| During construction of the Furnas hydroelectric power dam in the upper rio Paraná basin in the early 1960s, the rio Piumhi drainage outflow was diverted into the headwaters of the São Francisco river basin. The rio Piumhi was a right bank tributary of the rio Grande, which unites with the rio Paranaíba to form the rio Paraná. The transposition allowed the entire fish fauna of the rio Piumhi and associated swamps, lakes, and tributaries to intermingle with the fish fauna of the São Francisco basin via the ribeirão Sujo, a right bank tributary of the São Francisco. The transposition of the watershed may have had a major impact on the current composition of the fish fauna of the upper rio São Francisco watershed. |
