62 (2) 2012
Vertebrate Zoology
181 – 188
181
© Museum für Tierkunde Dresden, ISSN 1864-5755, 18.07.2012
A new species of Laetacara from the northern Brazil
coastal floodplains (Teleostei: Cichlidae)
FELIPE P. OTTONI 1, PEDRO H. N. BRAGANÇA 1,
PEDRO F. AMORIM 1 & CECILE S. GAMA 2
1
Laboratório de Sistemática e Evolução de Peixes Teleósteos, Departamento de Zoologia,
Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Cidade Universitária, CEP 21994-970, Caixa Postal 68049,
Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
fpottoni(at)gmail.com; pedrobra88(at)hotmail.com; pedro_f_a(at)hotmail.com
2
Instituto de Pesquisas Científicas e Tecnológicas do Amapá – IEPA,
Campus da Fazendinha, Rodovia JK, Km 10, S/Nl, CEP 68900-000,
Macapá, AP, Brazil
cecile.gama(at)iepa.ap.gov.br
Accepted on March 05, 2012.
Published online at www.vertebrate-zoology.de on July 06, 2012.
>
Abstract
Laetacara lamannellus sp. n. is described from the northern Brazilian coastal loodplains. It differs from all its congeners
by a combination of character states: presence of a dark brown or black spot located on dorsal-in base; presence of a yellow
stripe on the middle portion of the dorsal in, crossing the whole in; presence of an orange ring around the dorsal-in base
spot; absence of a red pigmentation on belly; absence of a red or purple zone on the anal-in base; absence of a red zone on
the caudal-in base; cycloid scales on the opercle plate; and trunk scales above upper lateral line with few ctenii. The presence of a deep notch in the dorsal margin of the anterior ceratohyal, often used as diagnostic for Laetacara, is conirmed
here for L. lamannellus.
>
Resumo
Laetacara lamannellus sp. n. é aqui descrita para as planícies alagadas costeiras do norte do Brasil. Ela difere de todos os
seus congêneres por uma combinação de estados de caracteres: presença uma mácula marrom escuro ou preta localizada na
base da nadadeira dorsal; presença de uma faixa amarela na porção medial da nadadeira dorsal, ao longo de toda a nadadeira;
presença de um anel alaranjado em torno da mácula da base da nadadeira dorsal; ausência de pigmentação avermelhada
na barriga; ausência de uma zona vermelha ou roxa na base da nadadeira anal; ausência de zona avermelhada na base da
nadadeira caudal; escamas ciclóides cobrindo as placas operculares; e escamas do tronco acima da linha lateral superior
com poucas ctenas. A presença de uma depressão profunda na margem dorsal do ceratohial anterior, geralmente usada como
caráter diagnóstico de Laetacara, é aqui conirmada para L. lamannellus sp. n.
>
Key words
Amapá coastal rivers; Cichlinae; Cichlasomatini; Laetacara curviceps; Laetacara dorsigera; South American cichlids;
systematics; taxonomy.
Introduction
Laetacara Kullander, 1986 comprises species of
small size (reaching about 110 mm SL as maximum
adult size). It was described by Kullander (1986) to
include four species previously placed in Aequidens
eigenmann & Bray, 1894: Laetacara curviceps (ahl,
1924), from tributaries of the lower rio Amazonas
(OttOni et al. 2009); L. dorsigera (hecKel, 1840),
from the Guaporé and Mamoré river drainages of the
rio Amazonas basin, rio Paraguay basin and middle
rio Paraná basin (OttOni & cOsta, 2009); L. lavilabris
182
F.P. OTTONI et al.: Laetacara flamannellus – a new cichlid species from Brazil
(cOpe, 1870), from the western rio Amazonas basin
(Kullander, 1986 and OttOni & cOsta, 2009); and L.
thayeri (steindachner, 1875) widespread along the upper and middle rio Amazonas basin (Kullander,1986
and OttOni & cOsta, 2009); which have been redescribed by Kullander (1986), OttOni & cOsta (2009)
and OttOni et al. (2009). In addition, two other species were recently described: L. fulvipinnis staecK
& schindler, 2007, from the upper and middle rio
Orinoco basin, and upper and middle rio Negro drainage of the rio Amazonas basin (staecK & schindler,
2007); and L. araguaiae OttOni & cOsta, 2009, from
the rio Araguaia basin (OttOni & cOsta, 2009).
Laetacara is included in the tribe Cichlasomatini
(Kullander, 1998; musilOvá et al., 2008; and smith
et al. 2008), subfamily Cichlinae (sparKs & smtih,
2004 and smith et al. 2008), and has been considered as closely related to Nannacara regan, 1905 and
Cleithracara Kullander & nijssen, 1989 (Kullander,
1998 and smith et al. 2008). According to Kullander
(1986), Laetacara is diagnosed by a combination
of: a deep notch in the dorsal margin of the anterior
ceratohyal (Kullander, 1986; ig. 149 and OttOni
et al. 2009; ig. 4), a character state only shared with
Cleithracara among cichlid genera; preopercle with
two scales on the horizontal and one (rarely two) on
the vertical limb; two scales rows on cheek; and absence of posterior lateral ethmoid-palatine articulation
and accessory caudal-in lateral line. Later OttOni &
cOsta (2009) and OttOni et al. (2009) conirmed the
presence of a deep notch on the dorsal margin of the
anterior ceratohyal for L. dorsigera, L. curviceps and
L. araguaiae. However, neither casciOtta (1998) for
some populations of L. dorsigera in Argentina, nor
staecK & schindler (2007) for L. fulvipinnis observed
the presence of that notch.
A new species of Laetacara is herein described
from the northern Brazil coastal loodplains, more speciically in isolated basins of the Amapá state, north of
the rio Amazonas basin. The eastern plains of Amapá
state is a complex mosaic of dry and looded environments (tOledO & Bush, 2008). The looded environments, representing about 10 % of the state area, have
characteristic vegetation consisting of looded forests
and looded grasslands (pereira et al., 2002). Those
environments are subject to seasonal variation caused
by rain and wind annual regimes (chellappa et al.,
2005). In the dry season, from July to December, the
water is restricted to the main river channel but during the rainy season, from January to June, the river
overlows from its main channel (pereira et al., 2002).
Particularly in the looded grasslands, during the rainy
season as the river overlows many temporary lakes
regionally known as “ressacas” are formed. This environment is peculiar because during the rise in the
water level it is oxygen and nutrient enriched, favoring
a rapid planktonic and vegetation growth, making it an
ideal site for small ish breeding and feeding (gama &
halBOth, 2003).
Material and Methods
Material is deposited in IEPA, Instituto de Pesquisas
Cientíicas e Tecnológicas do Amapá, Macapá; MNRJ,
Museu Nacional, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro; and UFRJ, Instituto de Biologia,
Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil.
Measurements and counts are made according to
OttOni et al. (2011), with addition of: number of teeth
on the posterior margin of the ceratobranchial 5 and
number of teeth on the transversal series of ceratobranchial 5 (Kullander, 1986); scale counts of the
opercular plates and prepelvic scales series are made
according Kullander (1983); and predorsal scales
series (squ. Predorsal), a longitudinal count of scales,
on a dorsal view, from the irst dorsal-in spine to the
last scale on the dorsal proile. Precaudal vertebrae is
equivalent to abdominal vertebrae sensu Kullander
(1983; 1986). In description and table 2, the number
of specimens exhibiting a character state is presented
in parentheses.
Measurements are presented as percentages of
standard length (SL), except for those related to head
morphology, which are expressed as percentages of
head length (HL). Measurements were taken on the
left side of each specimen with digital calipers under
a binocular microscope. Osteological studies were
made on cleared and counterstained (C&S) specimens
prepared according to taylOr & van dyKe (1985),
and the osteological nomenclature follows cOsta
(2006). Nomenclature related to colour pattern follows Kullander (1983). The lateral band sensu Kul
lander (1983) is here nominated longitudinal stripe.
Colouration in life was observed in about 20 live
specimens during ield work, which ive of them were
photographed.
For species delimitation we adopted the population
aggregation analysis (davis & nixOn, 1992), a character-based method in which species are delimited by a
unique combination of stable morphological character
states occurring in one or more populations.
Comparative material is listed in OttOni & cOsta (2009) and
OttOni et al. (2009), with addition of: Laetacara curviceps:
Brazil: Estado do Pará: UFRJ 7971, 22, 24.9 – 40.4 mm SL;
UFRJ 8058, 2 C&S, 24.8 – 38.1 mm SL; Lago Utinga, Belém
municipality; D. O. castrO, 12 Oct 2010. Laetacara thayeri:
Brazil: Estado do Amazonas: MNRJ 2970, 4, 34.6 – 57.5 mm
SL; Igarapé do Ananás, Lago Tefé; Mission Amazonie, 19
Nov 1962. MNRJ 29471, 15, 1 C&S, 41.8 – 59.1 mm SL; Petit
Igarapé, tributary of rio Jacitara, Lago Grande de Manacapuru;
Mission Amazonie, 12 Nov 1962.
Vertebrate Zoology
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62 (2) 2012
A
B
Fig. 1. Laetacara lamannellus sp.n.: A, UFRJ 8060, 34.0 mm SL (holotype); and B, paratype collected with the holotype.
Laetacara flamannellus, new species
(Figs. 1a – b)
Holotype. UFRJ 8060, 34.0 mm SL; Brazil: Amapá state: lago
Curiaú, following the road AP-70 to Santo Antônio da Pedreira,
Macapá municipality, 0°0’54” N 51°2’26” W; p.h.n Bragança
& p.F. amOrim, 10 Jan 2011.
Paratypes. Brazil: Amapá state: UFRJ 8005, 16, 10.4 – 38.2 mm
SL; UFRJ 8057, 3, 26.7 – 37.8 mm SL; collected with the holotype, C&S. UFRJ 8010, 4, 15.6 – 17.3 mm SL; UFRJ 8056,
2, 21.4 – 29.1 mm SL; looded area at the road BR-156, in direction to Oiapoque, 4 km before Tartarugal, Tartarugalzinho
municipality, 1° 21’ 45” N 50° 55’ 34” W; p.h.n Bragança &
p.F. amOrim, 16 Jan 2011, C&S. UFRJ 8038, 1, 35.8 mm SL;
Igarapé do Davi, Amapá municipality, 1° 56’ 39” N 50° 51’ 52”
W; p.h.n Bragança & p.F. amOrim, 16 Jan 2011. MNRJ 14570,
1, 20.4 mm SL; Igarapé de lago, tributary from the left side of rio
Vila Nova or rio Anauerapucu, near Babolândia; g.W. nunan &
d.F. mOraes, Apr 1987. IEPA 1090, 2, 22.3 – 31.9 mm SL; IEPA
1092, 2, 29.6 – 34.9 mm SL; IEPA 0199, 6, 32.8 – 37.0 mm SL;
lago Pracuúba, Pracuúba municipality; m.a.s. lima, 18 Jul 1984.
IEPA 1764, 4, 20.2 – 30.5 mm SL; rio Araguari, AMCEL area,
Ferreira Gomes municipality, 0° 50’ 46’’ N 51° 4’ 42’’ W; C.S.
gama & d.a. halBOth, 2 Jun 2002. IEPA 2751, 8, 21.2 – 33.1
mm SL; Córrego Areal near BR-156, Mazagão municipality,
0° 6’ 52” S 51° 50’ 55” W; J.F.P da silva et al., 15 Jul 2008.
Diagnosis. Laetacara lamannellus sp. n. differs from
all its congeners, except L. curviceps and L. dorsigera,
by having a dark brown or black spot located on the
dorsal-in base, above trunk bar 5 (vs. spot absent);
from L. curviceps and L. dorsigera by the presence
of an orange lame ring around the dorsal-in base spot
(Fig. 1 B) ( vs . orange ring absent); from L. dorsigera
by the absence of a con-spicuous red belly in breeding
specimens (vs. breeding males and females with conspicuous red cheeks, gill covers and belly); and from
L. curviceps by the presence of a yellow stripe on
the middle portion of the dorsal in, along the whole
184
F.P. OTTONI et al.: Laetacara flamannellus – a new cichlid species from Brazil
Table 1. Morphometric data of Laetacara lamannellus sp. n.
H = holotype, R = range, M = mean and SD = standard deviation.
Standard length (mm)
H
R n = 19
M
SD
34.0
24.6 – 38.2
30.1
0.4
Percentages
of standard length (SL)
Body depth
Predorsal length
Prepelvic length
40.8
38.8
43.8
38.1 – 42.3
38.5 – 43.9
42.5 – 45.1
40.7
41.2
43.8
0.2
0.1
0.1
Caudal peduncle depth
18.5
17.9 – 20.2
18.8
0.1
Caudal peduncle length
Dorsal-fin base length
Anal-fin base length
Pelvic-fin spine length
Pelvic-fin length
Last dorsal-fin spine length
Last anal-fin spine length
Caudal-fin length
Pectoral-fin length
Head depth
Orbital diameter
Snout length
Head width
Interorbital width
Preorbital depth
Upper jaw length
Lower jaw length
Head length (mm)
11.8
55.6
21.2
16.2
49.4
16.8
15.9
38.2
27.9
31.5
12.4
11.5
17.9
15.6
20.6
10.3
7.4
12.1
9.9 – 12.2
55.6 – 59.0
20.7 – 23.2
15.3 – 18.9
40.7 – 60.9
14.8 – 18.1
14.8 – 17.3
32.1 – 39.0
27.9 – 31.7
28.9 – 32.1
11.8 – 13.1
11.2 – 12.1
17.2 – 19.5
13.8 – 15.3
19.4 – 20.3
9.2 – 10.8
6.8 – 7.6
9.2 – 13.8
11.0
56.9
21.7
16.3
47.7
16.6
15.9
35.7
29.1
30.5
12.7
11.8
18.9
15.2
20.2
10.5
7.4
9.5
0.2
0.1
0.2
0.1
3.7
0.1
0.1
0.2
0.6
0.2
0.1
0.2
0.1
0.3
0.1
0.1
0.1
0.4
88.4
34.7
32.2
50.4
43.8
57.9
28.9
20.7
81.4 – 88.4
32.1 – 37.0
31.9 – 34.8
48.7 – 55.6
39.6 – 45.5
53.1 – 58.7
25.4 – 31.3
19.4 – 22.3
85.0
35.3
32.8
52.6
42.3
56.3
29.3
20.7
0.5
0.1
0.3
0.4
0.7
0.3
0.3
0.4
Percentages
of head length (HL)
Head depth
Orbital diameter
Snout length
Head width
Interorbital width
Preorbital depth
Upper jaw length
Lower jaw length
in (Fig 1B) (vs. absence of a yellow stripe on the
dorsal in) (OttOni et al. 2009, ig. 1 and 2; Fig. 2),
cycloid scales on the opercle plates (vs . scales of the
opercle plates ctenoids, with few ctenii), trunk scales
above the upper lateral line with few ctenii (vs. trunk
scales above the upper lateral line strongly ctenoids),
absence of a red or purple region on the anal-in base
(Fig 1B) (vs . a red or purple region on anal-in base)
(OttOni et al. 2009, ig. 1 and 2; Fig. 2) and absence
of a red region on the caudal-in base (Fig 1B) (vs .
usual presence of a red region on the caudal-in base)
(OttOni et al. 2009, ig. 1 and 2; Fig. 2).
Description. Morphometric data are summarized in
Table 1, meristic data in Table 2. Dorsal proile slightly convex from snout to caudal-peduncle origin, leaner
Table 2. Meristic variation data of Laetacara lamannellus sp. n..
Pc = procurrent rays.
holotype
Dorsal-fin spines
Dorsal-fin rays
Anal-fin spines
Anal-fin rays
Pelvic-fin spines
Pelvic-fin rays
Caudal-fin rays
Pectoral-fin rays
Gill-rakers on first
ceratobranchial
Total vertebrae
Rib pairs
Precaudal vertebrae
Caudal vertebrae
Proximal radial on dorsal-fin
base
Proximal radial on anal-fin
base
Scales of upper lateral line
series
Scales of lower lateral line
serie
E0 series
E1 series
E2 series
Scales of dorsal fin origin
series
Scales of the end of superior
lateral line to dorsal fin series
Scales of anal fin origin series
Scales between lateral lines
Scales of peduncle depth
Cheek scales rows
Squ. Op.
Squ. Iop.
Squ. Sop.
Squ. Pop.
Squ. Predorsal
Squ. Prv.
range
15
9
3
9
1
5
–
–
–
15 (40) – 16 (4)
8 (14) – 9 (28)
3 (44)
8 (19) – 9 (27)
1 (44)
5 (44)
3 + 8 + 8 +3 (5)
12 (2) – 13 (3)
4 (1) – 5 (3) + 9 (2) – 10 (1) – 12 (2)
–
–
–
–
–
24 (5)
9 (3) – 10 (2)
12 (5)
12 (5)
22 (5)
–
9 (5)
15
13 (3) – 14 (19) – 15 (11) – 16 (1)
8
6 (7) – 7 (16) – 8 (11) – 9 (1)
20
24
25
3
19 (22) – 20 (12)
22 (6) – 23 (14) – 24 (13) – 25 (1)
22 (5) – 23 (13) – 24 (13) – 25 (3)
3 (34)
2
2 (34)
7
2
7
2
8
3
3
3
8
9
7 (34)
2 (34)
7 (34)
2 (34)
8 (23) – 9 (12)
3 (26) – 4 (9)
3 (25) – 4 (6)
3 (30) – 4 (5)
8 (22) – 9 (12)
8 (15) – 9 (19)
between snout and dorsal-in origin. Ventral proile
slightly convex from snout to caudal-peduncle origin.
Caudal peduncle approximately straight ventrally and
dorsally. Body proile elongate, laterally compressed.
Lower jaw slightly shorter than upper one. Three rows
of teeth on both upper and lower jaws. Jaw teeth caniniform. Teeth hyaline, reddish at tip. Opercle not serrated. Urogenital papilla externally visible, rounded.
Anterior portion of dorsal in rounded, posterior region pointed. Tip of dorsal in reaching vertical through
end of caudal in, in some specimens exceeding caudal
in. Anal in rounded anteriorly, pointed posteriorly.
Tip of anal in reaching vertical through end of caudal
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62 (2) 2012
Fig. 2. Laetacara curviceps: Lago Utinga, Belém municipality, Pará state.
in, in some specimens surpassing posterior margin of
caudal in. Caudal in rounded. Pectoral in rounded.
Pectoral-in base on vertical through dorsal-in origin.
Tip of pectoral-in reaching vertical through vertical
trunk bar 4. Pelvic in pointed. Pelvic-in base on vertical through second or third spine of dorsal in. Tip
of pelvic in approximately reaching vertical through
second anal-in ray.
Trunk and caudal peduncle covered with strongly
ctenoid scales, but scales above upper lateral line with
few ctenii. Predorsal scales cycloids with a trisserial
scaly pattern. No scales between dorsal and anal-in
rays, and caudal in with few ctenoid scales on base
(absent in some specimens). Pectoral and pelvic ins
without scales. Two scales between lateral lines, upper and lower lateral lines scales not overlapping vertically. Opercular plate scales cycloid. Three vertical
rows of scales on opercle plate, two horizontal rows
on cheek, and one row on subopercle, interopercle and
preopercle.
Ceratobranchials 1 – 4 without tooth plates. Ceratobranchial 5 partly medially sutured and relatively
robust, with 6 (1), 7 (3) or 8 (1) teeth along midline
and 20 (1), 21 (2), 22 (1) or 23 (1) teeth along posterior margin. Posterior teeth usually more compressed.
Posterior and medial teeth larger than lateral and anterior teeth. Posterior teeth bicuspid, curved forward.
Large laterally compressed teeth bicuspid. Presence of
two supraneurals and one narrow ectopterygoid.
Colouration in alcohol. (Fig. 1A) Side of body light
brown with seven dark brown bars between posterior
limit of caudal peduncle and posterior margin of opercle. Trunk bars usually forked. Two dark spots; irst
spot divided in two bands, one larger and one smaller,
located on base of caudal in through lower lateral line,
with two distinct patterns: bands elliptical, more common in juveniles (see Fig. 3A), and bands very elongated, like a bar (about 80 % of the specimens, mainly
in the adults) (see Fig. 3B); second spot squared, located on junction between longitudinal stripe and vertical trunk bar 5. Interrupted longitudinal stripe brown
between trunk bar 1 and margin of opercle, lighter and
inconspicuous between bars, and darker anteriorly to
trunk spot. Side of head with ground colouration as
trunk, darker on opercle.
Dorsal in with one black or dark brown spot
located on its base, above trunk bar 5, and one spot
above trunk bar 4 in some specimens. Dorsal and
anal ins light brown, with small interrupted bars on
posterior portion of ins, located anteriorly to trunk
bar 2. Caudal in hyaline, with small interrupted bars
on whole in. Pectoral in hyaline, pelvic in dark
brown.
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F.P. OTTONI et al.: Laetacara flamannellus – a new cichlid species from Brazil
A
B
C
Fig. 4. Distribution map of L. lamannellus sp.n.. Triangle represents the collecting site of the holotype, and circles of paratypes.
Fig. 3. Caudal-in base spot of: A – some juveniles of L. curviceps and L. lamannellus sp.n., few specimens of L. araguaiae
and specimens of L. dorsigera; B – 80 % of the specimens
(mainly adults), of L. curviceps and L. lamannellus sp.n.; and
C – majority of the specimens of L. araguaiae.
Colouration in life. (Fig. 1B) Side of body light
brown, with blue and green iridescence below and
along longitudinal stripe. Caudal peduncle and caudalin base with blue iridescence. Bars, spots and longitudinal stripe dark brown.
Side of head with colouration as side of body, with
blue or green iridescence on opercle. Two blue stripes
below eye. Some blue marks on opercle, sometimes
blue mark on snout. Snout yellow, upper jaw darker
than lower. Iris with yellow or orange colouration.
Dorsal in with blue background and intense yellow
stripe crossing middle of in, from irst spine to distal
tip of in. Some transversal intense yellow bars located
on soft portion of dorsal in (rays regions), alternated
by metallic blue dots. Dorsal-in margin with orange
or purple iridescence. Spot located on dorsal-in base,
above trunk bar 5, orange lame ring around spot. Anal
in intense yellow, with blue colouration on base and
blue metallic dots on posterior region. Caudal in blue,
with intense yellow bars along entire in, alternated by
blue dots. Dorsal and ventral intense yellow regions
located on posterior margin of caudal in. Posterior
margin of caudal in with bright purple colouration.
Dark red or purple region located on dorso-posterior
margin of caudal in. Pectoral in bright yellow. Pelvic
in intense yellow, spine and irst ray blue. Some blue
stripes distributed along pelvic in. Tip of pelvic-in
ilament dark brown.
Distribution (Fig. 4). Laetacara lamannellus occurs
along eastern coastal rivers of Amapá state, which
overlows during the rainy season, originating huge
loodplains. The northernmost record is from Igarapé
do Davi, in Amapá municipality and the southernmost
record is from córrego Areal, in Mazagão municipality
Habitat notes. Laetacara lamannellus was collected
mainly, including the type locality, in lentic water near
the bank, about 1.5 m from the margin in shallow places
(0.3 – 0.5 m) where herbaceous vegetation Cyperaceae
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62 (2) 2012
Fig. 5. Photograph of the collecting site of the holotype. Photograph from Beatriz Camisão.
prevailed (see Fig. 5). This looded grassland appears
only during the rainy season, from January to June, as
a consequence of river overlows. The annual air mean
temperature is 28 °C (pereira et al., 2002). In the same
biotope, we found Rivulus schuncki cOsta & de luca,
2011, juveniles of Hoplerythrinus unitaeniatus (spix &
agassiz, 1829) and Nannostomus sp.
Only one locality, Igarapé do Davi, presented somewhat different conditions. It was a lotic water creek
and L. lamannellus were collected in a shallow place
(0.4 m) on the looded margin. We found sympatrically
Apistogramma gossei Kullander, 1982, Crenicichla
inpa plOeg, 1991, Krobia sp., Mesonauta sp., Satano
perca jurupari (hecKel, 1840) and Fluviphylax palikur cOsta & le Bail, 1999.
Etymology. The name lamannellus is a contraction
from the Latin lammeus, meaning lame coloured,
and from the Latin annellus, meaning ring, due to the
presence of an orange lame ring around the dorsal-in
spot, one of the diagnostic character states of the new
species.
Discussion
Laetacara lamannellus sp. n. is herein described
from the coastal river loodplains of eastern Amapá,
northern Brazil. It is included in Laetacara because
it its with all the diagnostic character states proposed
by Kullander (1986) for the genus, as cited above.
Laetacara lamannellus sp. n. is similar to L. curviceps in general counts and morphology, and similar to
both L. dorsigera and L. curviceps in general colour
pattern of preserved specimens. These three species
differ from all their congeners by sharing a characteristic colour pattern: the presence of a dark brown
or black spot on the dorsal-in base, above trunk bar
5 (vs. absence). With the addition of the new species
herein described, Laetacara currently comprises seven valid species, being the ninth more speciose genus
of Cichlinae.
OttOni et al. (2009) did not ind ctenii on the opercular plate scales of L. curviceps, but re-examination
of specimens of that species, including newly collected material, listed on the comparative material, demonstrated that few ctenii are present on the opercular
plate scales.
Comparing the shape of the caudal-in base spot
among congeners, some differences can be observed:
Laetacara lamannellus sp. n. and L. curviceps possess
two patterns of caudal-in base spot: spot divided in two
elliptical bands or divided in two bands very elongated
(see Fig. 3A – B) (the colour pattern of the caudal-in
base spot is detailed in the description of colour in alcohol above); L. dorsigera possesses only one pattern:
spot divided in two elliptical bands (see Fig. 3A); L.
araguaiae usually possesses usually spot not divided in
two bands (Fig. 3C), with just few specimens possessing the spot divided in two elliptical bands (Fig. 3A);
and L. thayeri does not possess any spot. No specimens
of L. lavilabris and L. fulvipinnis were examined,
impossibiliting any conclusion about the pattern of the
caudal-in base spot in these two species.
188
F.P. OTTONI et al.: Laetacara flamannellus – a new cichlid species from Brazil
A deep notch in the dorsal margin of the anterior
ceratohyal (Kullander, 1986: ig. 149 and OttOni et
al., 2009: Fig. 4) was treated as a synapomorphy of
Laetacara by Kullander (1986), a condition subsequently conirmed for L. dorsigera and L. araguaiae by OttOni & cOsta (2009). However, casciOtta
(1998) and staecK & schinlder (2007) contested this
character state as diagnostic for the genus, claiming
that it was not found in L. fulvipinnis and some populations of L. dorsigera, in Argentina. Later OttOni
et al. (2009) conirmed the presence of this character state in L. curviceps, but also contest the use of
this character state as synapomorphy of Laetacara,
because of the contrasting results presented by those
contributions above. In the present paper, the presence
of a deep notch in the dorsal margin of the anterior
ceratohyal is conirmed for L. lamannellus sp. n., L.
thayeri and in additional populations of L. curviceps
(see comparative material).
Acknowledgements
Thanks are due to Orlando Simões, Gilvan da Silva, Axel Katz,
José Mattos and Filipe Pereira for daily help and assistance
in the laboratory; to Érika Malakian for the assistance in the
IEPA collection; to Wilson Costa for corrections and suggestions on the manuscript; and to Beatriz Camisão form providing photograph of the type locality. This study was supported
by CNPq (Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientíico e Tecnológico – Ministério da Ciência e Tecnologia) and
FAPERJ (Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio
de Janeiro).
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Cecile Gama