Steindachnerina elegans (Steindachner 1875)

Cosmoxynemoides Infestation. Parasitic infestations (protozoa, worms, etc.)

Travnema Infestation 2. Parasitic infestations (protozoa, worms, etc.)

Procamallanus Infection 25. Parasitic infestations (protozoa, worms, etc.)

Dorsal soft rays (total): 11 - 12; Analsoft rays: 9 - 10; Vertebrae: 32 - 33

Steindachnerina elegans (Steindachner, 1874)

Curimatus elegans Steindachner, 1874:529 (type-locality: Brazil, Minas Gerais, Rio Arassuahy (= Araçuaí). tributary to Rio Jequitinhonha].— Eigenmann and Eigenmann, 1889:421 [in part, Rio Arassuahy ( == Araçuai); Bahia; not Rio Ipajica at Pemambuco].—1891:17 [reference].—Eigenmann, 1910:421 [in part, “Coastwise streams of southeastern Brazil;” not Paraguay citation].—Vari, 1989a, tables 2, 3 [assignment to Steindachnerina].—[not Boulenger, 1900:2; Starics 1913:14; Azevedo. 1938:51, 55; Azevedo et al., 1938:481; Azevedo and Vieira, 1939:3; Campos, 1945:460; Foresti et al., 1974:249; Nomura, 1977:727; Nomura and Tavera, 1979:331].

Curimatus albula.—Lütken, 1874a: 127 [in part, one syntype, Brazil, Rio das Velhas].

Curimatus elegans bahiensis Eigenmann and Eigenmann, 1889:421 [type-locality: Brazil, Bahia].—1891:47 [reference].—Eigenmann, 1910:421 [reference].—Van, 1989a, tables 2, 3 [assignment to Steindachnerina].

Pseudocurimata elegans.—Fernández-Yépez, 1948:45 [reference].

Pseudocurimata elegans bahiensis.—Fernández-Yépez, 1948:46 [assignment to Pseudocurimata].—Fowler, 1975:372 [reference].

Curimata elegans bahiensis.—Fowler, 1950:282 [literature compilation].— Travassos, 1960:8 [compilation; Brazil, Bahia].—Fowler, 1975:282 [literature compilation].

Curimata elegans elegans.—Fowler 1950:282 [literature compilation; Brazil, Bahia references; not citations of Brazil: Ceará and São Paulo; not citations from Rio Paraguay basin; not fig. 342].—Travassos, 1960:8 [compilation, eastern Brazil].—[not Bertoni, 1939:54].

Curimata notonota.—Fowler, 1950:288 [literature compilation].

Curimata elegans.—Lowe-McConnell, 1975:233 [sound production].— Oliveira et al., 1988:594 [in part, Brazil: Minas Gerais, Três Marias; not São Paulo: Botucatu and Rio Mogi-Guaçu; karyotype].—[not Pearson, 1937:109; Fowler, 1941:164, figs. 75, 76; Gomes and Monteiro, 1955:88. 111].

Pseudocurimata elegans elegans.—Fowler 1975:372 [reference].—de Godoy, 1987:168 [in part, Bahia, not other cited localities].—[not de Godoy, 1975:585, figs. 132, 133].

Steindachnerina elegans.—Venere and Galetti, 1989:18, 19, fig. 1 [Brazil: Rio São Francisco, Três Marias; karyotype information].

DIAGNOSIS.—The numerous lobulate fleshy processes on the roof of the oral cavity, absence of a wide, flattened, prepelvic region of the body, presence of a spot of dark pigmentation on the basal portion of the middle rays of the dorsal fin, possession of 33 to 37 scales along the lateral line to the hypural joint, and the presence of a dark midlateral stripe along the body, in combination, discriminate Steindachnerina elegans from its congeners (see also “Comparisons” below).

DESCRIPTION.—Body moderately elongate, more so in larger specimens, somewhat compressed in juveniles, more rotund in specimens over 60 mm SL. Dorsal profile of head slightly convex anteriorly, straight or very slightly convex from vertical line through posterior nostril to rear of head. Dorsal profile of body slightly convex from rear of head to origin of dorsal fin; straight and very slightly posteroventrally slanted at base of dorsal fin, nearly straight from base of last dorsal-fin ray to caudal peduncle. Dorsal surface of body transversely rounded anteriorly, with indistinct median keel immediately anterior to dorsal fin, smoothly rounded transversely posterior to fin. Ventral profile of body gently curved from tip of lower jaw to caudal peduncle. Prepelvic region irregularly rounded transversely, somewhat flattened medially, more so proximate to insertion of pelvic fin. Postpelvic portion of body irregularly rounded transversely.

Greatest depth of body 0.29–0.35 [0.30]; snout tip to origin of dorsal fin 0.45–0.50 [0.47]; snout tip to origin of anal fin 0.82–0.88 [0.85]; snout tip to insertion of pelvic fin 0.53–0.58 [0.53]; snout tip to anus 0.76–0.80 [0.77]; origin of rayed dorsal fin to hypural joint 0.53–0.58 [0.54]. Dorsal-fin profile obtusely acute; posterior margin nearly straight; anteriormost rays three and one-half to three and three-quarters times length of ultimate ray. Pectoral-fin profile acute; length of pectoral fin 0.18–0.23, extends about three-quarters distance to vertical line through insertion of pelvic fin in juveniles, about two-thirds of that distance in larger specimens. Pelvic-fin profile acute; length of pelvic fin 0.20–0.25 [0.20], reaches about two-thirds distance to origin of anal fin. Caudal fin forked. Adipose fin well developed. Anal fin emarginate, anteriormost branched rays two and three-quarters to three and one-quarter times length of ultimate ray. Caudal peduncle depth 0.12–0.13 (very rarely 0.14) [0.13].

Head obtusely pointed in profile, head length 0.26–0.30 [0.28]; upper jaw longer, mouth distinctly inferior; portion of buccopharyngeal complex on roof of oral cavity in adults consisting of multiple tabulate fleshy bodies; snout length 0.28–0.34 [0.31]; nostrils very close, anterior circular, posterior crescent-shaped, with aperture partially closed by thin flap of skin separating nares; orbital diameter 0.28–0.34 [0.31]; adipose eyelid present, particularly well developed anteriorly, with vertically ovoid opening over center of eye; length of postorbital portion of head 0.38–0.43 [0.43]; gape width 0.26–0.33 [0.26]; interorbital width 0.39–0.44 [0.40].

Pored lateral-line scales to hypural joint 33 to 37 [34?]; all scales of lateral line pored, canals in scales of lateral line straight; 3 to 4 series of scales extend beyond hypural joint onto caudal fin base; 5½ to 6½ [5½] scales in transverse series from origin of rayed dorsal fin to lateral line; 4½ to 5½ [5½] scales in transverse series from lateral line to origin of anal fin.

Dorsal-fin rays ii,9 or iii,9 (when three unbranched rays present, first very short) [iii,9]; anal-fin rays ii,7 or ii,8, or iii,7 (ii,8 very rare, when three unbranched rays present, first very short) [iii,7]; pectoral-fin rays 13 to 16 [14]; pelvic-fin rays i,8 [i,8].

Total vertebrae 32 (6), 33 (23).

COLOR IN LIFE.—(Based on slides taken by S.L. Jewett, July 1988 of a series of specimens (USNM 297902) from the Rio Jequitinhonha system.) Overall coloration of head and body bright silver, distinctly darker on dorsal portion of head and predorsal region of body. Fins yellowish, with lower lobe of caudal fin dusky. Irregular, dark, midlateral line obvious along side of body, line extending along middle rays of caudal fin. Dark pigmentation otherwise as in preserved specimens.

COLOR IN ALCOHOL.—Overall coloration of specimens retaining guanine on scales silvery, darker dorsally on head and body. Dark, midlateral, narrow stripe extending posteriorly to base of caudal fin. Stripe extends less far anteriorly in smaller specimens. Dark line masked to varying degrees by guanine on scales. Overall coloration of specimens lacking guanine on scales yellowish. Dorsal portion of body slightly dusky, more so proximate to dorsal midline. Dorsal surface of head very dusky. Dark narrow stripe along midlateral surface; commencing under dorsal fin in smaller specimens (Figure 70), more obvious and extending progressively more anteriorly in older specimens (Figure 71), reaching to posterior margin of supracleithrum in larger individuals (Figure 72). Line along side of body somewhat irregular and narrowest anteriorly, widest on caudal peduncle, continuous posteriorly with dark stripe along middle rays of caudal fin. Dorsal fin with discrete rotund dark spot on basal portions of middle rays; spot proportionally larger in smaller individuals (Figure 70 versus Figures 71, 72); rest of fin dusky. Adipose fin dusky in larger individuals. Lower lobe of caudal fin dusky, middle rays of caudal fin with very dark stripe. Anal and paired fins hyaline.

COMPARISONS.—The most similar species to Steindachnerina elegans and the one most likely to be confused with that form is S. brevipinna whose distribution in the Río Paraguay system and other portions of the Río de La Plata system is quite separate from that of S. elegans. The two species can be discriminated on the basis of the form and degree of development of the midlateral stripe, which gradually increases posteriorly in width in S. elegans contrary to its more constant width in S. brevipinna. The stripe also differs in the degree to which it extends posteriorly in the two species (see “Key”). Steindachnerina insculpta, an endemic to the upper Rio Paraná system, has a distribution that probably approximates that of S. elegans in the region where the upper reaches of the Rio São Francisco and Rio Paraná approach each other. The species are, however, readily distinguishable in pigmentation and in the number of scales along the lateral line to the hypural joint.

DISTRIBUTION.—Eastern Brazil in the Rio Pardo and Rio Jequitinhonha in Bahia and Minas Gerais, Rio São Francisco basin, and coastal rivers of the state of Bahia in Brazil (Figure 73).

COMMON NAME.—Rio São Francisco: biruba (Azevedo et al., 1938).

KARYOTYPE.—Oliveira et al. (1988:594) report that samples of the species (cited by those authors as Curimata elegans) from the Três Marias reservoir on the Rio São Francisco have 2n = 54 chromosomes. Citations in that publication of Curimata elegans from Botucatu and the Rio Mogi-Guaçu, both in the Rio Paraná basin, are presumed to refer to Steindachnerina insculpta. Venere and Galetti (1989:19) confirm the previously reported chromosome counts and discuss them within a broader phylogenetic framework.

DISTRIBUTION.—Río Paraguay, lower Río Paraná and lower Río Uruguay (Figure 73).

COMPARISONS.—Steindachnerina brevipinna is most similar to and most likely to be confused with S. elegans of me coastal rivers of Minas Gerais and Bahia. As noted under “Comparisons” for S. elegans and in the “Key,” the species can be discriminated in various details of pigmentation. The known distribution of S. brevipinna overlaps that of two congeners, S. biornata and S. conspersa. Steindachnerina brevipinna and S. biornata can be readily distinguished by differences in the pigmentation on the caudal peduncle and overall body form. The numerous lobulate processes on the roof of the mouth in S. brevipinna, in turn, distinguish it from S. conspersa, which lacks those structures.


The northern portions of the range of S. brevipinna possibly approach the range of the poorly known Rio Tocantins endemic S. amazonica. The two species differ in the degree of development of the midlateral stripe on the body, number of scales along the lateral line to the hypural joint, and relative gape width.

MATERIAL EXAMINED.—142 specimens (70, 28.1–108.6).

ARGENTINA. Santa Fe: Rosario, MCZ 789, 1 (107.0, holotype of Curimatus gilberti brevipinnis). Laguna Setubal, USNM 295325, 4 (56.1–77.3). Corrientes: Posadas, Río Paraná, BMNH 1902.2.10.31, 1 (63.4). Entre Ríos: Río Uruguay at Concordia, USNM 295326, 1 (85.0).

PARAGUAY. Río Tebicuary, USNM 229441, 1 (74.9). Central: San Bernardino, USNM 181647, 7 (58.0–81.3). Asuncion, Río Paraguay, CAS, 1 (77.4, paratype of Curimatus elegans paraguayensis; formerly IU 9954). Asuncion Bay, Río Paraguay, USNM 181538, 1 (39.2); USNM 181640, 1 (52.9). Asuncion, AMNH 1461, 1 (67.7). Lago Ypacarai, vicinity of Aregua, USNM 229438, 1 (66.5). Lago Ypacarai, USNM 229439, 1 (86.2); USNM 232221, 1 (77.0). Cordillera: 17.6 km W of San Bernardino, USNM 232220, 1 (67.5). Presidente Hayes: 84 km NE of Río Mantelindo, at km 216.5 on Trans-Chaco Highway, USNM 232216, 1. Río Paraguay, Villa Hayes, FMNH 70507, 2.

BRAZIL. Mato Grosso: Rio Coxipó, BMNH 1902.2.10:30, 1 (39.5, lectotype of Curimatus nigrotaenia); BMNH 1989.2.23:3–6, 4 (33.7–38.8, paralectotypes of Curimatus nigrotaenia). Carandazinho, BMNH 1900.4.14:36–39, 4 (28.1– 38.7). Municipio Poconé, Rodovia Transpantaneira, USNM 295327, 2 (72.8–73.2, formerly ZUEC 507 and 509). Lagoa along Rodovia Transpantaneira, 10 km from Poconé, MZUSP 28463, 3 (1, 60.1). Rio Paraguai, Porto de Cáceres, USNM 243240, 9 (50.8–67.4). Rio Coxipo da Ponte, Coxipó da Ponte, Municipio de Cuiabá, MZUSP 21512, 16. Santo Antônio de Leverger, MZUSP 4447, 1 (44.4). Río Cuiabá, Municipio de Santo Antônio de Leverger, MZUSP 21656, 6. Rio Jaurú at Porto Esperidião, MZUSP 28089, 1 (56.4). Mato Grosso do Sul: Municipio de Corumbá, MZUSP 21680, 1 (68.2); MZUSP 21679, 5. Rio Grande do Sul: Rio Santa Maria at bridge on Br 293, between Dom Pedrito and Livramento, MCP 9620, 20 (8, 72.6–108.6). Rio Ibicuí, bridge between São Rafael and Cacequí, USNM 295264, 10 (35.5–80.3). Arroio do Salsa, tributary to Rio Ibicuí, on road from Livramento to Rosario do Sul, Municipio de Rosario do Sul, USNM 295270, 2. Tributary to Rio Ibicuí da Faxina, along road from Livramento to Rosário, Municipio de Livramento, USNM 295263, 2; MCP 12106, 2. Itaquí, Rio Ibicu í, near mouth, USNM 295268, 9; MCP 12013, 7. Rio Gaupa, along road from Uruguaiana to Quaraí, USNM 295269, 2 (1, 36.3); MCP 12029, 2. Munícipio de Santo Angelo, tributary to Rio Uruguai, USNM 295265, 2; MCP 12014, 2. Santa das Águas Frias, off Río Uruguai, USNM 287002, 2 (70.2–76.2).

URUGUAY. No specific locality, NMW 67034, 1.

The following lot is tentatively identified as Steindachnerina cf. brevipinna (see last paragraph of “Remarks”).

BRAZIL. Pará: Waterfall pool in Rio Curuá, Serra do Cachimbo, near Cuiabá to Santarem Highway (upper Rio Xingu drainage basin), USNM 267957, 12.

Phylogenetic Biogeography

A diverse set of attributes make the Curimatidae, at least in theory, an ideal group for studies of me phylogenetic biogeography of the South American lowland fish fauna. Despite the fact that the ichthyofaunas of nearly all Neotropical river systems are inadequately collected and are at best somewhat superficially analyzed, the available evidence suggests mat the Curimatidae has a near cosmopolitan distribution in the river systems of tropical and subtemperate South America inhabited by various members of the Ostariophysi. The only substantiated exception to mat generalization is the absence of the family in the series of short rivers draining the Pacific versant of the Andean cordilleras in central and southern Peru, and in central Chile.

Above and beyond its broad range, me family is, furthermore, relatively speciose, is characterized by a notable degree of variation in diverse body systems useful for resolving both supra and intrageneric phylogenetic relationships, and shows a high degree of sympatry between all the major intrafamilial clades. These attributes of the Curimatidae hold promise that a phylogenetic analysis of the family will result in multiple geographically overlapping area cladograms. Those, in turn, could reveal common patterns of historical relationships between areas of endemism. Furthermore, although curimatids inhabit some relatively fast-flowing streams, members of the family have not been collected in torrential waters, nor are they known from the mid to high altitude drainages along the slopes of the Andes. Thus, curimatids should be more reflective of the major hydrographic vicariance events that may have taken place on the continent than would fishes adapted to the higher velocity water flows typical of headwater streams along watershed boundaries.

Vari (1988) provided an overview of then available information on phylogenetic relationships within the Curimatidae and noted that under an allopatric speciation model curimatids must have undergone repeated, very large-scale dispersal as indicated by the high degree of secondary sympatry at phylogenetic levels ranging from the familial to the specific. Subsequent publications on Curimata (Vari, 1989b) and Psectrogaster (Vari, 1989c) have confirmed that such secondary dispersal is widespread in the components of those genera that occur in the Atlantic versants of South America. Pseudocurimata, a less speciose trans-Andean endemic genus of curimatids that inhabits a highly dissected geomorphological region, in contrast, shows a much lower degree of interspecific and intercladal sympatry (Vari, 1989d).

The phylogenetic biogeography of Steindachnerina, whose distribution totally overlaps that of Psectrogaster and Curimata, has a degree of secondary dispersal comparable to that found in those genera; additional evidence congruent with an hypothesis that post-speciation dispersal has been a major factor in the evolution of the fish fauna to the east of the Andes. Furthermore, Steindachnerina exhibits several interesting patterns when species distributions are evaluated within a phylogenetic context.

Figure 78 presents an area cladogram for Steindachnerina in which the species names have been replaced by the general range for each form. The internal nodes of the cladogram are lettered for cross-reference in the following discussion. On examination we can see that the two components of Node A identified as Nodes B and F have a high level of sympatry, albeit with several interesting differences. The distribution of the species in clade b is totally enclosed within that of clade F with three minor exceptions, all involving Steindachnerina argentea, a species limited to the northern portions of the geographical range of the genus. That species, widespread in the Río Orinoco basin, also inhabits two small rivers on the northern slopes of the Venezuelan coastal ranges and is widespread on the western portions of the island of Trinidad. None of those three areas is known to be inhabited by any other species of curimatid. The presence of S. argentea on Trinidad indicates a past dispersal across what is presently the Gulf of Paria. One possible mechanism for that dispersal event involves a dispersion across a reduced or absent marine barrier in that area during a period of lowered sea levels associated with a period of glaciation in temperate regions of the world. An alternative scenario is the dispersal of the species across the Gulf of Paria during the flood season of the Río Orinoco when the large influx of freshwater into the Gulf reduces or eliminates the barrier posed by the saline waters during other periods of the year. Under that mechanism the dispersal event must have occurred after the late Miocene shift of the mouth of the Río Orinoco to the Atlantic proximate to Trinidad. Prior to that time the Orinoco drained into the Caribbean further to the west in the region of the present Lago Maracaibo (Rod, 1981).

With the exception of the Trinidad localities and the two small northern coastal rivers noted above, the species of Node B are limited to the three largest river systems of South America, the Orinoco, the Amazon, and the La Plata. That lineage of five species demonstrates sequential vicariance events between the Río de La Plata system and the Río Orinoco and Rio Amazonas basins to the north (Node C) followed by subsequent speciation event between the two species at Node E, which have allopatric distributions within the central portion of the Amazon basin and the upper Rio Madeira respectively.

The species of Node F encompass the total geographic range of Steindachnerina with the exception of the peripheral distributions of S. argentea on western Trinidad and in two small rivers of the northern versant of Venezuela. Once again there is large-scale sympatry within that clade at basal phyletic levels (Nodes F and H); however, such sympatry is less pronounced within less inclusive clades (Nodes I to N). Several exceptions to those generalizations are particularly noteworthy. Perhaps the most interesting of these involves the dichotomy at Node G, which can serve as a benchmark to establish a minimum age for at least some of the speciation events within the genus. We can see at Node G that Steindachnerina atratoensis, an endemic of the Río Atrato system to the west of the Andean cordilleras, is hypothesized to be the sister group to a lineage of 14 species (Node H) distributed through nearly the total range of the genus to the east of the Andes. Comparable sister group relationships across various portions of me Andean Cordilleras within the Curimatidae have been previously reported for Potamorhina (Vari, 1984a; 1988:342, 343, fig. 11), Curimata (Vari, 1988:343, fig. 12; 1989b), and also occur in Cyphocharax (Vari, 1988:343). It is simplest to hypothesize mat this repeated pattern of phylogenetic relationships across me Andes is correlated with the Miocene uplift of various portions of mat mountain chain. That assumption is more parsimonious than alternative hypotheses invoking repeated independent dispersal events across major barriers (see Vari, 1988:344). Furthermore, the single hypothesis is particularly reasonable in mis instance given me ecological parameters of curimatids discussed above mat make them ill-adapted to dispersal through cold, high-altitude barriers. Thus, as noted by Vari (1988:343, 344), all of the major and much of the minor cladogenesis within the family is hypothesized to predate the formation of the Amazon basin.

The question of the contribution of the formation of the Amazon basin to the species diversity of the present-day South American fish fauna has been the subject of some contention (see Weitzman and Weitzman, 1982; Vari, 1988). The location of S. atratoensis within the phytogeny indicates that cladogenesis between the ancestors of the species at nodes A and F predated the vicariance event at node G, which presumably took place at the latest in the late Miocene. It is not possible at the present time to correlate the speciation events of nodes B through E with any specific vicariance events, although as noted above, the common occurrence of Steindachnerina argentea of node B on Trinidad may be the result of a post-Miocene dispersal event. Difficulties in correlating the speciation events within Node H with specific geomorphological events apparently makes that portion of the tree similarly uninformative with respect to the question of speciation rates within the Amazon basin. Indeed, at first consideration, the occurrence of a large percentage of the species within Node H to the east of the Andes would appear to be congruent with an hypothesis that much of the cladogenesis within the genus postdates and perhaps was a result of the formation of the Amazon basin as a consequence of the Miocene uplift of the Andes. The large number of unresolved sister-group relationships at Nodes H, I, and N, and in particular the lack of benchmark vicariance events that can be confidently correlated with branching points within the Node H clade makes it impossible to critically test that hypothesis. An examination of the distribution of the species within Node H together with the available phylogenetic information in the clade does, however, provide some insight into the question.

Most of the species of Node H have distributions lying largely outside of the Amazon basin (brevipinna, elegans, insculpta, notonota, papula, runa), or peripheral to the central Amazon (amazonica, dobula, fasciata, guentheri) (Figure 79). The only exceptions to that generalization are the four species of the terminal dichotomy and trichotomy (Nodes K and L), which appear to have undergone speciation with subsequent secondary dispersal within the central portions of the Amazon basin and the adjoining Rio Tocantins systems of eastern Brazil (Figure 80). The distribution patterns of the two groups of taxa overlap somewhat in the western portions of the Amazon basin and in the Rio Tocantins system, but are otherwise complementary. Indeed, if we leave aside the Tocantins system, which is actually peripheral to the main Amazon, the degree of overlap between the two assemblages of species is further reduced. Admittedly no absolute timing of the speciation and dispersal events within the Node H portion of the phylogenetic tree is presently possible. Regardless of that limitation we can see that even in the Node F species of Steindachnerina where the sister-group relationship across the Andes occupies a relatively basal location within the cladogram, speciation within the central Amazon basin (Node M) apparently has contributed only a small degree to the overall number of intracladal speciation events.

A final feature of note with respect to the distribution of the species in Steindachnerina involves the distinct gap between the range of S. atratoensis to the west of the Andes, on the one hand, and the distribution of the remainder of the genus in the Atlantic drainages of the continent, on the other. As can be seen in Figure 38 the Río Atrato system is separated from the western cordilleras of the Andes by the Río Magdalena system. There is, in tum, an additional gap in the distribution of Steindachnerina across both the western slopes and intercordilleran valleys of the Andes and along the eastern piedmont of that mountain chain (Figure 79). Although curimatids are apparently poorly adapted for cold, high-gradient streams and rivers typical of the Andean highlands, the absence of any Steindachnerina species in the Río Magdalena basin, much of which is in the lowlands, and whose fish fauna has been reasonably well sampled, is unexpected.

The present distribution of Steindachnerina indicates that at some point prior to the uplift of the Andes the range of the ancestral species of Node G extended from some portion of what are now the Atlantic drainages of the continent across the area now occupied by the Magdalena basin to some portion of what is now the Río Atrato system. That ancestral species of Node G presumably underwent subsequent vicariance with a resultant separation of populations in areas now to either side of the Andes. The lack of a species of Steindachnerina within the Rio Magdalena system, an area of necessity within the range of the genus at some point, indicates that there has been secondary extinction within Steindachnerina in that drainage system. That extinction may have involved either populations of some ancestral species or populations of a descendant species of presently undeterminable phyletic affinities.

Lundberg et al. (1986) documented that extinction since the uplift of the Andean Cordilleras has taken place in at least some of the larger elements of the fish fauna of the Río Magdalena. A similar extinction phenomena also occurred in the fish fauna of those drainages to the east of the Andes located to the north of the Merida Andes (Lundberg et al., 1988). In the case of the Río Magdalena basin, Lundberg et al. (1986) hypothesized that such extinction, if common, might account for the present relatively depauperate nature of the ichthyofauna in that drainage basin. Such a hypothesis of large-scale extinction within the fish fauna of the Magdalena basin is congruent with indirect evidence arrived at from the phylogenetic and distributional data within Steindachnerina.

Steindachnerina elegans is a fish species in the genus Steindachnerina found in rivers in Bahia and Minas Gerais, Brazil.