Neotropical Ichthyology, 13(2): 287-296, 2015
Copyright © 2015 Sociedade Brasileira de Ictiologia
DOI: 10.1590/1982-0224-20150018
Redescription of Corydoras guapore Knaack, 1961 (Siluriformes:
Callichthyidae), a midwater Corydoradinae species from the rio
Guaporé basin
Luiz Fernando Caserta Tencatt1 and Carla Simone Pavanelli1,2
Corydoras guapore was described from the rio Guaporé, Rondônia State, Brazil, based only in three specimens, two of
them merely examined alive in an aquarium and apparently not preserved posteriorly. The current location of these two
paratypes is uncertain. In the original description, no standard diagnosis was presented and the descriptive information
available is scarce and based only in external morphology. Thus, the aim of this study is to provide a redescription of C.
guapore based in several topotypes. Corydoras guapore can be distinguished from its congeners by the presence of a short
mesethmoid, with the anterior tip poorly developed; posterior margin of pectoral spine with conical serrations directed
towards the origin of the spine; and by the lateral portion of caudal peduncle almost entirely blackened. Information about
C. guapore ecology and conservation status are also provided.
Corydoras guapore foi descrita do rio Guaporé, estado de Rondônia, Brasil, com base em somente três exemplares, sendo
dois deles apenas examinados vivos em um aquário e aparentemente não preservados posteriormente. A atual localização
desses dois parátipos é incerta. Na descrição original, uma diagnose padrão não foi apresentada e as informações descritivas
disponíveis são escassas e baseadas apenas em morfologia externa. Dessa forma, o objetivo desse estudo é fornecer uma
redescrição de C. guapore baseada em vários topótipos. Corydoras guapore pode ser distinguida de suas congêneres pela
presença de mesetmóide curto, com a extremidade anterior pouco desenvolvida, margem posterior do acúleo peitoral com
serrilhas cônicas voltadas em direção à origem do acúleo, e pela porção lateral do pedúnculo caudal quase totalmente
enegrecida. Informações sobre a ecologia e status de conservação de C. guapore também são fornecidas.
Keywords: “Corydoras elegans-group”, Gastrodermus, Homoplastic color patterns, Mato Grosso State, Taxonomy.
Introduction
Isbrücker (1980) included the species of the “Corydoras
hastatus-group” in the “Corydoras elegans-group” and
additionally included C. guapore, C. latus Pearson, 1924,
which was not hosted in any group in Nijssen’s (1970) work,
and C. undulatus Regan, 1912 in the group.
In the molecular phylogenetic hypothesis presented
by Alexandrou et al. (2011), some of the species of the
“Corydoras elegans-group” sensu Nijssen & Isbrücker
(1980) appeared in a larger monophyletic clade composed
by two smaller clades assigned as lineages 4 and 5. Along
with the species of the “Corydoras elegans-group”, C.
bilineatus Knaack, 2002, C. gracilis Nijssen & Isbrücker,
1976, C. napoensis Nijssen & Isbrücker, 1986 and C.
nijsseni Sands, 1989, and other unidentiied species were
also recovered in the same clade. These species possesses
a very peculiar morphologic pattern that shares features
between the typical short-snouted species from the lineage
Corydoras Lacépède, 1803 is the largest genus of
Siluriformes, currently harboring more than 170 valid
species (Reis, 2003; Eschmeyer, 2015). One of the more
comprehensive studies regarding Corydoras species was
presented by Nijssen (1970), in his revision of the Corydoras
species from the Suriname. Additionally, the author
proposed nine groups of species based mainly in color
pattern and external morphology. One of the groups was
the “Corydoras hastatus-group”, composed by three dwarf
species: C. australis Eigenmann & Ward, 1907, C. hastatus
Eigenmann & Eigenmann, 1888, and C. pygmaeus Knaack,
1966. Another group proposed by Nijssen (1970) was the
“Corydoras elegans-group”, hosting three species, C.
elegans Steindachner, 1876, C. nanus Nijssen & Isbrücker,
1967, and C. pestai Holly, 1940. Ten years later, Nijssen &
1
Universidade Estadual de Maringá, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia de Ambientes Aquáticos Continentais, Av. Colombo,
5790, 87020-900 Maringá, Paraná, Brazil. luiztencatt@hotmail.com (corresponding author)
2
Universidade Estadual de Maringá, Núcleo de Pesquisas em Limnologia, Ictiologia e Aquicultura, Av. Colombo, 5790, 87020-900
Maringá, Paraná, Brazil. carlasp@nupelia.uem.br
287
288
Redescription of Corydoras guapore
9 and the long-snouted species from the lineage 1 sensu
Alexandrou et al. (2011). Despite the presence of a short
mesethmoid with anterior tip poorly developed, which give
a short and rounded aspect to the snout, the aforementioned
species, with exception of C. hastatus and C. pygmaeus,
possess the pectoral spine with conical serrations directed
towards the origin of the spine (vs. perpendicularly inserted
or directed towards the tip of the spine laminar serrations
in the species of lineage 9), which is present in the longsnouted species.
Corydoras guapore was described by Knaack (1961)
from the rio Guaporé in Rondônia, Brazil. The original
description was based on the holotype and two live paratypes.
Apparently, the paratypes were not posteriorly preserved or
deposited in any museum or collection after the description
and their current location is unknown. During collecting
trips carried out by the Laboratório de Biologia de Peixes
of the Universidade Estadual Paulista in the rio Guaporé,
Mato Grosso State, in 2010, many specimens of C. guapore
were captured. Since the original description is deicient
concerning information about several morphological
features, mainly the osteological ones, and was based on
only three specimens, two of them only examined alive in
tanks, the aim of this study is to provide a redescription of
C. guapore.
In the description, numbers in parenthesis represent
the total number of specimens presenting the respective
count. Institutional abbreviations are: AI, Asociación
Ictiológica de La Plata, La Plata; ANSP, Academy of
Natural Sciences of Drexel University, Philadelphia;
BMNH, Natural History Museum, London; LBP,
Laboratório de Biologia de Peixes da Universidade
Estadual Paulista, Botucatu; MCP, Museu de Ciências e
Tecnologia da Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio
Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre; MNRJ, Museu Nacional,
Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro;
MTD, Museum fur Tierkunde, Dresden; MZUSP,
Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo, São
Paulo; NRM, Naturhistoriska Riksmuseet, Stockholm;
NUP, Coleção Ictiológica do Núcleo de Pesquisas em
Limnologia, Ictiologia e Aquicultura da Universidade
Estadual de Maringá, Maringá; ZMB, Zoologisches
Museum von Humboldt-Universitat, Berlin; ZUFMS-PIS,
Coleção Zoológica de Referência da Universidade Federal
de Mato Grosso do Sul, Campo Grande.
Results
Corydoras guapore Knaack, 1961
(Figs. 1-5; Table 1)
Material and Methods
Measurements were obtained with a digital caliper to
the nearest tenth of millimeter. Morphometric and meristic
data were taken following Reis (1997), except for the length
of the anal-in spine, which is absent in all Corydoradinae.
The pectoral spine length was included in the morphometric
analysis and was taken from its base to its distal tip.
Morphometrics are reported as percents of standard length
(SL) and head length (HL). Homology of barbels follows
Britto & Lima (2003). Specimens were cleared and stained
(c&s) following the protocol of Taylor & van Dyke (1985).
Osteological terminology was based on Reis (1998), except
for the use of parieto-supraoccipital instead of supraoccipital
(Arratia & Gayet, 1995) and compound pterotic instead of
pterotic-supracleithrum (Aquino & Schaefer, 2002). The
supra-preopercle sensu Huysentruyt & Adriaens (2005)
will be treated here as a part of the hyomandibula according
to Vera-Alcaraz (2013). Vertebral counts follow Britto et al.
(2009).
Data about Corydoras bilineatus, C. caudimaculatus
Rössel, 1961, C. elegans, C. gracilis, C. mamore Knaack,
2003, C. nanus, C. napoensis, C. nijsseni, C. ourastigma
Nijssen, 1972, C. paucerna Knaack, 2004, C. pygmaeus
and C. undulatus were obtained through their original
descriptions and/or high resolution photographs of typespecimens hosted in the British Museum of Natural History,
London. Photographs of other pertinent type specimens
were available to examination through the All Catishes
Inventory Site (Morris et al., 2006).
Fig. 1. Holotype of Corydoras guapore, ZMB 21406, 33.3
mm SL, Brazil, Rondônia State, main stream of the upper rio
Guaporé. Lateral, dorsal and ventral views. Photo by Mark
Allen, All Catish Species Inventory (NSF DEB-0315963),
copyright Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin.
289
L. F. C. Tencatt & C. S. Pavanelli
Diagnosis. Corydoras guapore can be distinguished
from its congeners, with exception of C. bilineatus, C.
elegans, C. gracilis, C. mamore, C. nanus, C. napoensis,
C. nijsseni, C. paucerna and C. undulatus, by having the
following unique combination of features: mesethmoid
short, with anterior tip poorly developed (vs. long, with
well-developed anterior tip); serrations directed towards
pectoral-spine origin (vs. perpendicularly inserted;
or directed towards pectoral-spine tip); and conical
serrations on posterior margin of pectoral spine (vs.
laminar). Corydoras guapore can be distinguished from C.
bilineatus, C. elegans, C. gracilis, C. mamore, C. nanus,
C. napoensis, C. nijsseni, C. paucerna and C. undulatus
by the presence of dorso- and ventrolateral body plates
with vertically elongated or irregular brown blotches
anteriorly to adipose in, and lateral portion of caudal
peduncle almost entirely blackened (vs. with two or three
longitudinal black stripes in C. bilineatus, C. elegans,
C. napoensis, C. undulatus; a thickened black stripe on
dorsolateral body plates, ventrolateral body plates with
irregular black spots in C. gracilis; irregular small black
spots in C. mamore and C. paucerna; upper portion of
dorsolateral body plates with intense black pigmentation,
becoming diffuse toward ventrolateral body plates in C.
nijsseni). Additionally, C. guapore can be distinguished
from C. hastatus and C. pygmaeus by the presence of
adipose in with anterior portion hyaline and posterior
portion blackened (vs. entirely hyaline); and the absence
of a longitudinal black stripe on midline of lank (vs.
presence of a slender diffuse longitudinal black stripe in
C. hastatus; and a thicker conspicuous longitudinal black
stripe in C. pygmaeus).
Description. Morphometric data presented in Table 1.
Head compressed with convex dorsal proile; somewhat
pentagonal in dorsal view. Snout short and rounded. Head
proile convex from tip of snout to anterior nares; and
slightly concave from this point to the tip of posterior
process of parieto-supraoccipital. Dorsal proile of body
slightly convex along dorsal-in base. Body proile nearly
straight from posterior portion of dorsal-in to adiposein spine; markedly concave from this point to caudal-in
base. Ventral proile of body slightly convex from isthmus
to pelvic girdle; nearly straight from pelvic girdle to base
of irst anal-in ray; abruptly concave from this point to
caudal-in base. Body roughly elliptical in cross section
at pectoral girdle, gradually becoming more compressed
toward caudal in.
Eye rounded, located meso-laterally on head; orbit
delimited dorsally by lateral ethmoid, frontal and
sphenotic, ventrally by infraorbitals. Anterior and posterior
nares close to each other, only separated by lap of skin.
Anterior naris tubular. Posterior naris relatively distant
to antero-dorsal margin of orbit, separated from it by
distance equal to twice the diameter of naris. Mouth small,
subterminal, width nearly equal to bony orbit diameter.
Maxillary barbel long in size, reaching anteroventral
limit of gill opening. Outer mental barbel slightly smaller
than maxillary barbel. Inner mental barbel leshy, its base
slightly separated from its counterpart. Small rounded
papillae covering entire surface of all barbels, upper and
lower lips, and isthmus.
Mesethmoid short; anterior tip thickened and poorly
developed, smaller than 50% of the bone length; with
poorly-developed lateral cornua; posterior portion
widened, partially exposed and bearing minute odontodes.
Nasal slender, curved laterally, with inner margin laminar;
posterior portion of outer margin laminar; mesial border
contacting frontal and mesethmoid. Frontal elongated,
narrow, with width slightly larger than half of entire
length; anterior projection short, size smaller than nasal
length. Frontal fontanel large, slender; posterior tip
extension slightly entering anterior margin of parietosupraoccipital. Parieto-supraoccipital wide, posterior
process long and contacting nuchal plate; region of contact
between posterior process and nuchal plate covered by
thick layer of skin.
Table 1. Morphometric data of Corydoras guapore. N =
number of specimens and SD = standard deviation.
Standard length (mm)
N
Low-High
Mean±SD
20
27.4-33.6
29.4±1.3
Percents of standard length
Depth of body
20
36.9-40.2
38.5±1.0
Predorsal distance
20
47.1-49.8
48.4±0.6
Prepelvic distance
20
49.1-52.7
51.2 ±1.0
Preanal distance
20
79.8-82.9
81.2±0.9
Preadipose distance
20
82.8-87.3
85.4±1.1
Length of dorsal spine
20
25.0-29.4
27.4±1.3
Length of pectoral spine
20
24.1-29.6
27.6±1.2
Length of adipose-in spine
20
8.5-11.5
9.7±0.7
Depth of caudal peduncle
20
14.3-16.5
15.1±0.6
Length of dorsal-in base
20
15.4-18.3
16.9±0.7
Dorsal to adipose distance
20
20.1-25.6
22.6±1.6
Maximum cleithral width
20
22.4-24.1
23.4±0.4
Head length
20
39.9-42.7
41.2±0.7
Length of maxillary barbel
20
14.5-19.4
16.9±1.3
Percents of head length
Head depth
20
83.5-89.3
86.1±1.7
Least interorbital distance
20
43.7-49.1
46.4±1.4
Horizontal orbit diameter
20
21.8-26.1
24.4±0.9
Snout length
20
33.3-38.8
35.9±1.4
Least internarial distance
20
24.8-28.6
26.9±1.0
290
Redescription of Corydoras guapore
Two laminar infraorbitals with minute odontodes;
infraorbital 1 large, ventral laminar expansion very reduced;
anterior portion with poorly developed expansion (Fig. 2);
infraorbital 2 small, thickened; with posterior laminar
expansion well developed; posteroventral margin contacting
posterodorsal ridge of hyomandibula, dorsal tip contacting
sphenotic and compound pterotic (Fig. 3). Posterodorsal
ridge of hyomandibula close to its articulation with opercle
conspicuously slender; exposed, very reduced and bearing
small odontodes; dorsal ridge of hyomandibula between
compound pterotic and opercle covered by posterodorsal laminar expansion of infraorbital 2. Interopercle
almost entirely exposed, somewhat triangular, anterior
projection well developed. Preopercle slender, elongated,
with minute sparse odontodes on external surface. Opercle
dorsoventrally elongated, width equal or smaller than
length; free margin slightly convex, without serrations
and covered by small odontodes. Anteroventral portion of
cleithrum and posterolateral portion of scapulocoracoid
exposed. Anteroventral and posteroventral suture between
cleithrum and scapulocoracoid exposed; moderately
developed odontodes sparse on exposed areas. Vertebral
count 22(2); ribs 7(2), irst pair conspicuously larger;
complex vertebra slender in shape. Neural and haemal
spines with laminar expansions on anterior margin of
proximal region; expanded in distal tips.
Fig. 2. Topotype of Corydoras guapore, ZUFMS-PIS 4000, 33.6 mm SL, Brazil, Mato Grosso State, rio Guaporé. Dorsal,
lateral and ventral views.
L. F. C. Tencatt & C. S. Pavanelli
Fig. 3. Lateral view of the head of a cleared-and-stained
specimen of Corydoras guapore, ZUFMS-PIS 4000, 28.8
mm SL. Abbreviations: io1: infraorbital 1, io2: infraorbital 2,
sph: sphenotic, cpt: compound pterotic. Scale bar = 1 mm.
Four branchiostegals rays decreasing in size posteriorly.
Hypobranchial 2 somewhat triangular, tip ossiied and
directed towards anterior portion, posterior margin
cartilaginous; ossiied portion well developed, about
twice size of cartilaginous portion. Five ceratobranchials
with expansions increasing posteriorly; ceratobranchial 1
with small process on anterior margin of mesial portion;
ceratobranchial 3 notched on posterolateral margin;
ceratobranchial 5 toothed on posterodorsal surface, 26 to
29(2) teeth aligned in one row. Four epibranchials with
similar size; epibranchial 2 slightly larger than others, with
small pointed process on laminar expansion of posterior
margin; epibranchial 3 with triangular uncinate process
on laminar expansion of posterior margin. Two wide
pharyngobranchials (3 and 4), pharyngobranchial 3 with
large triangular laminar expansion on posterior margin.
Upper tooth plate oval; 26 to 31(2) teeth aligned in two
rows on posteroventral surface.
Lateral-line canal entering neurocranium through
compound pterotic, splitting into two branches before
entering sphenotic: pterotic, with single pore, and
preoperculo mandibular, with two pores. Sensory canal
continuing through compound pterotic, entering sphenotic
as temporal canal, which splits into two branches: one branch
giving rise to infraorbital canal, other branch entering
frontal through supraorbital canal, both with a single pore.
Supraorbital canal not branched, running through nasal
bone. Epiphyseal pore opening at supraorbital main canal,
slightly directed towards frontal fontanel. Nasal canal with
two pores. Infraorbital canal running through entire second
infraorbital, extending to infraorbital 1 and opening into
two pores. Preoperculo mandibular branch giving rise to
preoperculo-mandibular canal, which runs through entire
preopercle with three openings, leading to pores 3, 4, and
5, respectively.
291
Dorsal in triangular, located just posterior to second
dorsolateral body plate. Dorsal-in rays II,7(2), II,8(18),
posterior margin of dorsal-in spine with 12 to 13 serrations
directed towards dorsal-in spine tip; serrations absent
only on proximal region of posterior margin. Nuchal
plate relatively large; exposed, with minute odontodes;
spinelet short; spine relatively long, adpressed distal tip
surpassing last dorsal-in branched ray origin; anterior
margin with small odontodes. Pectoral in triangular,
its origin just posterior to gill opening. Pectoral-in rays
I,7(14), I,8(6); posterior margin of pectoral spine with 14
to 17 well-developed conical serrations along its entire
length; serrations directed towards pectoral-spine origin
(Fig. 4). Pelvic in oblong, located just below second
ventrolateral body plate, and at vertical through second
branched dorsal-in ray. Pelvic-in rays i,5. Adipose in
roughly triangular, separated from base of last dorsal-in
ray by typically seven dorsolateral body plates. Anal in
triangular, located just posterior to 12th ventrolateral body
plates, and at vertical through anterior margin of adiposein spine. Anal-in rays ii,5(1), ii,6(19). Caudal-in rays
i,12,i, generally four dorsal and ventral procurrent rays;
bilobed, lobes with similar size.
Fig. 4. Pectoral-in spine of Corydoras guapore, ZUFMSPIS 4000, 28.8 mm SL, showing the conical serrations
directed towards pectoral-spine origin on inner margin of
the left spine (7.5 mm long).
Two laterosensory canals on trunk; irst ossicle tubular
and second ossicle laminar. Body plates with minute
odontodes scattered over exposed area, a conspicuous line
of odontodes conined on posterior margins; dorsolateral
body plates 23(2), 24(16), 25(2); ventrolateral body plates
21(17), 22(3); dorsolateral body plates along dorsal in base
6; dorsolateral body plates between adipose and caudal
in 6(2), 7(8), 8(10); preadipose platelets 1(14), 2(6); small
platelets covering base of caudal-in rays; small platelets
disposed dorsally and ventrally between junctions of
lateral plates on posterior portion of caudal peduncle.
Dorsal portion of snout, lateral ethmoid region, and upper
lip region covered with small platelets. Ventral surface of
trunk without platelets.
Color in alcohol. Ground color of the body yellowish,
with top of the head and snout dark brown. Top of
the head and snout, infraorbitals, opercle, preopercle,
interopercle, compound pterotic, cleithrum, upper lip,
maxillary and outer mental barbels covered by dark brown
chromatophores. Dorso- and ventrolateral body plates with
vertically elongated or irregular brown blotches anteriorly
to adipose in; lateral portion of caudal peduncle almost
292
Redescription of Corydoras guapore
entirely blackened. Dorsal in with diffuse black spots
on dorsal-in rays, generally restricted to the upper half
of the dorsal in. Pectoral, pelvic and anal ins with black
chromatophores on rays. Adipose in with anterior portion
hyaline; posterior portion darkened. Caudal in with four
to nine transversal black bars (Fig. 2).
Geographic distribution. Corydoras guapore is only
known from the upper rio Guaporé basin in Brazil (Fig. 6).
Color in life. Similar to preserved specimens but with
ground color of the body rosy. Top of the head and snout,
infraorbitals, opercle, preopercle, interopercle, compound
pterotic and cleithrum with irregular striated brownish
dots. Fins whitish; black spots on dorsal-in rays more
evident. Body covered by a yellowish green iridescent
coloration (Fig. 5).
Sexual dimorphism. Additionally to the presence of
lanceolate genital papilla in males, which is common to all
Corydoradinae (see Nijssen & Isbrücker, 1980; Britto, 2003),
the males are generally smaller than females (Fig. 5b).
Fig. 6. Map showing geographic distribution of Corydoras
guapore. Red star represents the approximate type-locality,
rio Guaporé, Rondônia State, and the black circle represents
the more recent record of the species, rio Guaporé, Mato
Grosso State.
Ecological notes. Corydoras guapore is a freeswimming species, which occupies the middle of the
water column in a small group when they feel safe (Fig.
5a), similar to the observed in C. hastatus. They form
small breeding groups of up to 20 specimens associated
to aquatic macrophytes, like Eichhornia. Unlike most of
the Corydoras species which generally inhabit streams
or the main channel of rivers, C. guapore is generally
captured in lentic habitats as ponds and lakes (HansGeorg Evers, pers. comm.). The specimens examined
herein were captured close to the banks of the rio
Guaporé, in Mato Grosso State (Cláudio Oliveira and
Markos Alexandrou, pers. comm.) (Fig. 7).
Fig. 5. Live uncatalogued specimens of Corydoras guapore
in aquarium displaying their general color pattern. Also
showing (a) a small breeding group of six specimens freely
swimming in the midwater; and (b) a pair, the male on
the left (between 20.0-30.0 mm SL), and the female on the
right (approximately 40.0 mm SL). Photos by Hans-Georg
Evers.
Fig. 7. Collection site of Corydoras guapore in the rio
Guaporé, Mato Grosso State, Brazil, around the geographic
coordinates 15°01.0642’S 59°95.762’W. Photo by Markos
Alexandrou.
L. F. C. Tencatt & C. S. Pavanelli
Material examined. All from Brazil, Mato Grosso State,
Municipality of Vila Bela da Santíssima Trindade, rio
Guaporé, rio Madeira basin. LBP 10089, 80, 24.4-30.8 mm
SL. ZUFMS-PIS 4000, 5, 26.9-33.6 mm SL, 2 c&s, 28.829.2 mm SL.
Conservation status. Despite the fact that the species
is known only from its type-locality (rio Guaporé) it is
probably widespread in the surroundings and no imminent
threat is suspected, therefore, according to the International
Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) categories and
criteria (IUCN Standards and Petitions Subcommittee,
2014), Corydoras guapore can be classiied as Least
Concern (LC).
Discussion
The original description of Corydoras guapore was
based only on three specimens, two of them only observed
alive in a tank. Therefore, the morphological aspects of C.
guapore available in the original description were based
mainly on a single specimen. Despite the intention of
subsequently donating the paratypes to the ZMB (Knaack,
1961: 135), the paratypes were never actually deposited
in ZMB (Nijssen & Isbrücker, 1980: 214). There is no
mention of preservation of the paratypes in Knaack’s
posterior publications and, apparently, these specimens
were not deposited in any other museum or collection.
At least two other species present the same situation
regarding the paratypes. Knaack (1962) described two
sympatric species with C. guapore, C. haraldschultzi
and C. sterbai, and also mentioned the presence of
living “paratypes”, however, their actual location is still
unknown as stated by Nijssen & Isbrücker (1980: 199 and
200, respectively).
Despite the clear distinction of Corydoras guapore
from its congeners, Knaack (1961) did not provide a
standard diagnosis for it, only presented some descriptive
data like in all of his other descriptions. Additionally,
except for the coding of C. guapore in Britto’s (2003) data
matrix, no additional morphological information about
this species is currently available, probably due to the
scarcity of comparative material, mainly type-specimens,
for study since most of the paratypes and non-type
specimens of the species described by Knaack were kept
in his private collection, which is apparently lost (HansGeorg Evers, pers. comm.).
The presence of homoplastic color patterns in
Corydoras is well documented and discussed (e.g. Britto
et al., 2009; Alexandrou et al., 2011). The color pattern
of C. guapore is very similar to that observed in three
known species, C. caudimaculatus also from the rio
Guaporé basin, C. ourastigma from the rio Purus basin
and C. similis Hieronimus, 1991 from the rio Madeira
basin. Additionally, C. guapore color pattern strongly
resembles the observed in an undescribed species
293
coded in the aquarium hobby as C66 (Fuller & Evers,
2005: 311), from the rio Branco basin (see more details
about the “C-number” system and its species in Fuller
& Evers, 2005: 280). Corydoras guapore can be clearly
distinguished from C. caudimaculatus and C. similis by
the presence of conical serrations on posterior margin of
pectoral spine directed towards the origin of the spine (vs.
laminar serrations directed towards pectoral-spine tip) and
infraorbital 2 contacting sphenotic and compound pterotic
(vs. contacting only sphenotic); from C. ourastigma and
“C66” by the presence of conspicuously rounded snout
(vs. pointed).
The possible presence of more than one genus among
the species attributed to Corydoras is quite plausible.
Britto (2003) presented a phylogenetic hypothesis based
in morphological characters for Corydoradinae, inding
Brochis Cope, 1871 in the same clade of some Corydoras
species (see Britto, 2003: igs. 24, 25). The author pointed
two options to maintain the monophyly of Corydoras,
one of them was the resurrection and/or creation of at
least four genera. The author, however, chose the second
option, which consisted in placing Brochis as a synonymy
of Corydoras, as a more conservative approach.
Alexandrou et al. (2011) also conducted an extensive
phylogenetic analysis of the Corydoradinae but based in
molecular data. The authors obtained a very elucidative
cladogram showing nine lineages of Corydoradinae.
The species related to the “Corydoras elegans-group”
correspond to the lineages 4 and 5. The results obtained
by Alexandrou et al. (2011) clearly corroborated the
paraphyletism of Corydoras. However, since the paper
does not have a taxonomic approach, the authors did not
propose any changes in the classiication of the group.
Recently, Vera-Alcaraz (2013) presented the
more comprehensive phylogenetic hypothesis for the
Callichthyidae, based in the combination of morphological
and molecular data, inding a similar result to the presented
by Alexandrou et al. (2011). The main difference in VeraAlcaraz’s (2013) hypothesis is the position of the clade
containing the species related to the “Corydoras elegansgroup” sensu Nijssen & Isbrücker (1980), which appears
as sister group of a large clade formed by two smaller
clades, one of them with Aspidoras Ihering, 1907 as the
sister group of Scleromystax Günther, 1864, and both
sister group of a large clade with the species attributed to
Hoplisoma Swainson, 1838, which was proposed as valid.
The species allocated in Hoplisoma by Vera-Alcaraz
(2013) correspond to species of the lineages 6, 7, 8 and
9 sensu Alexandrou et al. (2011). Vera-Alcaraz’s (2013)
hypothesis clearly shows that the species related to the
“Corydoras elegans-group” represent a distinct and welldelimited genus, thus the author proposed the resurrection
of Gastrodermus Cope, 1878, which possess C. elegans
as its type-species. However, since these are unpublished
data from a PhD dissertation, these species will remain
referred as Corydoras until its formal publication.
294
Redescription of Corydoras guapore
Comparative material examined. Corydoras acutus: Peru:
Unknown department: MNRJ 3985, 2, 47.1-54.8 mm SL, SanshoCaño. Corydoras adolfoi: Brazil: Amazonas: LBP 6863, 2, 27.531.7 mm SL, Igarapé Puranga. LBP 6871, 2, 32.2-32.5 mm SL,
unnamed Igarapé. Corydoras ambiacus: Peru: Loreto: MCP
26178, 1, 42.5 mm SL, rio Pacaya; MCP 26209, 10 of 19, 25.0-33.3
mm SL, Caño Yarina. Ucayali: MZUSP 26053, 2, 41.8-47.2 mm
SL, Iamiriacocha. Corydoras approuaguensis: French Guyana:
Cayenne: MZUSP 27895-6, 2, 43.0-46.1 mm SL, paratypes of
C. approuaguensis Nijssen & Isbrücker, 1983, rio Approuague.
Corydoras areio: Brazil: Mato Grosso do Sul: ZUFMS-PIS 1314,
15, 34.4-41.9 mm SL, 2 c&s, 38.1-38.5 mm SL, rio Periquito.
Corydoras aurofrenatus: Paraguay: Concepción: NRM 23529, 10
of 33, 31.4-45.7 mm SL, Arroyo Laguna Penayo where it crosses
the road Concepción-Paso Barreto. Corydoras bifasciatus: Brazil:
Pará: MZUSP 38976, 16, paratypes, 23.6-30.0 mm SL, creek at
left bank of the rio Cururu. Corydoras blochi: Brazil: Roraima:
MZUSP 8580, 3, 31.0-42.6 mm SL, paratypes of C. blochi Nijssen,
1971, Igarapé on Fazenda Canadá, tributary to the rio Uraricoera.
Corydoras bondi: Guyana: Barima-Waini: ROM 66202, 7 of 134,
33.8-39.9 mm SL, 3 c&s of 134, 36.7-38.6 mm SL, Waikerebi Creek.
Corydoras brevirostris: Venezuela: Bolívar: LBP 3080, 10, 23.827.7 mm SL, 3 c&s, 25.8-27.9 mm SL, río Orinoco. Corydoras
britskii: Brazil: Mato Grosso do Sul: ZUFMS-PIS 862, 12,
72.0-78.0 mm SL, marginal lagoon to rio Vermelho. Corydoras
carlae: Brazil: Paraná: NUP 711, 1, 47.9 mm SL, rio Tormenta;
NUP 4425, 1 c&s, 45.0 mm SL, rio Tormenta. Corydoras cochui:
Brazil: Goiás: MZUSP 89055, 6, 18.7-23.6 mm SL, rio do Peixe
II. Tocantins: MZUSP 35838, 4 of 6, 16.1-18.5 mm SL, rio Javaés.
Corydoras condiscipulus: French Guyana: Cayenne: MZUSP
38957, 7, 34.1-40.3 mm SL, paratypes of C. condiscipulus Nijssen
& Isbrücker, 1980, Cumuri Creek. Corydoras davidsandsi:
Brazil: Amazonas: MZUSP 110066, 4 of 40, 36.0-41.9 mm SL, 2
c&s of 40, 40.9-42.1 mm SL, rio Inambú. Corydoras diluviatilis:
Brazil: São Paulo: MZUSP 75268, 1, 39.8 mm SL, holotype of
C. diluviatilis Britto & Castro, 2002, rio Paulicéia. Corydoras
diphyes: Paraguay: Alto Paraná: ANSP 169756, 2, 40.7-43.1
mm SL, drainage ditches north of km 250 (2 km east of Juan E.
O’Leary on route 7). Corydoras ehrhardti: Brazil: Paraná: NUP
11255, 15, 36.5-46.8 mm SL, rio São Pedro. Corydoras elegans:
Peru: Ucayali: MZUSP 26017, 6, 25.9-28.3 mm SL, Lobococha.
Corydoras ephippifer: Brazil: Amapá: MZUSP 31605, 2, 44.949.1 mm SL, rio Cupixi. Corydoras laveolus: Brazil: São Paulo:
MZUSP 424, 1, 33.4 mm SL, holotype of C. laveolus Ihering,
1911, tributaries to the rio Piracicaba. Corydoras fowleri: Peru:
Loreto: LBP 12462, 9, 44.3-59.9 mm SL, 1 c&s, 50.4 mm SL,
tributary to the rio Ampiyacu. Corydoras garbei: Brazil: Minas
Gerais: MNRJ 18089, 14, 19.2-25.3 mm SL, 2 c&s, 25.9-27.4 mm
SL, lagoa Perta-Pé. Corydoras gossei: Brazil: Rondônia: MZUSP
38977, 6, 48.4-53.4 mm SL, paratypes of C. gossei Nijssen, 1972,
Igarapé do 13, tributary to the rio Mamoré. Corydoras griseus:
Guyana: Potaro-Siparuni: MZUSP 108896, 4 of 13, 31.5-36.2
mm SL, 2 c&s of 13, 30.6-34.5 mm SL, stream tributary to the
Kuribrong stream. Corydoras gryphus: Brazil: Paraná: MNRJ
40770, 1, 32.3 mm SL, holotype of C. gryphus Tencatt, Britto &
Pavanelli, 2014, rio Paraná (near Ponte da Amizade). NUP 14676,
3 c&s, 27.7-32.4 mm SL, paratypes of C. gryphus rio Paraná (near
Ponte da Amizade). Corydoras hastatus: Brazil: Mato Grosso:
NUP 6862, 116, 13.1-20.7 mm SL, baía Caiçara. Corydoras julii:
Brazil: Piauí: NUP 16225, 1, 46.8 mm SL, rio Atalaia. Corydoras
lacrimostigmata: Brazil: Paraná: MNRJ 40725, 1, 31.8 mm SL,
holotype of C. lacrimostigmata rio Maria Flora; NUP 14657,
3 c&s, 30.9-34.5 mm SL paratypes of C. lacrimostigmata rio
Nestor. Corydoras longipinnis: Argentina: Santiago del Estero:
AI 221, 1, 59.5 mm SL, holotype of C. longipinnis Knaack,
2007, río Sali. Tucumán: NUP 14440, 2 c&s, 29.9-33.4 mm SL,
río Pampa-Mayo. Corydoras lymnades: Brazil: Minas Gerais:
MNRJ 15765, 6, 15.8-17.7 mm SL, 2 c&s, 18.1-18.4 mm SL, rio
Peruaçu; MNRJ 40186, 1, 29.7 mm SL, holotype of C. lymnades
Tencatt, Vera-Alcaraz, Britto & Pavanelli, 2013, rio Guarda-Mor.
Corydoras maculifer: Brazil: Tocantins: NUP 8970, 2, 42.0-46.0
mm SL, ribeirão Xambioazinho. Corydoras melanistius: Guyana:
Unknown region: BMNH 1864.1.21.86, 1, 35.0 mm SL, lectotype
of C. melanistius Regan, 1912, designated by Nijssen & Isbrücker,
1967, rio Essequibo. Corydoras multimaculatus: Brazil: Minas
Gerais: MCP 29025, 2, 20.1-25.4 mm SL, rio Peruaçu. Corydoras
nattereri: Brazil: São Paulo: MZUSP 110255, 4 of 31, 32.0-32.8
mm SL, 2 c&s of 31, 32.3-34.4 mm SL, rio Paraitinga. Corydoras
paleatus: Uruguay: Canelones: NRM 54230, 1, 53.5 mm SL,
río Sarandí. Corydoras panda: Peru: Huánuco: ROM 55815, 6,
26.5-39.7 mm SL, unknown stream somewhere above Panguana
in Llullapichis drainage. Corydoras pantanalensis: Brazil: Mato
Grosso: NUP 10188, 1 c&s, 46.4 mm SL, Baía Sinhá Mariana.
Mato Grosso do Sul: NUP 12593, 21, 38.7-51.2 mm SL, tributary
to the rio Miranda. Corydoras potaroensis: Guyana: PotaroSiparuni: ROM 61526, 3 of 15, 35.0-44.8 mm SL, 2 c&s of 15,
32.6-35.1 mm SL, rio Potaro. Corydoras similis: Brazil: Acre:
LBP 10648, 7, 21.4-34.3 mm SL, rio Iquiri. Corydoras splendens:
Brazil: Goiás: NUP 12990, 1, 43.7 mm SL, tributary to the rio
Araguaia. Mato Grosso: NUP 10195, 1 c&s, 54.6 mm SL, Pai
Caetano lake. Corydoras stenocephalus: Brazil: Amazonas:
MNRJ 3625, 3, 31.2-62.3 mm SL, rio Javari. Corydoras treitlii:
Brazil: Maranhão: NUP 16224, 3, 21.5-45.6 mm SL, rio Medonho.
Corydoras trilineatus: Brazil: Acre: MZUSP 30857, 3 of 25,
40.9-44.1 mm SL, 2 c&s of 25, 44.2-43.8 mm SL, rio Tarauacá.
Corydoras tukano: Brazil: Amazonas: MZUSP 82100, 40.9
mm SL, holotype of C. tukano Britto & Lima, 2003, rio Tiquié.
Corydoras zygatus: Brazil: Acre: MZUSP 30858, 4 of 15, 41.747.3 mm SL, rio Tarauacá.
Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful to Carlos Lucena (MCP),
Cláudio Oliveira (LBP), Jorge Casciotta and Adriana
Almirón (AI), Mario de Pinna (MZUSP) and Otávio
Froehlich (ZUFMS-PIS) for hosting museum visits
and loan of material. Also to Marcelo Britto (MNRJ),
Hernán López-Fernández, Don Stacey and Erling Holm
(ROM) and Sven Kullander (NRM), for the loan of
several specimens analyzed in this paper. To Francisco
Severo and Thomaz Sinani (ZUFMS-PIS), Héctor VeraAlcaraz (MCP), Ricardo Britzke, Fábio Roxo, Bruno
L. F. C. Tencatt & C. S. Pavanelli
Melo and Gabriel Silva (LBP) and Osvaldo Oyakawa
and Túlio Teixeira (MZUSP) for gently welcoming LFCT
during museum visits. To Mark Allen and Mark SabajPérez, from the All Catish Species Inventory (NSF
DEB-0315963), for the holotype picture. The Núcleo
de Pesquisas em Limnologia, Ictiologia e Aquicultura
(Nupélia) of the Universidade Estadual de Maringá and
the Laboratório de Zoologia da Universidade Federal
de Mato Grosso do Sul provided logistical support. The
authors are also grateful to Marcelo Britto for kindly
sharing his knowledge about Corydoradinae and for the
photographs of the type-material from BMNH. To Cláudio
Oliveira (LBP) and Markos Alexandrou for the loan and
donation of some specimens of Corydoras guapore and
the photograph and information of its collecting site. To
Hans-Georg Evers for the information about C. guapore
ecology and Joachim Knaack’s collection, and for the
photographs of C. guapore in life. To Hans-Georg Evers
and Steven Grant for sending many of the articles needed
for the preparation of this article. To Fernando Paiva and
Lucas Blanco by permitting the use and by the assistance
in the image capture laboratory of the Universidade
Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul. The Conselho Nacional
de Desenvolvimento Cientíico e Tecnológico (CNPq)
provided fellowships and grants to both authors.
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