Cyanogaster cf. noctivaga (= Characidae gen sp. / Dwarf glass tetra)

10. January 2011

Recently described: Cyanogaster cf. noctivaga

We were able to import a new species of dwarf tetra in january 2011 from Peru. The tiny fish were only 1-2 cm long and we were neither able to assign them to an existing genus nor to an existing species. Thus we gave them the provisional name Characidae gen. sp., Dwarf Glass Tetra (code 215503). Now our idea that the fish are completely new to science has proofed to be true: the scientists George Mattox, Ralf Britz, Monica Toledo-Piza, and Manoelo F. Marinho described recently (March 2013) this or a very similar species under the name of Cynaogoster noctivaga, new genus and new species. The scientific generic name means “blue belly” due to the coloration and the specific name “noctivaga” means “night wanderer”, because all specimens were collected during nighttime (between 20.00 and 24.00).

There is no doubt that the fish we imported from Peru belongs to the same genus, eg Cyanogaster. However, the species noctivaga has been described from the Rio Negro area in Brazil. Only a very close look on preserved specimens will allow a decision wether both populations belong to the same species or not. So we hope that we will be able to import this nice fish in the near future once more – sadly currently they are not available.

Code number: 215503

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

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Herkunft Peru