Peckoltia greedoi Armbruster, Werneke & Tan

Armbruster, Jonathan W., Werneke, David C. & Tan, Milton, 2015, Three new species of saddled loricariid catfishes, and a review of Hemiancistrus, Peckoltia, and allied genera (Siluriformes), ZooKeys 480, pp. 97-123 : 102-107

Taxon classification Animalia Siluriformes Loricariidae

Peckoltia greedoi Armbruster, Werneke & Tan sp. n. Fig. 4, Table 3

Type locality.

Brazil, South America

Holotype.

MCP 21972, 78.0 mm SL, BRAZIL, Pará, río Gurupi on BR 316 at border of Pará and Maranhão, -01.8003°, -046.3167°, 23 Jul 1998, R. Reis, J. P. Silva, E. Pereira, J. Montoya.

Paratypes.

ANSP 197617, 2, 56.0-67.4, AUM 65117, 2, 57.6-71.9, MCP 48396, 23, 46.3-75.8, MNRJ 42663, 2, 55.2-71.5, same locality data as holotype.

Diagnosis.

Peckoltia greedoi can be separated from Peckoltia pankimpuju by having well developed color and eyes; from all other Peckoltia except Peckoltia ephippiata by having the head uniformly colored (vs. large spots, mottling, short lines, or thick dark areas; faint spots are present in Peckoltia ephippiata , but are not obvious); from all Peckoltia except Peckoltia braueri , Peckoltia capitulata , Peckoltia compta , Peckoltia lujani , Peckoltia oligospila , Peckoltia otali , and Peckoltia stimulata by having the abdomen largely naked posterior to the pectoral girdle (vs. only small naked patches at insertions of pelvic fins); from all Peckoltia except Peckoltia ephippiata , Peckoltia furcata , Peckoltia lujani , Peckoltia pankimpuju , and Peckoltia sabaji by having the dentaries meet at an angle greater than 90°; from Peckoltia ephippiata by having fewer teeth ( Peckoltia greedoi : 16-39 dentary, 20-38 premaxillary; Peckoltia ephippiata : 39-72 dentary, 41-73 premaxilary), by having faint spots forming bands in the dorsal fin, and by having platelets maximally present below pectoral girdle and in a narrow, lateral column just posterior to pectoral fin, and below pelvic girdle (vs. platelets on the central region of the abdomen posterior to the pectoral girdle present); and by lacking slight keels on the lateral plates (vs. keels present, strongest on median series); from Peckoltia lujani by having no spots on the posterodorsal surface of head and nape (vs. large spots), and by having the pectoral-fin spine relaxed position angled dorsally, pointing at insertion of dorsal fin (vs. pectoral-fin spine angled only slightly dorsally, pointing maximally to dorsal insertion of caudal fin) and pectoral-fin spine reaching two or more plates of the ventral series beyond the pelvic base when adpressed ventral to pelvic fin (vs. less than one plate).

Peckoltia greedoi differs from Etsaputu by having greater than six evertible cheek odontodes, the largest of which extends posterior to the eye (vs. six or fewer, the largest not extending beyond the exposed portion of the opercle). Peckoltia greedoi can be separated from Hemiancistrus (except ' Hemiancistrus ' landoni ) and Ancistomus by having prominent dorsal saddles (vs. dark or light spots or entirely dark); and from all Hemiancistrus and Ancistomus by having bands in the caudal fin and no free spots (vs. bands absent or present with some free spots) and bands in the dorsal fin (vs. spots or no markings). Peckoltia greedoi can be separated from Peckoltichthys bachi by having no spots on the head (vs. large dark spots or mottling); by having the eyes high on the head with the dorsal rim of the orbit higher than the interorbital space (vs. low on the head, dorsal rim of orbit lower than interorbital space), and by having small plates on the abdomen (vs. relatively large).

Peckoltia greedoi is very similar to Peckoltia vittata . It differs from Peckoltia vittata by having the dentaries meeting at an angle>90° (vs. <90°), by having a shallower slope of the head (~30° from snout tip to orbit, vs.>45°), no change in slope of head from anterior margin of orbit to tip of parieto-supraoccipital (vs. angle becoming much shallower beyond orbits), head appearing narrower and longer when placed side-by-side with similar size specimens, abdomen without platelets between pectoral and pelvic girdles (vs. platelets present), pectoral-fin spine reaching two or more plates beyond pelvic-fin base when adpressed ventral to pelvic fin (vs. less than one plate).

Description.

Morphometrics in Table 3. Counts and measurements based on 30 specimens. Small to medium-sized loricariids, largest specimen examined 78.0 mm SL. Body moderately elongate. Head and nape forming arc from tip of snout to insertion of dorsal fin. Dorsal slope decreasing in straight line to insertion of dorsal procurrent caudal rays then ascending to caudal fin. Body depth greatest below insertion of dorsal fin. Ventral profile flat to caudal fin. Caudal peduncle triangular in cross section with dorsal surface flattened. Body widest at insertion of pectoral fins, narrowest at insertion of caudal fin. Snout rounded.

Eye moderately sized, dorsal rim of orbit forming tall crest that continues forward to area just anterior of nares as low, rounded ridge. Iris operculum present. Interorbital space flat anteriorly, but with slight, rounded, median hump posteriorly that is contiguous with ridge of parieto-supraoccipital. Parieto-supraoccipital pointed posteriorly with the posterior point raised above nuchal region in small crest. Infraorbitals, frontal, nasal, compound pterotic, and parieto-supraoccipital supporting odontodes. Preopercle not supporting odontodes. Opercle generally covered by plates and not supporting odontodes although one to four may be present, particularly in smaller individuals.

Lips covered with short, wide papillae. Lower lip wide, upper lip narrow. Edge of lower lip with small crenulae. Maxillary barbel only barbel present, reaching about one third of distance to gill opening.

Median plates 24-26 (mode 25). Plates unkeeled, but first four or five plates of mid-ventral series bent to form slight ridge. Five caudal peduncle plate rows. Plates on all dorsolateral surfaces of body except for extreme edge of snout that only has a narrow column of platelets on either side of the snout tip. Throat mostly naked with platelets confined to lateral margins. Pectoral girdle covered in platelets on ventral surface. Breast naked except for one or two platelets laterally between pectoral and pelvic fin insertions. Abdomen covered in platelets behind last pelvic-fin ray insertion except for lateral margins and small region around anus. Evertible cheek plates supporting hypertrophied odontodes that can be everted perpendicular to head. Cheek odontodes 17-40 (mode 33). Longest evertible cheek odontode reaching to about level of posterior edge of pectoral-fin spine. Hypertrophied cheek odontodes relatively weak. Odontodes slightly longer than average body odontodes present along dorsal-, adipose-, pelvic-, caudal-, and pectoral-fin spines; larger individuals with hypertrophied odontodes at tip of pectoral spine.

Dorsal fin ii,7; dorsal spinelet V-shaped, dorsal-fin locking mechanism present, last ray of dorsal fin not reaching preadipose plate when adpressed. Adipose fin with single preadipose plate and moderately long spine. Caudal fin i,14,i; caudal fin forked, ventral lobe longer than dorsal lobe; dorsal and ventral procurrent caudal rays five. Pectoral fin i,6; pectoral-fin spine reaching just posterior to pelvic fin when adpressed ventral to pelvic fin. Pelvic fin i,5; pelvic-fin spine extending to posterior end of base of anal fin when adpressed. Anal fin i,4; anal-fin spine slightly shorter than first ray.

Teeth bicuspid with lateral lobe one-half to three-quarters length of medial lobe and distal tip of lateral cusp one-half width of tip of medial cusp. 16-39 left dentary teeth (mode 28). 20-38 left premaxillary teeth (mode 27).

Color.

Base color red brown. Head and nape almost completely dark brown. Pectoral-fin spine dark brown with faint, large, oblong spots on dorsal surface forming faint bands across pectoral-fin rays. Pelvic fin as pectoral but lighter. Dorsal fin with oblong spots along spine forming bands across dorsal-fin rays. Caudal fin with three to four bands that may be regular (contiguous along height of fin) or irregular (ventral and dorsal parts offset); lighter interspaces tan, usually equal in diameter to dark. Body with three saddles, first below middle of dorsal fin, second with anterior half below posterior end of dorsal fin and posterior half behind dorsal fin, and third beginning at preadipose plate to about middle adipose-fin membrane; saddles connected at median plate series; saddles appear to be formed of two bars each that fuse as specimens get older, and connection between bands form because the ventral sides appear to get darker with age. Ventral surface uniformly light except for the present of blotches from anterior insertion of anal fin to caudal fin, which may or may not be extensions of the saddles onto the ventral surface.

Sexual dimorphism.

None observed.

Distribution.

Known only from the type locality in the rio Gurupi drainage of Brazil (Fig. 3).

Remarks.

Armbruster (2008) reported Peckoltia vittata from the rio Gurupi drainage; however, this was based on the collection identified here as Peckoltia greedoi . Characters to separate Peckoltia greedoi from Peckoltia vittata are detailed in the diagnosis.

Etymology.

Named for Greedo of Rodia, a bounty hunter killed by Han Solo in Chalmun’s Spaceport Cantina in the movie "Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope" (Lucasfilm, Twentieth Century Fox, 1977) with whom this species shares a remarkable resemblance.