33 new fish species discovered in Guyana after 2024 expedition

Guyana: Thirty-Three new species of fish were found in the Acarai-Corentyne Corridor in Guyana during a rapid inventory by a team of experts in 2024. The confirmation of the same was done recently after proper analysis.  

According to the information, among the newly discovered fish species are the Bryconops sp, Cichla ocellaris, Eigenmannia macuxi, Leporinus cf. fasciatus, Metaloricaria nijsseni, Microglanis sp, Myleus pacu, Phractocephalus hemioliopterus, Potamotrygon boesemani, Pseudoplatystoma cf. reticulatum, Pseudacanthicus fordii and Sternopygus astrabes. 

Dr. Lesley de Souza, Senior Conservation Ecologist at the Chicago Field Museum (CFM), highlighted the discovery of new fish species in Guyana during a panel discussion at the Global Biodiversity Alliance Summit on Thursday.  

She said that most of the fishes are known locally because this area had been poorly explored and was new to scientific research and her team was able to add 40 new records of fishes to the fish list of Guyana. She noted that she has never seen piranhas as big as she saw in this area.  

Dr de Souza explained that 50% of the birds in Guyana were found within the border and added that there was a new record of a bird named Speckled Spinetail in Guyana. According to her 10 million emergent trees were collected while two new species of amphibians were also found during this expedition.  

She continued to say that a total of 400 Jaguars are estimated to be in this cooridor and this is very significant place for mammals. The highlight for her, she said, was working with local experts on collectig the fish they collected and they worked with all the teams.  

Notably, in 2024, a team of more than 50 experts which included Dr de Souza embarked on a month-long expedition which took place in one of the most remote forests in the world in the southern eastern part of Guyana in order to conduct a rapid inventory.  

This expedition was a collaboration between the Protected Areas Commission (PAC), the University of Guyana, the Field Museum of Natural History and other local institutions. The team included experts in various fields such as ecology, zoology, soils, geology and botany.  

With this discovery, the experts are now looking forward to enhanced biodiversity in Guyana as the country is already rich in its biodiverse resources.