Research Training Program

Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of Natural History

PROJECT SUMMARY
1996

Jonathan S.F. Lee
University of California - Berkeley
Berkeley, California
Stanley H. Weitzman, Ph.D.
Supervising Scientist
Department of Vertebrate Zoology
Division of Fishes

"Working one on one with a scientist is, in my opinion, the best way to learn about an area of biology. I drew a great deal from simply sitting and talking with Dr. Weitzman."

Two new species of Scopaeocharax
 (Teleostei: Characidae: Glandulocaudinae: Xenurobryconini)
From eastern Andean Slopes of Ecuador and Peru

ABSTRACT
Some of the largest amounts of biological diversity are found in forested areas of South America, as is evidenced by the many species of fish found in its streams and rivers. One small part of that biodiversity is Scopaeocharax rhinodus Böhlke (1958), a tiny fish that was described from specimens caught from tributaries of the Rio Huallaga near Tingo Maria, Departamento de Huanuco, Peru. Since that description, more collections of fishes identified as Scopaeocharax sp. were collected from upper portions of the Rio Huallaga as well as from other localities, namely tributaries of the Rio Tigre and Rio Napo, both in Ecuador, and the Rio Madre de Dios in Peru. Two new species of Scopaeocharax were identified. One will be described from the samples from the Rio Tigre and the Rio Napo, and a second from the samples from the Rio Madre de Dios. The specimens from the upper portions of the Rio Huallaga were identified as the same species as those previously described by Böhlke as Scopaeocharax rhinodus, and will be used for a redescription of that species, to be included when this paper is completed. Although the Rio Napo, Rio Tigre, and Rio Madre de Dios are still found in relatively pristine conditions, other rivers, such as the Rio Huallaga, are threatened by subsistence farming, other farming, and the harvesting of forest products. The fact that many of the fishes found in these areas are proving to be endemic increases the importance of identifying new species of fish from these areas. If it fails to be done, our ability to appreciate their biological complexities and beauty will be lost.

This research was supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates program, Award Number DBI-9531331.

Letter of Gratitude