Range expansion of the genus Sicydium (Teleostei: Gobiidae) to coastal mountain streams of southwestern Ecuador and possibly northwestern Peru

Abstract

We report collections of several specimens of Sicydium in 2013 and 2014 from the Jubones and Santa Rosa Rivers in southwestern Ecuador. These collections substantially expand the known range of the genus southward. The specimens are tentatively identified as Sicydium cf. rosenbergii based on their morphology. Small differences in morphology among specimens from the two rivers are noted, as are discrepancies with the type description. A museum database search uncovered two additional records of the genus south of their previously recognized range including one record from northwestern Peru.

New records of native and introduced fish species in a river basin of Western Ecuador, the Chocó-Darien Ecoregion, using DNA barcoding

“…Finally, our sample from Sicydium, based on COI and 16S sequences and morphological characteristics such as tricuspid teeth suggest complete match with the species Sicydium salvini, yet only S. hildebrandii and S. rosenbergii have been reported for the Ecuadorian CGE and they have not been sequenced. This record represents a southern expansion for S. salvini [8,59] and that a review of the species should be considered, given the sparse occurrence of Sicydium species in sampling efforts [60]. It is important to note that S. salvini was mentioned to occur in Ecuador in the 2012 fish list [61] but it was deleted from subsequent lists.…”

Conservation threats and future prospects for the freshwater fishes of Ecuador: A hotspot of Neotropical fish diversity

“…With some notable exceptions ( e.g ., Barnhill Les et al ., 1974; Herrera‐Madrid et al ., 2020; Valdiviezo Rivera et al ., 2017; Vélez‐Espino, 2003), there are very few detailed studies on the natural history and ecology of most Ecuadorian freshwater fishes. There are also uncertainties about the distribution of some species (Aguirre et al ., 2014, 2017; Meza‐Vargas et al ., 2019; Valdiviezo Rivera, 2014; Valdiviezo‐Rivera et al ., 2020) and significant taxonomic uncertainty in many groups ( e.g ., Arbour et al ., 2014; Lujan et al ., 2015a; Provenzano & Barriga‐Salazar, 2018; Román‐Valencia et al ., 2013, 2015; Tan & Armbruster, 2012; Tobes et al ., 2020). A factor complicating taxonomic research is the lack of support for natural history collections.…”