The karyotype of Serrasalmus spilopleura from the Central Amazon is reported here for the first time. All analized individuals showed 60 chromosomes, as observed in previously published karyotypes of this species from the Paraná-Paraguai basin. However, two different cytotypes were found in sites near the confluence of the Negro and Solimões rivers, where the specimens were collected. Such karyotypic differences were not related to sex differentiation. Moreover, the two amazon cytotypes are different from the three cytotypes described in animals from Paraná-Paraguai basin. The different karyotypes detected so far, in both simpatry and allopatry conditions, suggest that S. spilopleura may be either a cytogenetically heterogeneous species or a complex of sibling species.
cytogenetics; piranha; Serrasalmidae; cytotypes; Amazon basin