Profundulus kreiseri, a new species of Profundulidae (Teleostei, Cyprinodontiformes) from northwestern Honduras

Abstract

A new species of Profundulus, P. kreiseri (Cyprinodontiformes: Profundulidae), is described from the Chamelecón and Ulúa Rivers in the northwestern Honduran highlands. Based on a phylogenetic analysis using cytochrome b and the presence of synapomorphic characters (dark humeral spot, a scaled preorbital region and between 32-34 vertebrae), this new species is placed in the subgenus Profundulus, which also includes P. (P.) oaxacae, P. (P.) punctatus and P. (P.) guatemalensis. Profundulus kreiseri can be distinguished from other members of the subgenus Profundulus byless than half of its caudal fin densely scaled. Profundulus kreiseri can further be differentiated from P. (P.) oaxacae and P. (P.) punctatus by the absence of rows of dark spots on its flanks. The new species can further be differentiated from P. (P.) guatemalensis by the presence of fewer caudal- and pectoral-fin rays. The new species is distinguished from congeners of the profundulid subgenus Tlaloc (viz., P. (T.) hildebrandi, P. (T.) labialis, P. (T.) candalarius and P. (T.) portillorum) bya scaled preorbital region and a dark humeral spot. Profundulus kreiseri and P. portillorum are the only two species of Profundulus that are endemic to the region south of the Motagua River drainage in southern Guatemala and northwestern Honduras.

Keywords

• Central America
• nuclear Middle America
• Cyprinodontiformes
• Kreiser’s Killifish
• phylogeny
• systematics