ATLAS DE OTÓLITOS DE PEIXES CAPTURADOS NA BACIA DO RIO VERDE, ESTADO DO MATO GROSSO DO SUL, BRASIL

The use of photos and descriptions of fish otoliths is a useful tool for studies that include: systematics, taxonomy, identification of fish in the contents of stomachs and classification of the trophic chain. In this study. we characterized the morphology of the otoliths in nine species of fish, distributed in five families and two orders from the Verde River in the Upper Paraná Basin. An atlas was prepared depicting, by species, photography of the front and rear perspectives of each pair of sagittae otoliths. This visual atlas will help in later works that address ecology and, especially, in the distinction of species, thus contributing as an instrument to be applied to the taxonomic identification of species and fish populations.