New species of Eugerres from the Usumacinta Province, México and Guatemala with a redescription of E. mexicanus (Steindachner, 1863) (Teleostei: Gerreidae)

• Main Authors: Adrian F. Gonzalez-Acosta, Rocio Rodiles-Hernandez
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Sociedade Brasileira de Ictiologia
• Series: Neotropical Ichthyology
• Subjects: Grijalva-Usumacinta basin; Mexican mojarra; Pichincha; Taxonomy; Vicarious species
• Online Access: http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1679-62252013000200307&lng=en&tlng=en

Eugerres castroaguirrei, new species is described from the río Grijalva-Usumacinta basin of southeastern Mexico and northern Guatemala. Eugerres castroaguirrei and E. mexicanus are distinguishable from their marine estuarine congeners by the dorsal-fin origin posterior to the insertion of the pectoral and pelvic fins, a shorter and broad based supraoccipital crest, and a distinct geographic distribution restricted to freshwater habitats. Eugerres castroaguirrei differs from E. mexicanus by diagnostic characters of the body skeleton: anterior process of supraoccipital convex, infraorbital 1 with foramen, premaxillary ascending process developed with margins curved, pharyngeal plate granular and not serially arranged, and dorsal and anal fin-rays reduced. Likewise, E. castroaguirrei is characterized by an oblong and laterally thicker body (37.6-58.5% HL); greater body depth (33.8-42.1% SL), and eye diameter (23.3-31.6% HL); in addition to 16 significant morphometric characters: length of the second dorsal-fin spine 23.2-34.2% SL; depressed second dorsal-fin spine (extending to base of third to fourth dorsal-fin rays); length of second anal-fin spine 11.1-20.6% SL, depressed second anal-fin spine extending to the base of third to fourth anal-fin rays not reaching the distal point of last anal-fin ray; pelvic-fin spine length 49.7-65.0% in the first pelvic-fin ray length