New Fish Species Found in Venezuelan River

CARACAS, Venezuela, August 29, 2003 (ENS) - Ten new species of fish have been discovered in Venezuela's Upper Caura River, according to the international environmental group Conservation International. The organization says the findings strengthen the need for increased protection of the area, which it describes as of one of the most pristine watersheds in South America.

"For every scientific expedition to the Caura River, researchers have recorded hundreds of species never seen before in the area," said Leeanne Alonso, senior director of Conservation International's Aquatic Rapid Assessment Program (RAP).

"We are just scratching the surface of what is out there and I am sure the Caura holds many more remarkable plants and animals that are completely new to science," Alonso said.

During an expedition in November 2000 to assess the biological diversity of the area, a team of national and international scientists with RAP recorded 399 plant and 278 fish species in the Caura River, including 10 new fish and one new shrimp species.

The new species of bloodfin tetra is only one of 11 new species found by scientists during a expedition in 2000. (Photo by Barry Chernoff and A. Machado-Allison courtesy Conservation International )

The official name for the two inch tetra - Aphyocharax yekwana - was chosen in honor of the Ye'Kwana, an indigenous tribe who live in the river basin.

"For thousands of years the Ye'kwana have recognized the beauty and biological importance of this area - their very way of life and social fabric revolves around protecting it," said Conservation International Venezuela Director Franklin Rojas.

Conservationists say it is time the Venezuelan government and others committed to the same ethic. They point to threats to the river basin from gold and silver mining, illegal fishing as well as agricultural expansion into the region, commercial logging and plans for a hydroelectric dam.

The 420 mile Caura River is a major tributary of the massive 1,600 mile long Orinico River and even prior to the RAP expedition many considered its basin a biological hotspot. Some 300 miles southeast of the Venezuelan capital Caracas, the area covers some five percent of Venezuela and is comprised of inland and flooded forests.

It sits atop the Guayana Shield, a single massive geological formation that runs beneath northeastern South America.

Formed more than two billion years ago, the shield supports the single most intact tropical wilderness area in the world.

The vegetation around the basin is 85 percent intact and pristine. Some 30 percent of all Venezuela's recorded species and 28 percent of the country's freshwater fish species live in the Caura River Basin. The RAP team targeted the Caura River Basin for its expedition because few studies have been done on the area despite indications there could be a range of species endemic to the basin.

The Caura River Basin is home to some 15,000 indigenous people. (Photo by Miguel Romero courtesy Conservation International )

The organization is lobbying the Venezuelan government to mitigate threats to the area and to increase protection of the river basin by upgrading it from a forest reserve to an integrated protected area system and indigenous reserve.