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Issue: Vol. 5793 No. 2: 16 Apr. 2026
Type: Article
Published: 2026-04-16
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5793.2.9
Page range: 529-546
Abstract views: 84
PDF downloaded: 3

Two new species of the vampire catfish genus Paracanthopoma (Siluriformes: Trichomycteridae: Vandelliinae) from Brazil and Venezuela with comments on generic diagnostic characters

Laboratory of Molecular Systematics and Reproductive Biology (BEAGLE); Ichthyological Collection of the Zoology Museum João Moojen (MZUFV); Department of Animal Biology; Federal University of Viçosa; Minas Gerais; Brazil; NRF-South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity (NRF-SAIAB); P. Bag 1015; Makhanda 6140; South Africa
Biological Sciences Department; California State Polytechnic University; Pomona; California; Natural History Museum of Los County; Los Angeles; Department of Ichthyology; American Museum of Natural History; New York
Department of Natural History; Royal Ontario Museum; Toronto; Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; University of Toronto
Pisces Amazon River Basin Candiru CT scan Morphology Orinoco River Basin Taxonomy

Abstract

The blood-feeding candiru genus Paracanthopoma was monotypic for over 85 years, with ten new species being described in the last four years. Despite this rapid growth, interspecific relationships and boundaries between it and the closely related genus Paravandellia remain intensively debated, with clarification of these boundaries being hampered by the lack of a formal phylogenetic analysis focused on the Vandelliinae. Here, we describe two new species of Paracanthopoma from Brazil and Venezuela based on photomicroscopy, cleared and stained specimens, and µCT imagery and reexamine the current taxonomic status of the genus. Paracanthopoma ventuarensis sp. nov. is described from the Orinoco River basin and Parac. jiparanaensis sp. nov. from the Machado River in northern Brazil, where Parac. parva and Parac. malevola also occur. The two new species here described share with Parac. daemon, Parac. parva, Parac. carrapata, and Parac. truculenta a spine-like anterior process on the parietosupraoccipital and an azygous s6 supratemporal lateral-line pore, thus being allocated to this putative clade.

 

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How to Cite

Henschel, E., Baskin, J.N. & Lujan, N.K. (2026) Two new species of the vampire catfish genus Paracanthopoma (Siluriformes: Trichomycteridae: Vandelliinae) from Brazil and Venezuela with comments on generic diagnostic characters. Zootaxa, 5793 (2), 529–546. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5793.2.9