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Zorro, the new Latin American fish species, takes off the mask to show its true identity

Date:
March 8, 2016
Source:
Pensoft Publishers
Summary:
Unidentified since its discovery in 2007, a large fish species from Amazonia has failed to give out enough information about itself. Nevertheless, three scientists have now recovered the missing pieces to puzzle out its mysterious identity. They describe the fish as a new species and name it after the fictional secretive Latin American character Zorro.
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Unidentified since its discovery in 2007, a large fish species from Amazonia has failed to give out enough information about itself, leaving only insufficient hints about its genus. Nevertheless, three scientists have now recovered the missing pieces to puzzle out its mysterious identity. In their study, published in the open-access journal ZooKeys, they describe the fish as a new species and name it after the fictional secretive Latin American character Zorro.

The new fish, called Myloplus zorroi, is commonly known among the Brazilians as 'pacu' and is a relative to the piranha. The research team, led by Marcelo C. Andrade, Universidade Federal do Para, Brazil, recognised in a fish, collected by sport fishermen from Rio Madeira basin, Brazil, a previously found, yet undescribed species. Following their analysis, it turned out that its discoverers had assumed an incorrect genus for it.

Among the distinctive features of the new fish, which helped its rightful placement, are its characteristic teeth, specialised to crush seeds.

The new pacu species is quite large, growing up to 47,5 cm. It dwells in moderately to rapidly flowing clear rivers, running over rocky or sandy bottoms, and ranging from about 2 to 8 metres in depth. Its basis colour is reddish silver with darker markings running along the upper side of the body. The head is dark and the belly -- pale yellow.

Curiously enough, although the name of the new fish is chosen as a tribute to Mauricio Camargo-Zorro, a researcher at the Instituto Federal de Educacao, Ciencia e Tecnologia, in recognition of his invaluable contribution to the fish fauna inventory from the Marmelos Conservation Area, zorroi is also a playful reference to the Latin American fictional character Don Diego de la Vega and his secret identity hidden behind the nickname of Zorro.


Story Source:

Materials provided by Pensoft Publishers. The original story is licensed under a Creative Commons License. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Journal Reference:

  1. Marcelo C. Andrade, Michel Jégu, Tommaso Giarrizzo. A new large species of Myloplus (Characiformes, Serrasalmidae) from the Rio Madeira basin, Brazil. ZooKeys, 2016; 571: 153 DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.571.5983

Cite This Page:

Pensoft Publishers. "Zorro, the new Latin American fish species, takes off the mask to show its true identity." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 8 March 2016. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/03/160308105058.htm>.
Pensoft Publishers. (2016, March 8). Zorro, the new Latin American fish species, takes off the mask to show its true identity. ScienceDaily. Retrieved December 3, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/03/160308105058.htm
Pensoft Publishers. "Zorro, the new Latin American fish species, takes off the mask to show its true identity." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/03/160308105058.htm (accessed December 3, 2024).

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