A new species of Profundulus (Cyprinodontiformes: Profundulidae) from the Honduran central highlands

Abstract

A new species of Profundulus, Profundulus portillorum, from the Honduran central highlands is described. Profundulus portillorum belongs to the Profundulus labialis species group and is distinct from the Profundulus punctatus species group in that it lacks a humeral spot and less than half of the caudal fin is scaled. Within the P. labialis species group, P. portillorum has a more slender body, smaller eye, fewer anal rays, caudal rays and lateral-line scales than other species. Forty-one specimens were collected around emergent vegetation in the margins of two small (2-5 m in width, 20-40 cm in depth), high-elevation (1300 m) tributaries of the Río Calam within the Río Ulúa drainage. These specimens represent the easternmost collection of any Profundulus and the first collection of any member of the P. labialis species group from Honduras.

Profundulus kreiseri, a new species of Profundulidae (Teleostei, Cyprinodontiformes) from northwestern Honduras

“…Profundulus portillorum has the southernmost range of any species in the family; it is found in the Ulúa River in the Atlantic slope of Honduras and the Nacaome River in the Pacific slope of Honduras (Matamoros and Schaefer 2010). The Chamelecón River locality reported for Profundulus kreiseri represents a new drainage for the family.…”

“…The Motagua River Fault may be a biogeographic boundary for Profundulus . Profundulus punctatus and Profundulus labialis also reach the Motagua River, but are not found south of it (Miller 1955; Miller et al 2005; Matamoros and Schaefer 2010) and Profundulus portillorum and Profundulus kreiseri are restricted to nuclear Middle America but are not found north of the Motagua River. The combination of the tree topologies, node support, uncorrected pairwise divergences values and morphological comparisons between the new species and its congeners fully support the distinctiveness of Profundulus kreiseri .…”

“…1) cyprinodontiforms that belong to Profundulidae. The family comprises a single genus, Profundulus , which has seven valid species (Matamoros and Schaefer 2010). The northernmost distributed species, Profundulus oaxacae (Meek, 1902),is found in the Río Verde basin, in the Mexican Pacific slope in the state of Oaxaca (Miller et al 2005).…”

“…The northernmost distributed species, Profundulus oaxacae (Meek, 1902),is found in the Río Verde basin, in the Mexican Pacific slope in the state of Oaxaca (Miller et al 2005). The southernmost boundary of the genus is delimited by the distributional range of Profundulus portillorum Matamoros and Schaefer, 2010,which is found in the headwaters of the Ulúa and Nacaome River basins in the Atlantic and Pacific slopes of Honduras (Matamoros et al 2009; Matamoros and Schaefer 2010; Matamoros et al 2012). …”

Validity and Redescription of Profundulus balsanus Ahl, 1935 (Cyprinodontiformes: Profundulidae)

“…1 & 2A-B) is phylogenetically recovered as a member of the genus Profundulus (Fig. 4) and differs from all species of Tlaloc (sensu Morcillo et al 2016) by the presence of a humeral spot, a preorbital bone covered with well-developed scales and more than half of the anal fin covered with scales (Miller 1955, Matamoros & Schaefer 2010, Matamoros et al 2012, Morcillo et al 2016. Profundulus balsanus…”