First report of Vandellia sp. parasiting the Raspy river stingray Potamotrygon scobina in the Amazon basin.

This study reports the first record of candiru, Vandellia sp. parasitizing the freshwater stingray Potamotrygon scobina in the Amazon basin, Brazil. In April 2018, a specimen of Potamotrygon scobina was collected by bottom long-term using fish as bait during the monitoring program in the Xingu River.

First record of plastic ingestion by a freshwater stingray.

The abundance and dispersion of plastic particles in aquatic ecosystems has become pervasive resulting in the incorporation of these materials into food webs. Here we describe the first record of plastic ingestion by the freshwater white-blotched river stingray Potamotrygon leopoldi (Potamotrygonidae), an endemic and threatened species in the Xingu River, Amazon basin. Potamotrygonidae stingrays inhabit exclusively Neotropical rivers, occupying rocky substrate habitats and feeding mainly on benthic macroinvertebrates.

Early impacts of the largest Amazonian hydropower project on fish communities.

Hydropower is a threat to freshwater fishes. Despite a recent boom in dam construction, few studies have assessed their impact on mega-diverse tropical rivers. Using a before-after study design, we investigated the early impacts of the Belo Monte hydroelectric complex, the third-largest hydropower project in the world, on fishes of the Xingu River, a major clear-water tributary of the lower Amazon.

A novel facet of the impact of plastic pollution on fish: Silver croaker (Plagioscion squamosissimus) suffocated by a plastic bag in the Amazon estuary, Brazil.

On December 23rd, 2020 in the Marajó Bay, Amazon estuary, we found a specimen of Plagioscion squamosissimus floating dead and choked and suffocated by a plastic bag. Here, we presented images of record and discuss the rarity and factors that may be involved in this to date unreported plastic-animal interaction for bony fishes.