Is sp. Batan cf Huascar

[chris1932]

I recieved fish on Monday of this week that were shipped as sp Batan. Quite a few people were wondering what this fish really is. After letting them settle in and eat some bbs they have colored up nicely and are doing the spawning dance.
Here are some photos.

 

[Mike Wise]

They look like young specimens of an atahualpa-group species. They need some more maturity before I can say if they are something old or new.

 

[Rolo]

Hi,

these fishes are available here in germany, too.
I talked to Uwe Roemer about these fishes (he gave them the name "A. sp. Batan") why he thinks, that they are a different species. They obviously do look like A. huascar. He told me, that these fishes are from the Rio Javari at the border to Brazil. This is a different and separated water system than the usual locality of A. huascar. So he waits for the results of a genetic analysis to decide wether it is the same species or not.

regards,
Rolo

 

[Microman]

Whilst in Peru in 2010 Tom and I found A.cf.huascar within the Rio Galvez drainage, not far from the Rio Javari, on the Peru/Brazilian border. Will be interesting to see results of genetic analysis.
Did Uwe mention why he called them A.sp.Batan?
Mark...

 

[Mike Wise]

This, then, is the same species as the one which TomC and Mark(Microman)B collected near Angamos, Peru in 2010 (http://apisto.sites.no/page.aspx?PageId=83). I listed it a A. cf. huascar (Christoffersen) in my species list.

 

[Tom C]

This species seems to have a wide distribution in the actual area.

We collected it in the Río Tapiche in 2009:

In the Río Galvez (which from where it meets the Río Yacuerana forms the Rio Yavari) in 2010:

and much further upstream the Río Galvez in 2011 (where it lives sympatrically with A. sp. "Matses"):

The local fishermen call it A. sp. "Galvez", I have no idea where the "Batan" name comes from....

I agree with Uwe Roemer; the Río Galvez (and the Río Tapiche) is very far away from where the holotypus of Apistogramma huascar was collected (In the Río Nanay drainage, 45 km southwest of Iquitos). And not many species occur on both sides of the big rivers like Río Maranon, Río Amazonas and Río Ucayali. So I wouldn't be surprised if this is something new.

This is a map of the actual area.
The spot marked green is the area where the holotypus of Apistogramma huascar was collected.
The spot marked yellow is the area in the Río Tapiche where we collected the actual species in 2009.
The spot marked red is the area in the Río Galvez where we collected the actual species in 2010 and in 2011.

 

[Mike Wise]

I guess that this is similar to the genetically different species/forms of A. caetei. Almost no difference morphologically, but genetically distinct. I can understand the distribution of the different populations. All occur on the old Pastaza Superfan, which existed prior to the present river systems.

 

[Microman]

The local fishermen call it A. sp. "Galvez", I have no idea where the "Batan" name comes from....

Apistogramma sp."Batan" is the name given to the fish by Edgard Panduro, OAFA. Its now the working name Uwe uses, wasnt sure why he chose the name.
Mark...

 

[Tom C]

....... I can understand the distribution of the different populations. All occur on the old Pastaza Superfan, which existed prior to the present river systems.

I know the Pastaza Megafan (Late Miocene (11 – 5 Million Years ago), between the present Río Putumayo and the Río Tigre drainages), but what is the Pastaza Superfan, Mike?

 

[Mike Wise]

Oops! You're right. It should be Pastaza Megafan. Good catch!

 

[Tom C]

HaHa, you made me look through the whole book (Amazonia: Landscape and species evolution) to try to find where I have overlooked the definition of "Superfan" :biggrin:

But this means that the present Río Nanay population and the Río Tapiche/Río Galvez-populations were gathered in one large widespread population in the eastern part of the Pastaza Megafan at least more than 5 million years ago, before the Río Maranon /Río Amazonas and the Río Ucayali existed! Amazing! One must deeply admire and respect such ability to survive changing surroundings!