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Arroyo Macedo, Artigas, Uruguay
November 27, 2006
GPS Coordinates: South 30 degrees 39.226' West 056 degrees 18.807'. Elevation: 418'.
Arroyo Macedo is a small, shallow river (or large stream) in Artigas.
It flows into the Rio Cuareim which runs along the border of Brazil and Uruguay.
The water was a cool 72 F. Soft and neutral.
Austraheros cf. scitulus female moving her clutch of fry away from my nosy camera. She was barely 2 inches long. Her mate was almost 3 inches long and did not hesitate to bite my fingers and the lens of the camera. They were also defending their territory from others of their species and breeding pairs of Gymnogeophagus sp. Catalan (rhabdotus group). Most of the adult cichlids in this stream were spawning. Jeff Cardwell got some really good UW video of the Gymno herding fry. I'll post the video here sometime soon.
You cannot see the female in this picture but the hole in the rock
the camera is pointed at is where the female in the picture above was. Spencer Jack Photo.
Arroyo Macedo and most of the streams and rivers in Artigas are littered with rocks and boulders. The 'rocks' here were all geodes - quartz and amethyst, I think. We cracked open many of them and wondered at the content.
Gymnogeophagus sp. Catalan photographed in Uruguay guide extraordinaire, Felipe Cantera's aquarium. This species is found in many streams (Arroyos) in the Department (state) of Artigas. Males have large, bright blue spots and blotches behind the eye, above the lateral line. New species? Probably. It's more attractive than Gymno sp. Hi Fin and the true Gym. rhabdotus in my opinion, but not as colorful as Gym. sp. Norte (was incorrectly sold in the hobby as Gym. meridionalis) or the very similar Gym. sp. Sarandi from the suburbs of Montevideo.
After my first trip to Uruguay in 2001, I felt I had a good understanding of the cichlid fauna of the country. After all, how hard can it be...the country is the size of Pennsylvania. Boy, was I wrong! My idea of what species was what, was completely off the mark. The Gymnos of Uruguay need a lot of taxonomic attention. There are probably at least a dozen undescribed Gymnos in the country. I was very wrong in 2001. 2006 is probably no different.
Fish species found in Arroyo Macedo:
- Crenicichla minuano
- C. missioneira
- C. scotti
- Gymno. sp. Big Lip Macedo (gymnogenys group)
- Ancistrus sp. Orange Tail
- Cyanocharax uruguayensis
- Astyanax sp. Blue
- Astyanax sp. Bar Tail
- Gymno. sp. Catalan (rhabdotus group)
- Australoheros cf. scitulum
"Castnetting all day makes me hungry" said Jeff.
Tomodon ocellatus, a rear-fanged snake. Length: 12 inches.
All photos by: J. Cardwell, S. Jack and V. Kutty
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