Publication2 med aquascape Publication1cs complete | Page 72

Paratheraps guttulatus specimen caught a Lago
Coatepeque, El Salvador in 2006 Photo © Sven Kullander
So what now with regards to describing this
potential new species? The problems may rest
with the uncertainty of Paratheraps guttulatus
and zonatus. Although sp. ‘coatzacoalcos’ is
strongly linked to being a possible regional vari-
ation of zonatus, there is also the potential
problem that Paratheraps zonatus is a regional
variation of Paratheraps guttulatus
Albert Günther described guttulatus as Heros
guttulatus in 1864 in the paper titled: "Report
of a collection of fishes made by Messrs. Dow,
Godman, and Salvin in Guatemala". Proceed-
ings of the Zoological Society of London. 1864,
pp. 144-154 (crc00137). Looking through a
copy of this paper, it rarely gives any clues as to
the type of fish we are dealing with. Size, pro-
file, Scales, fin measurements are given and a
brief description on markings and colouration.
With only one specimen to go on and a holo-
type, I would say guttulatus was very loosely
described.
The type locality guttulatus is described from
Laguna Amatitlan Pacific side (Guatemala). The lo-
cality of the fish was given when Günther re-
described the species in 1869, where many exam-
ples were allegedly caught.
Other possibilities of guttulatus came about when
Sven Kullander caught a specimen at Lago
Coatepeque, El Salvador in 2006. The photos of the
fish correspond well to zonatus and Günther’s 1869
drawing reproduced by (Stawikowski & Werner
1998). The type locality guttulatus Lago Amatitlan is
only a short distance North West of Lago-
Coatepeque.
The type locality Paratheraps zonatus is further
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