Biota Neotropica 15(1): 1––3, 2015 www.scielo.br/bn short communication First record of the camboatá Megalechis picta (Müller & Troschel, 1849) (Siluriformes: Callichthyidae) for the Pantanal, Brazil Luiz Tencatt1,4, Francisco Severo-Neto2 & Otávio Froehlich3 1 Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia de Ambientes Aquáticos Continentais, Universidade Estadual de Maringá, Maringá, PR, Brazil. 2 Laboratório de Zoologia, Departamento de Biologia, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul, Campo Grande, MS, Brazil. 3 Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul, Campo Grande, MS, Brazil. 4 Corresponding author: Luiz Tencatt, e-mail: luiztencatt@hotmail.com TENCATT, L., SEVERO-NETO, F., FROEHLICH, O. First record of the camboatá Megalechis picta (Müller & Troschel, 1849) (Siluriformes: Callichthyidae) for the Pantanal, Brazil. Biota Neotropica. 15(1): 1––3. http://dx.doi.org/1676-06032015009614 Abstract: Herein we report the first record of Megalechis picta in the Brazilian Pantanal based in a single specimen captured in a tributary to the rio Miranda, municipality of Corumbá, rio Paraguay basin, State of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. Additional discussion about its co-occurrence with M. thoracata is also provided. Keywords: Callichtyinae, Introduced species, Neotropical region, rio Paraguay, rio Orinoco. TENCATT, L., SEVERO-NETO, F., FROEHLICH, O. Primeiro registro do camboatá Megalechis picta (Müller & Troschel, 1849) (Siluriformes: Callichthyidae) para o Pantanal, Brasil. Biota Neotropica. 15(1): 1– –3. http://dx.doi.org/1676-06032015009614 Resumo: Aqui reportamos o primeiro registro de Megalechis picta no Pantanal brasileiro baseado em um único espécime capturado em um tributário do rio Miranda, municı́pio de Corumbá, bacia do rio Paraguai, Estado de Mato Grosso do Sul, Brasil. Uma discussão adicional sobre a sua coocorrência com M. thoracata também é fornecida. Palavras-chave: Callichtyinae, Espécies introduzidas, região Neotropical, rio Paraguai, rio Orinoco. Introduction The Callichthyidae are characterized by the presence of two longitudinal series of dermal plates on flanks, and currently comprises about 200 valid species allocated in two subfamilies, Callicthyinae and Corydoradinae (Reis, 2003; Eschmeyer, 2014). Callichthyinae is composed by five valid genus, Callichthys Scopolli, 1777, Dianema Cope, 1871, Hoplosternum Gill, 1858, Lepthoplosternum Reis, 1997 and Megalechis Reis, 1997 (Reis 1998, 2003) and can be promptly distinguished from the remaining Callichthyidae by the presence of anal-fin spine (vs. absence). Megalechis is distinguished from the other Callichthyinae by the unique combination of features: infraorbital bones exposed (vs. covered by thick layer of skin), caudal fin truncate or convex (vs. forked or concave) and presence of two unbranched rays in dorsal fin (vs. one). The genus currently comprises two valid species, M. picta, from the Amazon, Orinoco and Essequibo river basins, and additionally from coastal rivers of northern Brazil, and M. thoracata, from the Amazon and Orinoco rivers basins, and further coastal drainages of Guianas and northeastern Brazil (Reis et al. 2005). After the analysis of all the Megalechis material hosted in the Coleção Zoológica de Referência da Universidade Federal http://dx.doi.org/1676-06032015009614 de Mato Grosso do Sul (ZUFMS-PIS), a single specimen of M. picta (Figure 1a) from the southern Pantanal region, State of Mato Grosso do Sul, was identified, consisting in the first record of this species for the Pantanal region, which is stated herein. A map showing the new record, with the addition of the other two available non-native records of M. picta is also provided (Figure 2). Material and methods The Megalechis picta specimen (Figure 1a) was collected by Otávio Froehlich, in October 1990, in the Baı́a do Quadrado, tributary to the rio Miranda, geographical coordinates 196 24’ 14’’ S and 576 02’ 40’’ W, municipality of Corumbá, State of Mato Grosso do Sul. The confection of the map was made through the software Quantum GIS, version 1.8.0. The specimen was captured using a trawl net, firstly fixed in 10% formalin, transferred to 70% hydrated ethanol, and posteriorly deposited in the Coleção Zoológica de Referência da Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul, under voucher ZUFMS-PIS 30. The identification of the species was performed according to Reis et al. (2005). In figure legends, SL means standard length and CP means ‘‘comprimento padrão’’. http://www.scielo.br/bn Biota Neotrop., 15(1): 1––3, 2015 2 Tencatt, L. et al. Results and discussion Figure 1. Lateral view of the (a) Megalechis picta specimen, ZUFMSPIS 30, 100.0 mm SL, collected in the Baı́a do Quadrado, and (b) Megalechis thoracata, ZUFMS-PIS 54, 66.8 mm SL, from a lagoon tributary to the rio Miranda. Recently, Tencatt et al. (2013) reported the first occurrence record of Megalechis picta in the upper rio Paraná basin, region of the Corumbá IV Reservoir, and commented on the taxonomic rearrangements that resulted in the revalidation of Megalechis picta and the synonymy of M. personata under M. thoracata (for more details see Reis et al. 2005). The occurrence of Megalechis thoracata (Figure 1b) is already reported for the Pantanal region (see Britski et al. 2007: 153). Megalechis picta is native in the Amazon, Orinoco and Essequibo river basins and can be clearly distinguished from M. thoracata mainly by the color pattern of caudal fin (proximal and distal margins of caudal-fin blackened, with a conspicuous transversal black bar in its middle portion, the regions between the blackened bands are clearly whitish yellow vs. proximal margin of caudal-fin whitish, the remaining portion is dusky or black spotted). In addition to the syntopic occurrence of Megalechis thoracata and M. picta in the rio Paraguay basin, other records also stated the presence of M. thoracata (Castro et al. 2004; Langeani et al. 2007; Perez-Júnior and Garavello 2007; Apone et al. 2008; Oliveira et al. 2009) and of M. picta (Tencatt et al. 2013) co-occurring in the upper rio Paraná basin. Despite this new record, the species was never captured again in the rio Figure 2. Map showing the new record for Megalechis picta in the southern Pantanal region (red star), and the available records for the rio Araguaia basin (black circle) and upper rio Paraná basin (black diamond). http://www.scielo.br/bn http://dx.doi.org/1676-06032015009614 Biota Neotrop., 15(1): 1––3, 2015 3 Megalechis picta in the Pantanal Paraguay basin. The Núcleo de Pesquisas em Ictiologia, Limnologia e Aquicultura (Nupélia) staff have colleted in the region of Manso Reservoir, State of Mato Grosso, for four years and no specimen of M. picta was captured. Additionally, other surveys efforts conducted by ZUFMS-PIS staff in the same region of the captured specimen and in the Bodoquena Plateau region also have not resulted in its capture. As mentioned by Tencatt et al. (2013) the introduction of M. picta in the upper rio Paraná basin is probably due to its use as a live bait, which can be a plausible explanation to its occurrence in the rio Paraguay basin. The possibility that both species were introduced together in these basins is also plausible due to their difficult distinction by non-experts, thus, can be easily mistaken and sold as a single species by sellers of live baits and in aquarium shops. Acknowledgements The authors are grateful to the Núcleo de Pesquisas em Limnologia, Ictiologia e Aquicultura (Nupélia) and the Laboratório de Zoologia da Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul for providing logistical support. The Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientı́fico e Tecnológico (CNPq) provided fellowships to LFCT. 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Copeia. 2005(3):678––682, http://dx.doi.org/10.1643/CI-04-353R TENCATT, L.F.C., GRAÇA, W.J. & PAVANELLI, C.S. 2013 First record of Megalechis picta (Müller & Troschel, 1849) (Siluriformes: Callichthyidae) in the upper Rio Paraná basin, Brazil. Check List. 9(5):1081––1083. Received 02/07/2014 Revised 07/10/2014 Accepted 05/01/2015 http://dx.doi.org/1676-06032015009614 http://www.scielo.br/bn