Serrasalmus nalseni is a localized endemic for the Morichal Largo, Tabasca and Uracoa rivers, all tributaries of Caño Manamo, in the Delta del Orinoco, north-east Venezuela. The species is only known from 12 specimens, of which half are estimated to have been found sexually mature. Therefore, its abundance is extremely low and we estimate a total number of mature individuals of at most 50. In addition to this, there are no records in the last 16 years. Therefore, this species is assessed as Critically Endangered.

Serrasalmus nalseni was described by Fernández-Yépez (1969) for the Río Uracoa, 9° 10' N, 62 ° 27' W, Monagas State, Venezuela. This "Morichal" type watercourse (see Habitats and Ecology section) is a tributary of the Caño Mánamo, belonging to the Delta del Orinoco (Río Orinoco basin). After its description, it has been cited in different catalogues and systematic reviews for its type locality (Machado-Allison 1985, Machado-Allison and Fink 1996, Machado-Allison 2002, Jégu 2003, Fricke et al. 2020).

Taphorn et al. (1997) include it in the list of freshwater fishes in Venezuela. Next, Lasso et al. (2003) list it for the Río Orinoco basin and Lasso et al. (2005) list it for the Río Morichal Largo and Orinoco basin. At the same time, the only work that indicates a precise locality for the species is that of Campo (2003), which cites the Laguna Guasinoca, located on the right bank of the Río Morichal Largo.

It is striking that in ecological studies, lists and monographs on the fish of the Río Uracoa (Pérez 1984), Morichal Largo (Antonio and Lasso 2001) and the Delta del Orinoco (Lasso et al. 2004ab, 2009b; Lasso and Sánchez-Duarte 2011; López-Marcano et al. 2019) and in other Morichal habitat rivers in the eastern region of Venezuela (Marrero et al. 1997, Herrera et al. 2012, Machado-Allison et al 2013), did not include Serrasalmus nalseni. This was possibly due to poor knowledge and lack of records of the species.

Machado-Allison et al. (2009) redescribed species, and selected new type material (neotype), since the holotype selected by Fernández-Yépez (1969) in the original description has been lost. This new description was made based on new specimens captured in the Río Uracoa and additional material from the Río Morichal Largo and the Río Tabasca (tributary of Río Uracoa), Monagas state, all tributaries of the Caño Manamo, Delta del Orinoco (Río Orinoco basin).

In our review of collections from Venezuela, we found the material cited by Campo (2003), two specimens captured in 2001, from Laguna Guasinoca (EBRG 8823), located on the right bank of the Río Morichal Largo. Likewise, we found the material indicated by Machado-Allison et al. (2009), the Neotype (MBUCV- 35389, 118.7 mm Standard Length: LE), and another additional specimen (MBUCV 35390, 142.5 mm LE) captured in the Río Uracoa  (9°10'N 62° 27'W), Monagas State, by Iván Mikolji, on August 31, 2007, as well as two other specimens from the Río Tabasca (9° 5'N, 62° 30 'W, MBUCV 15856, 126.1 mm LE) and the Río Tabasca  (9°0'N-62 ° 28'W, MBUCV 18369, 91.1 mm LE). The Río Tabasca is a tributary of the left bank of the Río Uracoa. It should be noted that although the specimens from these last two sites were captured by Maria Ester Antonio in 1984 and 1989 respectively, they were not cited in the published inventory of the Río Morichal Largo Fishes (Antonio and Lasso 2001). We assume that these authors confused the identification with another similar species cited in this work (eg: Pristobrycon calmoni).

In conclusion, the distribution of Serrasalmus nalseni is a localized endemic for the Morichal Largo, Tabasca and Uracoa rivers, all tributaries of Caño Manamo, in the Delta del Orinoco, north-east Venezuela.

However, it is important to note that there are a series of doubtful records of Serrasalmus nalseni for southern Colombia, more than 1,400 km in a straight line from the known and proven localities of its original distribution in the north-eastern region of Venezuela. These records from Colombia have been cited successively, based on only two tentative (doubtful) and finally erroneous identifications. The first case is that of Correa (2003), who cites six specimens tentatively identified as Serrasalmus cf. nalseni (cf : to be confirmed or compared with S. nalseni), from Laguna Taraira, in the Río Apaporis, a tributary of the Río Caquetá (Río Amazonas basin), with material deposited in two collections in that country (ICNMHN, IAVH). Next, Bogotá-Gregory and Maldonado-Ocampo (2006), in the fish inventory of the Amazonas region of Colombia, cite Serrasalmus cf. nalseni, for the Río Apapori, based on the aforementioned record by Correa (2003).

Bogotá-Gregory and Maldonado-Ocampo (2006) and DoNascimiento et al. (2017) cite it for the Amazon region, based on the first record by Correa (2003). Finally, this case ends with the reporting of Serrasalmus nalseni in the Río Amazonas basin and Colombia by Fricke et al. (2020). It is important to note that in the review of the records of the Colombian collections (ICNMHN, IAVH and others), carried out by us for this evaluation, did not produce records of Serrasalmus nalseni, nor tentative identifications of this species in any of these collections. It is very certain that the specimens of the original Correa (2003) record correspond to a member belonging to a complex of species of the genus Serrasalmus yet to be described (Machado-Allison and Fink 1995, 1996).

The second case of an erroneous registration of the species for the South of Colombia, was that carried out by Lasso et al. (2009a), who cited a specimen tentatively identified as Serrasalmus cf. nalseni, from the Caño Guanayana, left bank tributary of the Río Orinoco  (MHNLS 23956), in the region known as La Estrella Fluvial Inirida, which is located more than 800 km in a straight line from the locality Type of S. nalseni (Río Uracoa). For this record, these authors are based on a specimen deposited in the MHNLS fish collection, which was examined by us and corresponds to a specimen belonging to the complex of species of the genus Serrasalmus in open status, which we mentioned in the previous case (Machado-Allison and Fink 1995, 1996).

Additionally, in the MHNLS fish collection, we found two batches from the Río Uracoa identified as Serrasalmus sp. (MHNLS 6039, 6216). These were captured by the researcher Luís Perez in 1983, and correspond to those referred to in a study on the ecology of fishes from the Río Uracoa  (Pérez 1984), see Habitats and Ecology section). These specimens may be Serrasalmus nalseni, but due to their small size (<3 cm in Standard Length: SL) and state of preservation, we cannot be sure of their identification.

Finally, in another of the national collections reviewed in this evaluation, there are two records originating from a morichal in the Uracoa Community (MCNG 55688), and north of the Río Uracoa  (MCNG 43544), with six juvenile specimens (< 5 cm SL) of Serrasalmus nalseni. 

For a detailed description of the acronyms of the cited collections see Sabaj (2016) and Fricke and Eschmeyer (2020).

Originally, Serrasalmus nalseni was only known from the series of type specimens (holotype: MACLPI 68697 and two paratypes: MACLPI 68697), which were all lost.

Subsequently, this species is known from the material deposited in national collections, two specimens captured in the Laguna Guasinoca in 2001 (Campo 2003), as well as a series of four specimens, two from the Río Morichal Largo and the Morichal Río Tabasca (tributary of the Río Uracoa), captured in 1984 and 1989, and two specimens, including the Río Uracoa Neotype, captured in 2007 by Ivan Mikolji (Machado-Allison et al. 2009).

Finally, in another of the national collections reviewed in this evaluation, there are two records originating from a morichal in the Uracoa Community (MCNG 55688). In conclusion the species is known by a total of 16 specimens, six juvenile specimens Serrasalmus nalseni (MCNG 43544) (< 5 cm SL) are from the Río Uracoa. The species is only known from 12 specimens, of which half are estimated to have been found sexually mature.

There are no current published studies that assess the status of its population. Therefore, its trend is unknown, although it is believed to be decreasing, given the serious threats and severe degradation of the ecosystem where it lives (See Threats).

The species is only known from 12 specimens, of which half are estimated to have been found sexually mature. Therefore, its abundance is extremely low and we estimate a total number of mature individuals of at most 50. In addition to this, there are no records in the last 16 years. Based on the above information and the estimate of the length of the life cycle of the species (maximum three years) as well as the different threats in its only two locations, we suspect a strong decrease in its population.

The Río Morichal Largo, Tabasca and Uracoa where Serrasalmus nalseni lives, are located in the eastern region of Venezuela, known as the Llanos Orientales (Eastern floodplains). They comprise a series of river ecosystems known as Morichales.

The banks of these rivers are characterized by the presence of the moriche palm Mauritia flexuosa, which requires high levels of edaphic saturation (Aristiguieta 1968). At the headwaters of the Río Morichal Largo, there are mainly water lilies (Nymphaea rudgeana) and the moriche palm is not observed. The palm is visible in the rest of the river, decreasing its density in the vicinity of the mouth of the Río Tigre in the Morichal Largo. The vegetation that makes up the gallery forest is mainly made up of the Euterpe oleracea and Bactris sp. palms, as well as the guamo (Inga sp.). The predominant aquatic plants at the river's edges are water lilies or boras (Eichornia crassipes and Eichornia diversifolia), as well as Paspalum repens, among others (Sánchez et al. 1985). Due to the richness, floristic composition and density of species, the type of forest that occurs in the rivers of the eastern plains of Venezuela (Morichal Largo, Uracoa and Tabasca) is called Morichal Cerrado (Closed Morichal), according to the classification of González (1987).

For its part, the Río Morichal Largo with an approximate length of 200 linear km and a maximum width of 20.5 m, belongs to the Río Orinoco  basin and is located south of the Anzoátegui and Monagas states between 9°30 '-8° 25'N and 63°45'- 62°20'W. It is born in Mesa Morichal Largo and its headwaters are at an approximate height of 160 m asl and 5 km east of Paraje Morón, ending in Caño Mánamo (Antonio and Lasso 2001). According to these authors, the water temperature presented an average value of 27.3 °C, the dissolved oxygen values varied between 41.4% of the maximum saturation at its headwaters, to 81% at the points with the highest flow. The pH varied between 4.6 and 6.6, the conductivity between 15 and 65 µs/cm.

Morichal rivers, such as the Río Morichal Largo, present particular characteristics such as the presence of poorly drained acidic soil substrates, which support a permanent sheet of water of little variable depth throughout the year, therefore they are not affected by seasonal climate. Their soils are rich in organic matter but their waters are poor in terms of nutrients and chemical substances in solution (Mora et al. 2008, Pérez-Hernández 1983, Vegas-Vilarrubia et al. 1988).

Pérez (1984), in a study of fish ecology of the Río Uracoa, presents a detailed physical characterization of this river. The studied sector presented a channel 10 m wide, a depth of 0.5 to 2.5 m deep, a maximum and uniform current of 0.5 m / s, and a flow between 1.5 and 3 m³/s. Like a typical Morichal Forest river, its waters are clear or black in the flooded forest according to the Sioli classification (1975). The recorded temperature ranged between 25 - 30 ° C, the pH between 4.9 - 9.9, the dissolved oxygen between 4.9 - 6.9mg/l, the turbidity between 1-20 units (mg/l of SiO2), color 14 - 40 U. Pt-Co, and conductivity 9 - 22 μmhos / cm.

Another more recent study on the physiochemistry of the Morichal rivers in the region (Morichal Largo, Areo, Uracoa and Yabo), was presented by Mora et al. (2008). These authors indicate values of dissolved oxygen (0.8 - 7.6mg / l), pH (4.2 - 6.95), conductivity (17.2 - 72.2µS / cm), relatively normal for these river systems. The low values of dissolved oxygen were found during the rainy season, which is due to the presence of high concentrations of organic matter caused by soil washing processes during that time of year. The factor that influences the acidity of these waters is the presence of humic substances in solution; This factor can explain the decrease in pH values during the rainy season, when organic matter accumulated on the river slopes and in the substrate during the dry season is washed out. During the months of higher rainfall, there is an increase in coloration (darker, reddish or tea-coloured waters), which may represent a higher concentration of humic substances (humic, fulvic acids and tannins) in solution. On the other hand, these authors indicate relatively high ranges and averages of total nitrogen (100 - 6000 µg / l) sodium (2.2-7.8mg · l-1), iron (1.33 mg / l), aluminium (0.40 mg / l) and low total phosphorus (6 - 55µg / l), nitrates (7µg / l), ammonium (10 µg / l), magnesium (0.09 - 0.86 mg / l) and calcium (0.10 - 0.82 mg / l), respectively. The chemical composition of river waters reflects different processes such as the weathering of rocks and soils, the atmospheric contribution of rainwater and anthropogenic disturbances. The high values are attributed to the distance of these ecosystems from the Atlantic coast, and intense washing of the soils and substrate during the rainy season and their accumulation as the compounds flow through the rivers. In the Río Uracoa (type locality of Serrasalmus nalseni) they determined the highest concentrations of nitrates, during most of the year, as a result of the extensive livestock activity that takes place in that area.

Regarding the use of the habitat by Serrasalmus nalseni, Pérez (1984) cites two unidentified species of the genus Serrasalmus that, as we discussed in the Distribution section, may be juvenile S. nalseni. These used the submerged grasslands of Eichornia diversifolia as microhabitat, a plant which grew forming dense patches in the main channel of the Río Uracoa, in areas with the presence of sunlight and subjected to the action of the current. Contrary to this, according to underwater observations of the lead author of this assessment (I. Mikolji) in the Río Uracoa in 2007, the adults Serrasalmus nalseni were found in the regions of the river banks where the river narrowed, with a stronger current and very shaded by the dense Morichal forest with little aquatic vegetation. They were shy and kept away from humans, in the dark areas, which made them difficult to be detected. Despite being a species of pelagic habits (use of the water column), like other Serrasalmidae, we can ecologically classify S. nalseni a cryptic species.

All aspects of the biology such as feeding, reproduction etc of Serrasalmus nalseni are unknown. In other related species of the Serrasalmus genus, the diet is fundamentally carnivorous in adults, with a diet made up of smaller fish and their fins, supplemented with fruits and seeds from the flooded forest in the high water hydrological period. Consumption of fins and scales of other fish is common in pre-adults, supplemented with insects and seeds, and of juveniles, their diet may be made up of zooplankton and small insects. They are gregarious with juveniles, forming schools, but solitary and territorial as adults (Machado-Allison 1987, 1993, 2002, 2004; Machado-Allison et al. 1993; Machado-Allison and Fink 1995, 1996; Lasso 2002; Machado-Allison et al. 2018).

Likewise, in species of the genus Serrasalmus (S. rhombeus, S. irritans, S. medinai, S. elongatus, S. altuvei) from other regions of Venezuela (Orinoco floodplain), reproduction occurs in the months of March, at the end of the dry season and low-water hydrological period, as well as throughout the high-water hydrological period and rainy season, from April to November (Winemiller and Taphorn 1989, Lasso 2002). Spawning can occur in riparian vegetation, as in many other Characiformes (Machado-Allison 1987, 1993).

Serralamus nalseni shares its habitat in the Río Morichal Largo, with at least 110 species that have been cited for this river (Antonio and Lasso 2001, Campo 2004). In the Laguna Guasinoca, adjacent to the Río Morichal Largo, Campo (2004) indicates it along with 56 species and in a sector of the Morichal of the Río Uracoa, and Pérez (1984) indicates the presence of at least 34 species of this river.

One of the most important and direct threats to the ecosystem where Serrasalmus nalseni lives is the oil activity (oil and gas) in the eastern region of Venezuela since the 1950s. Machado-Allison et al. (2010) indicate that the impacts on these aquatic ecosystems have been caused directly by the oil extraction process and specifically by the use of large amounts of water to heat the crude oil and separate it from the sands. This process extracts groundwater with high salt content, which after being used and mixed with waste products derived from oil, such as phenols, are discharged into wells near the extraction towers. These waters have been shown to be very toxic to humans and wildlife. In general, these wells have little or no maintenance and in many cases the percolation of these waters reaches some morichales, causing the death of the entire system along several kilometres downstream.

Likewise, in an update, Machado-Allison (2017) points out how ecological impacts derived from the oil industry in Venezuela have been identified in the eastern area of the country: 1) desertification due to salinization of soils due to wastewater near the wells; 2) contamination of water with salts and residual petroleum products (oils); 3) increased sedimentation in water as a result of erosion of pits, roads and slopes during exploration and exploitation; and 4) destruction of morichales by explosions of wells and pipes, and oil spills, restricted for now to the elevated areas (mesa) in the Anzoátegui state and the lowlands of the Monagas Delta Amacuro states (Machado et al. 1987). These activities and their impacts mainly affect morichales, ecosystems characterized by being fragile bodies of water due to their little buffering capacity (Pérez-Hernández 1983), typically dark, acidic (due to humic material) and well oxygenated waters associated with forests dominated by the moriche palm Mauritia flexuosa, and of very high diversity in aquatic flora and fauna.

In the Distribution section, we mention that the river systems where Serrasalmus nalseni inhabits flow into the Caño Manamo, Delta del Orinoco. However, although S. nalseni has not been recorded in this river system, we think that it may be part of its range and leads us to describe the following threat. In 1966 a dam was built in order to close the hydrological flow of the Caño Manamo to: 1) provide more water flow to the main channel of the Río Orinoco  to promote its commercial and industrial navigation (transportation of minerals), and 2) to dry out for agricultural purposes, the lands adjacent to the Caño Manamo that previously were periodically flooded with the floods of the Orinoco during the climatic season of rains and hydrological period of high waters. The ecological consequences, in addition to the human ones (massive exodus of indigenous and Creole populations) were catastrophic and a third of the Delta del Orinoco  was affected by this work. The Caño Manamo suffered most of these consequences, mainly due to the fact that in addition to the changes produced in the hydrological regime (reduction of its flow to minimum levels, 200 m³/s only during the months of maximum flow in high waters), resulted in geomorphological alterations (clogging of pipes, erosion and formation of islands), acidification of the soils and biotic components (fauna and vegetation) were affected, since changes in the composition of soils (acidification) and waters have occurred. This caused a process of salinization due to the influence of the saline wedge throughout the year (penetration of waters of marine origin) by the help of the tides, up to the upper sectors or upstream of the Caño Manamo (Monente and Colonnello 2004, Monente et al. 2017). As for fish, for most of the year, the fauna is now of marine and estuarine origin, leaving the freshwater habitat ichthyofauna relegated to the highest sectors of the Caño Manamo and its tributaries (Lasso et al. 2004ab, López-Marcano et al. 2019). This can be interpreted as currently having geographically isolated subpopulations in the Uracoa, Tabasca and Morichal Largo river systems, without the possibility of reproductive and genetic exchange through the Caño Manamo. 

Another threat to the ecosystem of the Morichal rivers in the region where Serrasalmus nalseni is distributed is the introduction of millions of specimens of Caribbean Pine (Pinus caribaea var. hondurensis) from Central America. Starting in 1966, an enormous extension of ecosystems of grasslands or savannas (Trachypogon spicatus) and forests or shrubs of Chaparal (Curatella americana, Bowdichia virgiloides and Byrsonima crassifolia) greater than 600,000 ha were deforested. The deforested area lies between the sub-basins of the rivers Tigre, Morichal Largo, Areo, Yabo, Uracoa and Orinoco, in the Monagas and Anzoátegui States. The aim was to sow intensive monocultures of Pinus caribaea var. hondurensis, to be exploited in the paper and wood industry. Starting in 1991, the plantation area of this monoculture increased to more than 1,000,000 ha, with plans to be increased to around 2,000,000 ha in the future (Díaz et al. 1991). However, it is estimated that some 200,000 ha were lost due to the actions of fire and mismanagement during the climatic season of drought of at least 2019. In the same way, a huge undetermined portion of this monoculture has been exploited, without even having the date any type of reform or ecological recovery management of these areas. This has produced another direct impact on the aquatic ecosystem, during the rainy season of 2019 and 2020, as a result of the washing and erosion of bare soils. This impact has not yet been evaluated. Although the local and regional effects of this vast extension of monocultures, the largest in South America and one of the largest in the tropics (Cedeño et al. 2001), on the Morichal aquatic ecosystem, has not been well studied, a series of impacts, product of the change in the ecosystem (savannas and shrubs of Chaparral to pine monoculture) and of the activities generated by the exploitation of these crops (paper and wood industry). Among these activities in order of magnitude, the reduction and alteration in the recharge of aquifers and runoff, ecological alterations due to the disposal of waste, mechanical removal of soils, contamination of water by chemical products, deforestation and reduction of sources of propagules stand out, depletion of soil fertility, uncontrolled population increase, direct and indirect effects on the aquatic biota, extraction of resources (eg Overfishing), alteration of trophic chains, alterations in regional precipitation patterns, among others (Díaz et al. 1991).

In relation to the above, González-B. (2016), indicates several impacts generated by the construction of communication routes roads in the region of these monoculture systems. In the Eastern Llanos of Venezuela, (region of the Morichal rivers: Morichal Largo, Areo, Yabo, Tabasca, and Uracoa) the construction of bridges with poorly designed concrete (cement) bases that cross the rivers where this ecological system is present, result in a marked reduction of the river flow downstream and the damming of the drainage axis upstream of the bridge structure. Both phenomena condition the accelerated senescence and regressive death of the individuals of the Moriche palm (Mauritia flexuosa). Likewise, a similar phenomenon originates with the construction of unpaved penetration roads, in very poorly cohesive soils with high sand content. The sediments transported laterally by the surface runoff condition the erosion of the slopes, without any protection cover, which limit the river course. Over time, a layer of sandy materials is released that completely bury or cover the pneumatophores that maintain the transport of oxygen to the underground roots and determine the death of the individuals of the Moriche palm, a major structural component of this aquatic ecosystem (González-B. and Rial 2011).

On the other hand, although in the rios Morichal Largo, Uracoa and Tabasca, no introduced species have been registered (Pérez 1984, Antonio and Lasso 2001, Campo 2004, Herrera et al. 2012), there is at least one introduced species of a transferred type, registered in neighboring river systems, very close to or contiguous to the Serrasalmus nalseni distribution area. In this way, Royero and Lasso (1992) recorded the invasive species Caquetaia kraussii, established in the Caño Guariquén (1980) and Río San Juan (1991), as well as in the Delta del Orinoco (1992), Herrera et al. 2012, found it in the Río Moquete (1984) and Pao (1984) rivers, and Lopez-Marcano et al. (2019) in the Caño Manamo (2010-2011). The presence of C. kraussii in those river systems neighboring the Sarrasalmus nalseni distribution represents in the best of cases a latent threat, although we think that it must already be introduced and established in the rivers Morichal Largo, Tabasca and Uracoa. This is due to the fact that the inventories of these rivers by Pérez (1984), Antonio and Lasso (2001) Campo (2004) and Herrera et al. (2012) were carried out between 40 and 20 years ago, during the periods of 1980-1981, 1983-1984,1978-1998 and 1982-1984, respectively. Likewise, the documented records of the invasion of C. kraussii are only available until 1992 and 2010 (Royero and Lasso 1992, Lopez-Marcano et al. 2019). The effects on native fauna and the ecosystem of the introduction of species such as C. kraussii are unpredictable, although the most notorious and well known are interspecific competition, displacement, extinction of native species, changes in the specific composition and trophic structure and loss of biodiversity in the ecosystem. This is because C. kraussii, like other species of the Cichlidae family, has biological and ecological characteristics such as piscivorous predatory habits, continuous reproduction, and moderate fecundity but with strong parental care of eggs and young (territorialism) and rapid population growth, among others (Royero and Lasso 1992, Lasso-Alcalá et al. 2014).

Finally, climate change constitutes another threat to the long-term survival of Serrasalmus nalseni. This due to its low altitudinal distribution (around 10 to 20 m asl) and the foreseeable rise in sea level, one meter in the next 90 years, will generate changes similar to those observed in the Manamo channel sub-basin as a consequence of the construction of the dam in the 1960's (Monente et al. 2017). The salinization of the watercourses, extending to the Morichal Largo, Uracoa and Tabasca systems, where this species currently inhabits, isolating and reducing its populations even more.

Serrasalmus nalseni is consumed by the indigenous ethnic groups of the region (Warao) and by other local people (Criollos). Additionally, due to its striking pattern of coloration, it has potential as an ornamental species, like other species of the Serrasalmidae Family.

A small part of the Serrasalmus nalseni distribution area is protected by a figure of an Area Under Special Administration Regime (ABRAE) called the Gran Morichal Wildlife Reserve (Campo 2003). However, this conservation or management area only includes a portion of the lower section of the Río Morichal Largo and the rivers Uracoa and Tabasca remain outside.

The aforementioned is a common situation in all hydrographic basins in Venezuela, where the effectiveness of protected areas is highly questioned, due in part to all the environmental and conservation problems mentioned in the Threats section. On the other hand, and just as an example, in the western region of Venezuela, Rodríguez-Olarte et al. (2011) indicate that existing protected areas should be modified and expanded. This is due to the fact that most of the protected areas show a low effectiveness for the conservation of fish species, mainly because they are very small or because they include only fragments of tributaries or basins, or because they were located in mountain areas, where diversity species was minimal. This situation can be extrapolated to the protected areas of the eastern region of Venezuela.

There are large information gaps for this species, so it requires extensive development of various research and conservation actions including:  Population size, distribution and trends, life history and ecology, and threats, actions, harvest use.  We also need a species action recovery plan, area based management plan, population trend monitoring and habitat trend monitoring.