Taxonomic revision of Hypostomus albopunctatus (Siluriformes: Loricariidae) reveals a new piece of the Hypostomus jigsaw in the upper Río Paraná basin

Hypostomus albopunctatus was described from the Rio Piracicaba, a tributary of the Rio Tiete, upper Rio Parana basin. Nevertheless, specimens attributed to this species are commonly found throughout other river systems in the upper Rio Parana basin and present varying degrees of morphological variation. A taxonomic review of H. albopunctatus based on large series of specimens from many localities throughout the upper Rio Parana basin was carried out. Results support H. lexi, H. niger and H. scaphyceps as junior synonyms. Hypostomus albopunctatus differs from all congeners except H. heraldoi by having pectoral-fin spine equal to or shorter than pelvic-fin spine (v. longer); it differs from H. heraldoi by having white or light yellow spots on the body and fins (v. dark brown or black spots). Despite conspicuous variation related to the shape and size of the spots and snout morphology, both spot and snout patterns overlapped among the examined populations, thus this variation was inferred to be intraspecific within a widely distributed H. albopunctatus.