Fishes of the Puna: First record of Trichomycterus rivulatus Valenciennes 1846 from Argentina and new localities for the genus (Siluriformes: Trichomycteridae)

Abstract

The Altiplano-Puna Basin houses a particular group of freshwater fishes, whose biological diversity is yet unknown. News records of Trichomycterus species are herein added to the checklist of fishes living in the Puna of Argentina: This is the first record of Trichomycterus rivulatus in Argentina, while T. roigi is recorded from six streams of Jujuy province (Volcán Granada, Volcán Tuzgle, El Moreno, Cieneguillas, and Santa Catalina) and Salta province (La Poma) in high-elevation area between 3,000 to 4,600 m above sea level, and T. alterus is recorded between 2,000 to 2,400 m elevation from three localities of Catamarca province (El Bolsón, Fiambalá, and Chauschil). Puna fishes are nowadays threatened by the salmonids, Oncorhynchus mykiss, introduced since 1960.