A new species, formerly identified as P. maculatus La Cepède, 1803, is described. It differs from its congeners, except P. maculatus and P. mysteriosus Azpelicueta, 1998 by the color pattern with dark brown blotches in the flanks. The new species is morphometricaly similar to P. argenteus Perugia, 1891 and P. mysteriosus, differing, respectively, by the blotched color pattern and by the smaller maxillary barbel. The described new species differs from P. maculatus for presenting the supraoccipital process more robust, with base as broad as long (versus longer than broad); anterior nostrils 25% of distance between the margin of snout to posterior nostrils (versus 33% of this distance); small saws in the pectoral spine more developed and present in more than half of the anterior margin of spine (versus small saws present in less than half of that margin); very thin skin covering the head, allowing the grooves in the bones surfaces conspicuous; 22-27 (mode=24) gill rakers in the first branchial arch [versus 19-24 (mode=21)]. This new species was also discriminated from P. maculatus in the size free canonical variates analysis by presenting larger values of interorbital distance, mouth width and maxillar barbel length and smaller base length of adipose-fin.
Catfishes; Neotropical; Pantanal; systematics
