Hypostomus caudofasciatus (Teleostei: Loricariidae), a new remarkably colored species from the upper Rio Paraná basin in Brazil.

Despite being one of the better-surveyed regions in Brazil, the upper Rio Paraná basin still reveals relatively numerous large new species of fish. Here, we present a new uniquely colored species of the highly diverse, armored catfish genus Hypostomus. The new species was mostly found in the Rio Grande basin, plus a single record in the main channel of the Rio Paraná.

Integrative taxonomy reveals the historically poorly defined armoured catfish Hypostomus variipictus (Ihering 1911), from the upper rio Paraná basin, Brazil (Siluriformes, Loricariidae).

In a recent expedition to the rio Grande basin, a tributary of the rio Paraná in southern Brazil, individuals of the armoured catfish genus Hypostomus with a peculiar and beautiful colour pattern composed of pale vermiculations on the head and four to five horizontal stripes on the flanks were collected. Initially, the specimens were identified as a colour morph of the pale-spotted H. margaritifer.