The existence of cryptic species within the genus Brycon has posed significant challenges for its taxonomic identification and management. This widely distributed genus represents a species complex with populations exhibiting differences in body shape and height, color pattern, pigmentation of the caudal fin, scale count, maximum size, and pigmentation of the anal fin. Thus, this study aims to investigate the reproductive biology and geometric morphometrics to distinguish the two lineages of Brycon falcatus in the Teles Pires River basin and propose a management plan that considers both lineages.
The present study will be carried out during the years 2024 and 2025, with activities in municipalities within the Teles Pires River basin. B. falcatus individuals will be collected monthly over the course of a year. Reproductive biology will be studied through macro- and microscopic analyses of gonadal development stages. Finally, morphometric data from 40 individuals will be analyzed using geometric morphometric tools to evaluate the differences between the two lineages of B. falcatus, thus enabling the separation of the lineages from the Teles Pires River basin and providing solid data to propose new management and conservation strategies.
Keywords: cryptic species, geometric morphometrics, conservation.