The present paper describes a new occurrence of the species Brachyhypopomus draco in a wetland area of theLagoa do Peixe National Park, state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Bastos, R. F.

Claudino, M. C.

Corrêa, F.

Garcia, A. M.

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Journal of species lists and distribution Chec ListISSN 1809-127X (online edition)© 2010 Check List and AuthorsOpen Access | Freely available at www.checklist.org.brNotes oN GeoGraphic DistributioN358 Check List | Volume 6 | Issue 3 | 2010Figure  1.  Picture  of  female  Brachyhypopomus  draco  collected  in  a wetland area of the Lagoa do Peixe National Park, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil (Picture by Fabiano Corrêa).Abstract: The present paper describes a new occurrence of the species Brachyhypopomus draco in a wetland area of the Lagoa do Peixe National Park, state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.  Universidade Federal de Rio Grande, Instituto de Oceanografia, Laboratório de Ictiologia, Campus Carreiros. Caixa Postal 474. Rio Grande, RS,      Brazil. *  Correponding author. E-mail: maluclaudino@hotmail.comPisces, Gymnotiformes, Hypopomidae, Brachyhypopomus draco (Giora, Malabarba and Crampton, 2008): New species record at Lagoa do Peixe National Park, state of Rio Grande do Sul, BrazilThe  Family  Hypopomidae  is  one  of  five  nominal families of the Order Gymnotiformes Reis et al. (2003), all of which produce weak electric impulses for the purposes of  communication  and  electrolocation  (Sullivan  and Hopkins 2009). This family is comprised of approximately 19 species (Loureiro and Silva 2006; Sullivan and Hopkins 2009). As proposed by Albert and Crampton (2003), the species of Hypopomid family are identified by the following morphologic  characters:  teeth  absent  from  both  jaws, snout’s length from moderate to short, small eyes, a nasal capsule near the eye, anterior nares located outside gape, infraorbital  bones  ossified  as  slender  tubes,  operculum trapezoidal, hyomandibula oriented oblique to long axis of head, anal-fin origin ventral or posterior to pectoral fin-base and no caudal fin or dorsal organ.  Brachyhypopomus draco Giora, Malabarba and Crampton, 2008, is a electric fish belonging to the Hypopomidae family that has been recently  described  by  Giora  et  al.  (2008)  (Figure  1). These authors characterized the species by the presence of  urogenital  papilla  in  females  and  males,  although less  developed  in  juveniles;  pectoral  fins  rounded  with pigmented  rays  and  perpendicular  insertion;  pectoral-fin rays i-ii + 13-15 (15-17 total pectoral-fin rays, n = 47, median = 16). Anal fin relatively long with vii-xii + 148-186 rays (155-198 total anal-fin rays, n = 41, mean = 181.3) which  are  pigmented.  Anal-fin  origin  located  posterior to posterior edge of pectoral fin. Precaudal vertebrae 21-23 (20-22 anterior, 1-2 transitional; n= 6). This species is widely distributed in the Rio Grande do Sul (RS) state, occurring in its central, southern and coastal regions and it is also found in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay (Giora et al. 2008). Brachyhypopomus draco inhabits lagoons, rives edges, slow moving creeks and flood areas with abundant floating vegetation.On  February  20th,  2009,  we  collected  three  female specimens of B. draco (average total length, TL, of 61 ± 19mm and average weight of 0.68 ± 0.38 g) in a wetland (31°6’5.10”  S,  50°51’16.71”  W)  located  approximately 6  km  east  from  the  city  of  Mostardas  in  the  Lagoa  do Peixe  National  Park  (LPNP)  (Figure  2).  Our  current records extend 81 Km southeastern the previous known distribution  of  the  species  and  also  represent  its  first record in a national park located along the RS coastline (Figure  2).  Individuals  of  B.  draco  were  collected  with a small seine net (1x1m of opening and with size mesh of 5 mm) altogether with several other species during a research field trip conducted by the Ichthyology Laboratory of  the  Rio  Grande  Federal  University,  FURG  (SISBIO’s   license for field collection number 14443-1). Specimens were preserved in 10 % formalin and later identified at the Ichthyology Laboratory based primarily on Giora et al.  (2008).  Specimens  examined  were  deposited  at  the Ichthyology Laboratory in the same university (catalogue number FURG2186). Marlucy Coelho Claudino*, Fabiano Corrêa, Rodrigo Ferreira Bastos and Alexandre Miranda GarciaRecently,  an  extensive  fish  inventory  conducted  by Loebmann  and  Vieira  (2005)  did  not  found  this  specie of electric fish among the 73 fish species they reported to occur in several freshwater and estuarine sites of the LPNP.  The  present  work  reports  for  the  first  time  the occurrence of B. draco in the LPNP, which is considered as a “Biosphere Reserve” by UNESCO and was declared a  national  park  by  Brazilian  authorities  in  1986.  The occurrence of this recently discovered electric fish species inside the LPNP highlights the urgent need to reinforce conservation actions aiming to protect its aquatic habitats, 359 Check List | Volume 6 | Issue 3 | 2010Figure 2. Southern Brazil (A) and the Lagoa do Peixe National Park (B) showing the location of wetland area where the specimens of Brachyhypopomus draco were captured. Blue dots denote the previous known geographic distribution of B. draco. The red dot denotes the current record of B. draco inside the borders of the Lagoa do Peixe National Park.Claudino et al. | Pisces, Gymnotiformes, Hypopomidae, Brachyhypopomus draco (Giora, Malabarba and Crampton, 2008)Literature CitedAlbert,  J.S.  and  W.  Crampton.  2003.  Family  Hypopomidae  (Bluntnose Knifefishes) In: Reis, R. E., S.O. Kullander and C.J. Ferraris Jr. (Eds.). 2003. Check List of Freshwater Fishes of the South and Central America. Porto Alegre: Edipucrs. 729 p.Giora, J., L.R. Malabarba and W.G.R. Crampton. 2008. Brachyhypopomus draco, a new sexually dimorphic species of Neotropical electric fish from  southern  South  America  (Gymnotiformes:  Hypopomidae). Neotropical Ichthyology 6: 159-168.Loebmann, D. and J.P. Vieira. 2005. Composição e abundância dos peixes do Parque Nacional da Lagoa do Peixe, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil e comentários sobre a fauna acompanhante de crustáceos decápodos. Atlântica 27(2): 131-137.Received: April 2010Revised: April 2010Accepted: May 2010Published online: August 2010Editorial responsibility: Javier A. Maldonado O.including  marginal  areas  that  are  seasonal  flooded. Ongoing anthropogenic impacts related to private land use within the park, such as cattle grazing and farming, could pose  serious  threats  to  his  habitats  and,  consequently, to the future maintenance of this new fish species in the LPNP.Loureiro  M.  and  A.  Silva.  2009.  A  New  Species  of  Brachyhypopomus (Gymnotiformes, Hypopomidae) from Northeast Uruguay. Copeia 4: 665-673.Reis, R.E., S.O. Kullander, and C.J. Ferraris, Jr. (Eds.). 2003. Checklist of the freshwater fishes of South and Central America. EDIPUCRS, Porto Alegre, Brasil. 729 p.Sullivan,  J.P.  and  C.D.  Hopkins.  2009.  Brachyhypopomus  bullock,  new species of electric kinfefish (Gymnotiformes: Hypopomidae), from northern  South  America.  Proceedings  of  the  Academy  of  Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, 158: 183-192. 

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Pisces, Gymnotiformes, Hypopomidae, <i>Brachyhypopomus draco</i> (Giora, Malabarba and Crampton, 2008): New species record at Lagoa doPeixe National Park, state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Pisces, Gymnotiformes, Hypopomidae, <i>Brachyhypopomus draco</i> (Giora, Malabarba and Crampton, 2008): New species record at Lagoa doPeixe National Park, state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

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