A new Knodus is described from the rio do Peixe, a tributary of the rio Cabaçal, in the upper portions of the rio Paraguay basin in Mato Grosso state, Brazil. It can be distinguished from its congeners, and in fact from all remaining characid fishes, by the presence of two symmetric, large dark blotches basally on caudal fin lobes. Comments on the disputed recognition of the genus Knodus are provided.