ossified maxillary barbels, despite additional comments suggesting their immaturity 

 (Eigenmann and Myers, in Myers 1928:85). I have found only one other specimens 

 in the material examined during this study that can be reliably placed within this 

 taxon. The status of this species remains enigmatic, as discussed below and in the 

 species account in greater detail. 



A second species of the genus, T. alta, was described by Eigenmann and 

 Myers (in Myers 1928) from the Rio Maranon, Peru. The very short description of 

 T. alta provided no additional characters useful in distinguishing the genus. In fact, 

 the description of T. alta made only cursory comments about a "tympanal shade", 

 and the authors even suggested that T. alta may not be different from T.piperata; 

 they distinguished T. alta qualitatively on the basis of a deeper body, larger head, 

 longer fins, and different coloration. Eigenmann and Myers designated a single type 

 specimen, lU 15790 (now at CAS; length given as 135 mm in the original description 

 and as 132 mm in Eigenmann and Allen 1942); the length given for this specimen 

 was presumably TL, insofar as my examination revealed it to be a 109 mm SL 

 female. In addition, another female specimen was designated as a paratype in 

 Eigenmann and AUen (1942), lU 15977 (now CAS 58259, length given as 128 mm in 

 Eigenmann and Allen 1942, measured at 105 mm SL in the present study). 



The genus was accorded slightly greater attention by Eigenmann and Allen 

 (1942), who described (following Eigenmann's death in 1927) another new species 

 from Peru, T. nigricollis, and provided additional comments and an illustration of T. 

 alta. Again, the only distinctive feature of Tympanopleura presented by these 

 authors involved the large swimbladder producing a "pseudo-tympanum" visible in 

 the lateral musculature. Eigenmann and Allen (1942) also examined the 

 swimbladder itself, and noted that it was large in the two species of Tympanopleura 

 examined, with two caecae in T. nigricollis but without caecae in T. alta. These 

 authors also suggested that T. nigricollis was related to Ageneiosuspofystictus 



