The subgenus Melanorivulus, Costa 2011

Melanorivulus is a sub-genus erected by Costa in 2006. Costa (2011) upgraded this sub-genus to genus status and assigned a number of taxa to this genus, central razilian plateau and neighboring regions in Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina. This upgrade is not followed herein.

Included then 34 species (names as in Costa's the publication in 2011) :

Melanorivulus apiamici (Costa, 1989), M. bororo (Costa, 2007), M. crixas (Costa, 2007), M. cyanopterus (Costa, 2005), M. dapazi (Costa, 2005), M. decoratus (Costa, 1989), M. egens (Costa, 2005), M. faucireticulatus (Costa, 2007), M. giarettai (Costa, 2008), n. comb.); M. illuminatus (Costa, 2007), M. jalapensis (Costa, 2010), M. javahe (Costa, 2007), M. karaja (Costa, 2007), M. kayabi (Costa, 2007), M. kayapo (Costa, 2006), M. litteratus (Costa, 2005), M. megaroni (Costa, 2009), n. comb; M. modestus (Costa, 1991), M. paracatuensis (Costa, 2003), M. paresi (Costa, 2007), M. parnaibensis (Costa, 2003), M. pictus (Costa, 1989), M. pinima (Costa, 1989), M. planaltinus (Costa & Brasil, 2008), M. punctatus (Boulenger, 1895), M. rossoi (Costa, 2005), M. rubromarginatus (Costa, 2007), M. rutilicaudus (Costa, 2005), M. salmonicaudus (Costa, 2007), M. scalaris (Costa, 2005), M. schuncki (Costa & De Luca, 2011), M. violaceus (Costa, 1991), M. vittatus (Costa, 1989), M. zygonectes (Myers, 1927).

Costa forgot to mention one species named M. formosensis (Costa 2008). In total 35 species also.

Costa, W.J.E.M., 2011. Phylogenetic position and taxonomic status of Anablepsoides, Atlantirivulus, Cynodonichthys, Laimosemion and Melanorivulus (Cyprinodontiformes: Rivulidae). *Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters* 22 (3): 233-249. PDF

 
Rivulus (Melanorivulus) punctatus - male. (Type 5, AS Paraguay) © Image made by F. Vermeulen.

After Costa's work a new paper was released by Huber (2012) in which Huber stated that paper from Costa was not well supported by evidence and in which he reversed the genus names, erected by Costa 2011, back into Rivulus based on 144 external characters that produced evidence that Rivulus was still a monophyletic assemblage.

Huber J.H., 2012. Reappraisal of the Phylogeny of Rivulus and its Allied Focused on External Characters.

In March 2019 the number of species within the subgenus Melanorivulus is 48 due to new discoveries and descriptions. The newest species since end 2013 are: Melanorivulus kunzei, M. pindorama, M. rubrimarginatus and M. ubirajarai all by Dr. Wilson Costa et al., Brazil and R. imperatrizensis, (Nielsen & Silva 2015), Rivulus amambaiensis, R. ivinhemensis and R. interruptus (Volcan,Neto & Lanés, 2018), Rivulus aithogrammus (Nielsen & Britzky 2019) and their number is still growing.

In this site we follow the latest evidence produced by Huber (2012) and recon the genus Rivulus as a monophyletic group.

In the menu you will find subgenera under their original genus names.

See also: url