South America, Amazon basin, fishes, distribution, conservation

The rio Madeira is the main tributary of the Amazon basin in discharge, suspended sediments and drainage area. This river also has a high fish diversity, probably the largest among the Amazonian rivers and one of the largest among other rivers of the world. Although this diversity has been gradually revealed, more intensively in recent years, the knowledge of the endemic species and the most important areas to be conserved, is inferior to the degree of anthropogenic action on the system. Studies on areas of endemism are scarce and generally involve terrestrial organisms. Several rivers have been completely altered in the rio Madeira basin by large hydropower plants in the Andes and along of the basin, which, together with illegal mining and one of the highest deforestation rates, makes of the rio Madeira one of the most threatened tributaries of the Amazon basin. The ichthyofauna from the Madeira River is approached in the context of historical knowledge, endemisms, distribution patterns, biogeography, areas endemism and conservation. The first chapter addresses the history of the ichthyological knowledge of the Madeira River basin, from the contribution of the first naturalists to contemporaneous ichthyologists. In the second and third chapters, endemisms, distribution patterns and areas of endemism are discussed from a conservationist perspective.