Trichomycterus payaya, new species, is described from tributaries to the upper rio Itapicuru basin, northern Bahia State, Brazil. The new species is distinguished from congeners by having the head rounded anteriorly in dorsal view and slightly depressed in lateral view, supraorbital pores s6 paired, opening laterally on the supraorbital sensory branch, not emerging from an epiphyseal branch, lateral process of the urohyal distally sharp and with pointed tip, interopercular patch of odontodes longer than deep, with 21-26 odontodes, small number of pleural ribs (5-6 ribs), and dorsal fin in a posterior position. This is the first record of a Trichomycterus from the semiarid region of northeastern Brazil.
Freshwater fish; New species; Northern Bahia; Taxonomy
