Pioneering research has discovered 17 new fish species in Santa Catarina’s rivers. The findings, made by Santa Catarina biologist Cayo Feltrin in collaboration with scientists from the UFRJ (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro), represent a milestone in fish science and study.
Kambeeva orbitofrontal. – Photo: Personal archive/Cayo Feltrin/Disclosure/NDArticles resulting from the study have already been published in international journals as well as in the Natural History Museum in Paris, France.
Feltrin lives in Sideropolis, in the south of the state, but has been studying freshwater fish for at least 12 years. He visited several municipalities and in the course of his research discovered the megadiversity of Cambevas. (Cambeva orbitofrontallis and Cambeva Grisea) small mountain catfish, how species are classified.
start of studies
A biologist studies fish in areas potentially suitable for construction. And it was in the midst of these studies that he made the first discoveries of new species in mid-2014 and 2015.
With the first finds starting in 2019, Feltrin has also started investing in his own expeditions to underexplored areas of Santa Catarina.
One of these was part of the Chapeco River, at Abelardo Luz, west of Santa Catarina, where the biologist discovered three species, named Alphabelarden, Betabelarden, and Gamabelarden. “A way of assessing the Abelardo Luz area as a region with a center of endemism and megadiversity for this group of Cambevas fish,” Feltrin explains.
The biologist points out that all the discovered species appeared many thousands of years ago. All of them are considered endemic, that is, known to small distribution areas. “This is not new. All the species that I discovered evolved a very long time ago. What was missing was education.”
The scientist explains that there is a possibility that these species can be found in rivers in the municipalities of São Lourenco do Oeste, Jupia, Quilombo, Coronel Freitas, Xacsim, Passos Maya, Ponte Serrada, Salto Veloso and others.
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Methodology:
The main research method of a biologist is a network of pulsars, that is, a large stainless steel sieve. It is large and rectangular, where the biologist fits into the river bed and moves the stones. At the same time, the fish leave the holes under the stones and go to the sieve, which facilitates the visualization, identification and discovery of new species.
The biologist, who graduated in 2013 and works independently advising several companies, believes that the number of species already described and in the process of being described exceeds 30 new fish. “I have already discovered many species, but we still have many gaps in knowledge about the rivers of Santa Catarina,” he notes.
Feltrin notes that the Mid, West and Far West regions of the state are very promising for new discoveries. The basin of the Chapeco, Chapecozinho, Irani, Ariranha, das Antas, Sargento, Iguazu rivers is very promising.
“Of course, there are other new species, and we are working on their discovery, description and, above all, their conservation. Naming and confirming them is just one step. This is, of course, a fundamental step, but we need to work so that these species are immortalized, preserved and protected, ”says the researcher.
On its official website, the IMA/SC (Santa Catarina Environment Institute) spoke about the biologist’s research and emphasized that such discoveries represent an initial important step for the conservation of freshwater fish in the Santa Catarina Atlantic Forest.
Openings in other cities
The municipalities of Sideropolis, Nova Veneza, Treviso, Lauro Müller, Orléans, Grao Para, Pedras Grandes, Bom Jardim da Serra, São Joaquim and Urubici also participated in the research work. This area covers three important hydrographic basins in the state, namely the Ararangua River, the Tubarao River, and the upper stretches of the great Uruguay River Basin.
Most of the species have been found near important conservation sites in the state such as the Aguay State Biological Reserve, IMA/SC-managed Serra Furada State Park, São Joaquim National Park, in addition to areas protected by important organizations such as Reserva São Francisco, Instituto Alouatta and Instituto Felinos do Aguaí.
Source: Ndmais