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Peter Petersen (5)

Abstract: The menaced and poorly-known waters of the Bodoquena Plateau revealed a new resident, the stunning Hypostomus froehlichi sp. n., a large-sized armored catfish, which is finally described after more than twenty years since its discovery. The Bodoquena Plateau is drained by the Rio Paraguay basin, and is located in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. Description: The new species differs from its congeners on the Bodoquena crystalline waters by having teeth with morphological and numerical variation in adult specimens. There is a continuous range of specimens having about 20 thick and worn teeth to specimens having about 50 thin teeth with intact crowns and lanceolate main cusps. Additional diagnostic characters are: dentaries angled more than 90 degrees, dark blotches, one plate bordering supraoccipital, moderate keel along dorsal series of plates, usually two rows of blotches per interradial membrane on dorsal, pectoral and ventral fins, and by attaining comparatively large size. Habitat: Hypostomus froehlichi seems to be endemic to the area of the Bodoquena Plateau, in rivers draining to the Rio Miranda. The description of the new species reveals a potential conservation flagship species as it is one of the most seen and documented fish by visitors and divers in the clear waters from the touristic, though menaced, Bonito region in Brazil (Zawadzki et al.).The Hypostomus genus has 7 rays to the dorsal fin whereas the similar looking Pterygoplichthys species have 10 dorsal fin rays. Aquarium Care: As with most of this genus, will do well in a larger aquarium, with the aquarium well filtered. Water parameters can be quite diverse for this genera. Diet: Omnivore with a liking for green, tablet and frozen foods. Remarks: This is a large species. We observed specimens more than 60cm long. But smaller fish we only found in the small rivers (Petersen, P.). This was originally captioned as Hypostomus sp. "Rio Formoso" but has now been described as of 2021.

Formoso Pleco

None

Loricariidae

South America: Rio Formoso in Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil.

60.0cm. (24ins)

25-29°c (77-85°f.)

6.0-7.2.

Zawadzki, Nardi, & Tencatt 2021. The crystalline waters of the Bodoquena Plateau revealed Hypostomus froehlichi (Siluriformes: Loricariidae), a new armored catfish from the rio Paraguay basin in Brazil.
Petersen P. amazonas.dk Feb. 2021.