4, Salto do Lontra, Rio Jaracatiá, 25°38’17”S / 53°14’04”W, Nupélia, 14 Oct 1998.
continued next page A. abilhoai A. agostinhoi A. mullerae
Characters range mean ± SD range mean ± SD range mean ± SD Dermal plates
Mid-lateral 22–24 22.9±0.4 23–24 23.1±0.2 22–24 23.0±0.4 Postopercular 6–12 7.8±1.6 7–14 9.1±1.6 7–17 10.0±2.2 Dorsal-fin base 6–7 6.3±0.5 6–7 6.9±0.3 6–7 6.9±0.3 Between dorsal and adipose 6–7 6.5±0.5 5–7 6.0±0.3 5–7 6.0±0.4 Between adipose and caudal 5–7 6.2±0.5 6–7 6.1±0.3 5–7 6.1±0.3 Between anal and caudal 11–13 12.1±0.5 11–12 11.3±0.5 12–13 12.1±0.3 Other
Upper procurrents 5–6 5.8±0.4 4–6 5.0±0.3 5–6 5.1±0.3 Lower procurrents 4 4.0±0.0 3–4 3.6±0.5 3–4 3.8±0.4 Dentary teeth 40–68 49.9±8.6 38–78 53.9±7.8 51–97 71.9±10.7 Premaxillary teeth 41–64 49.1±7.6 36–74 51.0±7.9 45–88 69.0±10.1 Interopercular spines 18–25 21.3±2.3 15–23 19.0±2.4 12–22 17.0±2.5 Diagnosis. Ancistrus mullerae is diagnosed from congeners inhabiting the Río de La Plata and coastal basins of southern Brazil, except A. abilhoai, A. agostinhoi, A. formoso, A. multispinis and A. taunayi, by having maxillary barbel short and not free from lower lip (vs. longer and free from lower lip); from A. abilhoai by width of mandibulary teeth row (16.5–21.0% of HL vs. 13.4–15.5% and 39.3–58.0% of interorbital width vs. 32.9–37.9%); from A. agostinhoi by occipital depth (15.4–18.8% of SL vs. 18.8–22.0%) and head length (34.4–37.9%, mean= 36.3% of SL vs. 37.8–41.4%, mean= 38.9%); from A. formoso by orbital diameter (11.9–18.4% of HL vs. 8.3–8.7%), caudal peduncle depth (8.8–11.5% of SL vs. 7.8–8.7%) and number of dentary teeth (51–97 vs. 110); from A. multispinis and A. taunayi by number of interopercular spines (12–22 vs. 24–35 and 22–28, respectively).
Description. Morphometric data presented in Table 3 and counts in Table 4. Head and body fairly depressed. Dorsal profile of head and trunk slightly convex from tip of snout to supraoccipital, then slightly convex to adipose fin and slightly concave to end of caudal peduncle. Ventral profile of body straight, slightly concave on ventral portion of caudal peduncle; caudal peduncle elliptical and relatively short, 25.1–32.8% of SL.
Snout rounded in dorsal view, with naked margin bordered by dermic platelets of variable lengths on its lateral portion, naked area larger in males. Adult males with middle- to large-sized tentacles, sometimes a few branched on dorsal region of snout and anterior most tentacles aligned along anterior margin of snout. Females usually with two very small tentacles on each side of snout border.
Eye middle-sized, with a little raised dorsal margin. Interorbital region slightly concave. Exposed portion of opercle usually somewhat triangular, rounded anteriorly; postopercular region with few platelets near to pterotic-supracleithrum, sometimes with a few platelets on its anterior portion.
Rounded oral disk with numerous papillae; lower lip wide with papillae reducing in size toward its margin; maxillary barbel short, coalesced to lower lip (Fig. 2). Premaxillary and dentary teeth short, numerous, bifid; lateral cusp reduced, the mesial larger and wider.
Supraoccipital with margins between surrounding bones and plates not clearly visible; delimited posteriorly by first line of predorsal plates. Five lateral series of plates, three lateral series on the narrower portion of caudal peduncle. Mid-dorsal and mid-ventral series not surpassing adipose fin. Short odontodes present on fin rays, and body plates. Abdomen entirely devoid of plates. Base of first anal-fin pterygiophore covered by skin (without externally preanal platelet-like element).
Dorsal-fin origin situated slightly anterior to vertical through pelvic-fin origin; dorsal fin when adpressed almost reaching, or, in larger specimens, surpassing a little preadipose plate. Adipose-fin spine short, slightly curved inward. Pectoral-fin spine with odontodes hypertrophied and tentacles on its distal portion; pectoralfin length variable, usually surpassing a half length of adpressed pelvic fin. Depressed pelvic-fin spine surpassing origin of anal fin. Anal fin short. Caudal-fin margin obliquely truncate, or slightly rounded; lowermost spine slightly longer than superior. Fin-ray formulae: dorsal I7; pectoral I6; pelvic I5; anal I3–4; caudal I14 I.
Sexual dimorphism. Males are usually larger than females; largest male and female with 124.8 mm and 79.8 mm SL, respectively. Mature males have middle- to large- sized tentacles on dorsal region and border of snout. Females can have few shorter tentacles, usually two on each side of snout.
Color in alcohol. Background color yellowish-brown to dark-brown; usually with light dots over body; middle-sized on head and trunk, and small on snout. Lips yellowish. Ventral region of head yellowish-brown to anal fin, with light, round or vermiculate dots, usually absent in smaller individuals. Fins yellowish-brown, with dark dots forming three or four stripes or round blotches. Caudal fin with light dots or stripes.
Etymology. The species name, mullerae, is in honor of Sonia Fisch-Muller, from the Muséum d'histoire naturelle de la Ville de Genève (MHNG), Switzerland, in recognition of her contributions to our understanding of Ancistrus species. A patronym.
Distribution. Ancistrus mullerae is found in lower Rio Iguaçu basin, upstream from Cataratas do Iguaçu, Southern Brazil (Fig.3).
description: Published as part of Bifi, Alessandro Gasparetto, Pavanelli, Carla Simone & Zawadzki, Cláudio Henrique, 2009, Three new species of Ancistrus Kner, 1854 (Siluriformes: Loricariidae) from the Rio Iguaçu basin, Paraná State, Brazil, pp. 41-59 in Zootaxa 2275 on pages 50-55, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.191064