Maratecoara Explained

Maratecoara is a genus of killifish in the family Rivulidae. These annual killifish are endemic to seasonal pools, swamps and lagoons in the upper Araguaia–Tocantins and middle Xingu river basins in Brazil.^{[1] [2]} Most are from savanna regions, but M. gesmonei is from the Amazon rainforest.^[2]

They are small fish, up to in total length. The males are mottled or spotted orange-red and turquoise-blue, and have long, pointed fins. The much duller females have "normal" fins.^{[1] [2]}

Species

Maratecoara and the closely related Papiliolebias, Pituna, Plesiolebias and Stenolebias form a clade, Plesiolebiasini.^[1]

There are currently 4 recognized species in Maratecoara:

• Maratecoara formosa W. J. E. M. Costa & G. C. Brasil, 1995
• Maratecoara gesmonei D. T. B. Nielsen, Martins & Britzke, 2014
• Maratecoara lacortei Lazara, 1991
• Maratecoara splendida W. J. E. M. Costa, 2007

Notes and References

1. Costa, W.J.E.M. . 2007 . Taxonomy of the plesiolebiasine killifish genera Pituna, Plesiolebias and Maratecoara (Teleostei: Cyprinodontiformes: Rivulidae), with descriptions of nine new species . Zootaxa . 1410 . 1–41 .
2. Nielsen, D.T.B. . M. Martins . R. Britzke . 2014 . Description of a new species of annual fish, Maratecoara gesmonei (Cyprinodontiformes: Rivulidae) from the rio Xingu system, Amazon basin, Brazil . Aqua, International Journal of Ichthyology . 20 . 2 . 87–96 .