Megaleporinus macrocephalus (Garavello, Britski, 1988)

Fig. 5

Body deep; greatest depth contained 3.0 to 3.5, caudal peduncle depth 8.1 to 8.9 times in SL; head length 2.5 to 3.0, predorsal distance 2.0, caudal peduncle length 4.9 to 6.6 in SL; snout length 2.2 to 2.5, horizontal orbital diameter 2.9 to 3.7 and least interorbital width 1.7 to 1.9 in HL. Mouth terminal; premaxilla and dentary with 3 teeth, no maxillary teeth. Lateral line with 42 or 43 pored scales; transverse series above lateral line with 5½ or 6 scale rows and below with 5 or 5½ scale rows. Dorsal fin with 12, pectoral fin with 16 or 17, pelvic fin with 9, anal fin with 10 and caudal fin with 19 rays (Garavello, Britski, 1988). Ground color dark-grey; isthmus and abdomen yellowish; scales with dark-brown border, conferring reticulated pattern to body; three dark-brown blotches over lateral line (first vertically enlongated, second and third rounded), more visible in young specimens, inconspicuous or absent in large specimens. Dorsal, anal and caudal fin darker, pectoral and pelvic fins lighter (Graça, Pavanelli, 2007).

Maximum standard length. 500.0 mm (Graça, Pavanelli, 2007).

Distribution. Río Paraguay and upper rio Paraná basin.

Remarks. Megaleporinus macrocephalus was identified as Leporinus macrocephalus by Graça, Pavanelli (2007). Ramirez et al. (2016) described the new genus, Megaleporinus, and proposed the new combination. Megaleporinus macrocephalus is a non-native species from the upper rio Paraná and its occurrence in the region can be associated with fish-farming and escapes from recreational angling ponds.