New Tetra species, Moenkhausia cambacica described

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Byron

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The discovery and describing of a new species of tetra is not anything particularly remarkable these days, as new species are being regularly discovered though it takes months for most to be described due to the numbers and "too few" ichthyologists. I'm posting this paper though because of (1) the pertinent observations made by the authors concerning this species, which for reasons outlined in the paper they recommend be declared "Near Threatened" on the IUCN's Red List of species, and (2) an interesting discussion on the developmental truncation of the lateral-line canals.

Marinho MMF, Ohara WM, and Dagosta FCP, "A new species of Moenkhausia (Characiformes: Characidae) from the rio Madeira basin, Brazil, with comments on the evolution and development of the trunk lateral line system in characids," Neotropical Ichthyology, 2021; 19(2):e200118.​

The sad fact that this species may never be seen in any of our aquaria reminds me of Sir David Attenborough's comment on how regrettable it is that so many species will become extinct before we have even discovered them.

The first link is to the article in the current edition of Amazonas, and the second to the scientific paper which has additional photos and a map.


 
The sad fact that this species may never be seen in any of our aquaria reminds me of Sir David Attenborough's comment on how regrettable it is that so many species will become extinct before we have even discovered them.

This fact haunts me.

I was raised watching Sir David's programmes, and have loved natural documentaries ever since. The progress that has been made in filming technology has made these breathtaking beautiful documentaries possible, seeing creatures in the wild in ways never dreamed of decades ago, and increasing our knowledge in so many aspects of their lives.

But the truth is that many of those documentaries now reduce me to tears, because it's inevitable that the closing will state how endangered so many of these species are now. Habitat loss, human predation, invasive species...

We've been very poor stewards of the natural world.

Will go look at the paper now, thank you for the links.
 
Ah Sir David's programmes... I remember a rather recent one when he was commenting on a group of "shoaling snakes" hunting a young iguana together, believe me, it sent shivers down my spine :eek:😂
 
Ah Sir David's programmes... I remember a rather recent one when he was commenting on a group of "shoaling snakes" hunting a young iguana together, believe me, it sent shivers down my spine :eek:😂

Love him! Years ago, I took a day off work and queued for two hours to get his book signed by him. Couldn't pass up the chance to meet the legend himself!

I spent the whole two hours trying to think of what to say. To thank him for the impact he had on my life, that he ignited my love for animals and the natural world, taught me about conservation, evolution and natural selection long before I truly understood those concepts, that he had been an intergral part of my childhood, education and forming my passions in life.

When I got to the front, I stammered "It's such an honour to meet you!" Had a photo snapped with him, he signed by book and my time was over. Was still great to shake his hand though!
 
Now you've set me off on Sir David Attenborough, a true giant among humanity for the past 9 decades...here's a short video from the BBC wherein Sir David reads the text of a song written by Sam Cooke and made famous by the great Louis Armstrong, "What a Wonderful World" as we see some incredible images of this wonderful world.

 

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Ah Sir David's programmes... I remember a rather recent one when he was commenting on a group of "shoaling snakes" hunting a young iguana together, believe me, it sent shivers down my spine :eek:😂

If you can find a clip of that on youtube by any chance, I'd love to see it!
 
And in english :
I'm sorry, I forgot you were in France! I found and watched the English version, incredible! Amazing how that one escaped. I love the BBC documentaries, they've really nailed the editing, score, and visuals to tell a story and have your heart in your throat! Putting yourself in the iguana's place as well... it's like something out of a horror film. I'm not afraid of snakes, I quite like them, but imagining all of those coming after you, the way their heads emerge and they're so fast... GAH! Terrifying.

Thank you for finding the clips, now I'm determined to hunt down the whole episode. Amazing stuff.
 
We will all be dead by 2050 any way unless we have zero greenhouse gas emissions in the next couple of years. I don't expert the human race to make it and we will kill everything on the planet in the process. Prove me wrong humans.
 

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