A New Species of Spatuloricaria Schultz, 1944 (Siluriformes: Loricariidae), from the Orinoco River Basin, Colombia
A new species of Spatuloricaria is described from the Orinoco River basin, Colombia. The new species can be distinguished from its congeners by the following characters: a broad, dark brown stripe on the first pre-dorsal plate, which occupies the entire plate, reaching the preopercle, and sometimes reaching the second pre-dorsal plate; the possession of a small group of plates posterior to the urogenital pore; the abdominal surface with scattered, very small plates leaving naked areas; the possession of five transverse dark brown bands on the dorsal region; and four to five premaxillary teeth. The new species is the first valid species of Spatuloricaria distributed in the Orinoco River basin. Ecological notes of the species and comments regarding the taxonomy and phylogenetic relationships of the genus are offered.
Spatuloricaria terracanticum, IAvH-P 7685, 226.2 mm SL, holotype, Colombia, Casanare, Sabanalarga, Upía River, tributary to the upper Meta River, Orinoco River basin. Scale bar = 1 cm. Photograph by Y. Rojas-Molina.
Spatuloricaria terracanticum, coloration in life; MPUJ 13401, Colombia, Meta, Villavicencio, Guayuriba River, tributary to the upper Meta River, Orinoco basin. Photograph by A. Ortega-Lara.
Spatuloricaria terracanticum, IAvH-P 19086, 285.6 mm SL, Colombia, Meta, La Macarena, Guayabero River, tributary to the upper Guaviare, Orinoco basin. Scale bar = 1 cm. Photograph by Y. Rojas-Molina.
Color variation within Spatuloricaria terracanticum in dorsal view. (A) MPUJ 13398, 96.3 mm SL, Colombia, Meta, Villavicencio, Ocoa River, Guatiquía River drainage, tributary to the upper Meta River, Orinoco basin; (B) MPUJ 13401, 86.7 mm SL, Colombia, Meta, Villavicencio, Guayuriba River, tributary to the upper Meta River, Orinoco basin; (C) IAvH-P 1844, 237 mm SL, Colombia, Casanare, Tauramena, Iquía Stream, Cusiana River basin, tributary to the upper Meta River, Orinoco basin. Scale bar = 1 cm. Photographs by Y. Rojas-Molina.
Teeth showing sexual dimorphism in: (A) Spatuloricaria terracanticum, IAvH-P 19086, adult male, 285.6 mm SL; (B) Spatuloricaria terracanticum, IAvH-P 1844, adult female, 237 mm SL; (C) Spatuloricaria gymnogaster, IAvH-P 8595, adult female, 188.6 mm SL; (D) Spatuloricaria lagoichthys, IAvH-P 6281, adult female, 245.8 mm SL. Scale bar = 1 mm. Photographs by Lina M. Mesa.
Distribution of Spatuloricaria terracanticum, in upper tributaries of the Meta and Guaviare drainages. Star = holotype; triangles = paratypes.
Habitat of Spatuloricaria terracanticum, in the Andean piedmont, Chitamena River. Photograph by A. Urbano-Bonilla.
Contributor Notes
Associate Editor: R. E. Reis.