Redescription and Geographical Distribution of the Endangered Fish Ossubtus xinguense Jégu 1992 (Characiformes, Serrasalmidae) with Comments on Conservation of the Rheophilic Fauna of the Xingu River.

The monotypic species Ossubtus xinguense was originally described based on scarce material putatively divided into juveniles and adults. Ossubtus xinguense has a restricted distribution and was previously known only from a few rapids downstream of the city of Altamira, in the Volta Grande stretch of...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Marcelo C Andrade, Leandro M Sousa, Rafaela P Ota, Michel Jégu, Tommaso Giarrizzo
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2016-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5035070?pdf=render
Description
Summary:The monotypic species Ossubtus xinguense was originally described based on scarce material putatively divided into juveniles and adults. Ossubtus xinguense has a restricted distribution and was previously known only from a few rapids downstream of the city of Altamira, in the Volta Grande stretch of the Middle Xingu River. Until recently, the species was rare in museums because its habitat (large rapids) is difficult to sample. Large-scale collecting efforts targeting rapids throughout the Xingu River basin have yielded an abundance of new material. Based on an analysis of the type series and freshly preserved specimens, we redescribe O. xinguense and provide detailed osteological descriptions along with comments about its relationships within Serrasalmidae. Furthermore, we expand the geographical distribution of the species and discuss its conservation status.
ISSN:1932-6203