The rapid rise of phenotypic and ecological diversity in independent lakedwelling groups of cichlids is emblematic of the East African Great Lakes. In this study, we show that similar ecologically based diversification has occurred in pike cichlids (Crenicichla) throughout the Uruguay River drainage of South America. We collected genomic data from nearly 500 ultraconserved element (UCEs) loci and >260 000 base pairs across 33 species, to obtain a phylogenetic hypothesis for the major species groups and to evaluate the relationships and genetic structure among five closely related, endemic, co-occurring species (the Uruguay River species flock; URSF). Additionally, we evaluated ecological divergence of the URSF based on body and lower pharyngeal jaw (LPJ) shape and gut contents. Across the genus, we recovered novel relationships among the species groups. We found strong support for the monophyly of the URSF; however, relationships among these species remain problematic, likely because of the rapid and recent evolution of this clade. Clustered co-ancestry analysis recovered most species as well delimited genetic groups. The URSF species exhibit speciesspecific body and LPJ shapes associated with specialized trophic roles. Collectively, our results suggest that the URSF consists of incipient species that arose via ecological speciation associated with the exploration of novel trophic roles.

Characterization of food web structure may provide key insights into ecological function, community or population dynamics and evolutionary forces in aquatic ecosystems. We measured stable isotope ratios of 23 fish species from the Rio Cuareim, a fifth-order tributary of the Rio Uruguay basin, a major drainage of subtropical South America. Our goals were to (i) describe the food web structure, (ii) compare trophic segregation at trophic guild and taxonomic scales and (iii) estimate the relative importance of basal resources supporting fish biomass. Although community-level isotopic overlap was high, trophic guilds and taxonomic groups can be clearly differentiated using stable isotope ratios. Omnivore and herbivore guilds display a broader d 13 C range than insectivore or piscivore guilds. The food chain consists of approximately three trophic levels, and most fishes are supported by algal carbon. Understanding food web structure may be important for future conservation programs in subtropical river systems by identifying top predators, taxa that may occupy unique trophic roles and taxa that directly engage basal resources.

Ecological speciation is well-known from adaptive radiations in cichlid fishes inhabiting lentic ecosystems throughout the African rift valley and Central America. Here, we investigate the ecological and morphological diversification of a recently discovered lotic predatory Neotropical cichlid species flock in subtropical South America. We document morphological and functional diversification using geometric morphometrics, stable C and N isotopes, stomach contents and character evolution. This species flock displays species-specific diets and skull and pharyngeal jaw morphology. Moreover, this lineage appears to have independently evolved away from piscivory multiple times and derived forms are highly specialized morphologically and functionally relative to ancestral states. Ecological speciation played a fundamental role in this radiation and our data reveal novel conditions of ecological speciation including a species flock that evolved: 1) in a piscivorous lineage, 2) under lotic conditions and 3) with pronounced morphological novelties, including hypertrophied lips that appear to have evolved rapidly.

A new species of Austrolebias is described based on individuals from the middle and upper río Negro (río Uruguay basin) and río Yaguarón (Patos-Merín system). The new species can be differentiated from all other species of the genus by the unique presence in males of uniform bluish gray pigmentation on flanks (without vertical bands) and unpaired fins. The new species is also distinguished by the combination of characters associated with a reduction of the squamation of the abdominal, preopercular, and opercular regions. The new species presents some morphological characteristics similar to A. gymnoventris and A. luteoflammulatus. The distribution of the new species is concordant with three other species of Austrolebias and may represent a case of drainage rearrangement of the río Negro upstream tributaries (río Uruguay basin) and tributaries of laguna Merín system. Uma espécie nova de Austrolebias é descrita, com base em indivíduos do alto e médio rio Negro (bacia do rio Uruguai) e rio Jaguarão (sistema Patos-Mirim). A espécie nova pode ser distinguida de todas as demais do gênero pela presença única em machos de pigmentação uniforme cinza azulado nos flancos sem listras verticais, e a pigmentação uniforme das nadadeiras ímpares. Também pode ser reconhecida pela combinação de caracteres associados à redução do padrão de escamas na região abdominal, pré-opérculo e opérculo. A espécie nova apresenta várias características semelhantes a A. gymnoventris e a A. luteoflammulatus. A distribução da espécie nova é concordante com outras três espécies de Austrolebias, representando um caso potencial de captura da bacia dos afluentes superiores do rio Negro (bacia do rio Uruguai) aos afluentes da lagoa Mirim.

The family Rivulidae is the fourth most diverse clade of Neotropical fishes. Together with some genera of the related African family Nothobranchiidae, many rivulids exhibit a characteristic annual life cycle, with diapausing eggs and delayed embryonic development, which allows them to survive in the challenging seasonal ponds that they inhabit. Rivulidae also includes two species known as the only the self-fertilizing vertebrates and some species with internal fertilization. The first goal of this article is to review the systematics of the family considering phylogenetic relationships and synapomorphies of subfamilial clades, thus unifying information that is dispersed throughout the literature. From this revision, it is clear that phylogenetic relationships within Rivulidae are poorly resolved, especially in one of the large clades that compose it, the subfamily Rivulinae, where conflicting hypotheses of relationships of non-annual and annual genera are evident. The second goal of this work is to present an updated phylogenetic hypothesis (based on mitochondrial, nuclear, and morphological information) for one of the most speciose genus of Rivulidae, Austrolebias. Our results confirm the monophyly of the genus and of some subgeneric clades already diagnosed, but propose new relationships among them and their species composition, particularly in the subgenus Acrolebias.