Genus Herichthys Baird and Girard 1854

(Fig. 6)

Inclusive species. H. cyanoguttatus (type species), H. carpintis, H. deppii, H. minckleyi, H. tamasopoensis, H. tepehua, H. teporatus .

Diagnosis. Herichthys is diagnosed by six to seven vertical bars (often at the posterior of the body) with dark blotches below the upper lateral line. Breeding coloration includes a darkened color ventrally on lateral portions of the body with light- or gray-colored markings on the dorsum. The anteriormost teeth in the upper jaw are spatulate, chisel-like, or bicuspid.

Distribution. Rivers of the Atlantic slope of Mexico and the Río Grande drainage of the United States (Texas) and Mexico.

Comments. Our diagnostic characteristics for Herichthys follow De la Maza-Beningnos et al. (2015) based on their recent revision of the group. Herichthys (before it was divided into Herichthys and Nosferatu) was largely diagnosed by the shared color pattern of bars and/or blotches along the lateral sides of the body, and a breeding coloration consisting of a dark ventral portion and a lighter dorsal portion of the body (Oldfield et al. 2015). As recognized here, following De la Maza-Beningnos et al. (2015), the traditional breeding coloration characters delineate these clades, but with slight differences in the extent of coloration between Herichthys and Nosferatu . Our molecular analysis supports the monophyly of Herichthys and its sister relationship with Nosferatu . At the species level within Herichthys, none of the species in the genus are recovered as monophyletic in De la Maza- Benignos et al. (2015). Status and validity of the species within this genus are in need of further study.

Material examined. H. carpintis, UMMZ 234903 [n=10, Mexico: Río Paunuco]; H. cyanoguttata, UMMZ 92313 [n=4, Mexico: Arroyo Marmolejo], FMNH 4435 [n=9, Mexico: Río Camacho]; H. minckleyi, UMMZ 130395 [n=15 (Paratypes), Mexico: Cuatro Cienegas], UMMZ 211734 [n=15, Mexico: Cuatro Cienegas]; H. tamasopoensis, UMMZ 193513 [n=15, Mexico: Río Tamasopo], UMMZ 196699 [n=15, Mexico: Río Panuco].