Trichomycterus Valenciennes

Sergio M. Q. Lima & Wilson J. E. M. Costa, 2004, Trichomycterus giganteus (Siluriformes: Loricarioidea: Trichomycteridae): a new catfish from the Rio Guandu basin, southeastern Brazil., Zootaxa 761, pp. 1-6 : 1-2

Trichomycterus Valenciennes is the most speciose genus of the Trichomycteridae, with over a hundred valid and many undescribed species (de Pinna, 1998).

Despite the broad distribution of the genus, most species have limited distributions, and usually are restricted to only one river (Eigenmann, 1918).

Although evidence of new species is abundant (Costa, 1992; Barbosa & Costa, 2003; de Pinna, 1992; Trajano & de Pinna, 1996), many can not be formally described because of the systematic problems within Trichomycterus (e. g., poorly diagnosed species), and because it is the only genus not supported by any synapomorphy (de Pinna, 1989). Among those problems, the older original descriptions, based only on external morphology of few specimens, are among the biggest obstacles in the knowledge of the real diversity (de Pinna, 1998; Trajano & de Pinna, 1996). The consequence is that only very distinctive species could be easily described in recent years. The new species herein described is one of these species, even though it is the largest species of southeastern Brazil and has a distinctive color pattern.