One of the most gorgeous colored and endangered Hyphessobryconspecies, H. flammeus Myers, is redescribed. Diagnostic characters of the species are two vertically elongated humeral spots, no caudal peduncle blotch, 5-8 maxillary teeth, caudal fin hyaline, and longitudinal dark stripe of the body absent. Sexual dimorphism is present, with males being more colored than females and having bony hooks in the anal and pelvic fins, which are dark in their terminal portions. Comments about its occurrence in the upper rio Tietê drainage (upper rio Paraná basin), its conservation status, and the phylogenetic position into Characidae context are also presented.
Characiformes; Engraçadinho; Flame tetra; Coastal streams; Endangered species
