''Hemiancistrus'' is a
genus
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
of
suckermouth armored catfishes. These species are native to
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...
. The
taxonomy
image:Hierarchical clustering diagram.png, 280px, Generalized scheme of taxonomy
Taxonomy is a practice and science concerned with classification or categorization. Typically, there are two parts to it: the development of an underlying scheme o ...
of this genus is complex and unclear, and major work has to be done. Many of these fish are popular
aquarium
An aquarium (: aquariums or aquaria) is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. fishkeeping, Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aquati ...
fish.
Taxonomy
''Hemiancistrus'' is a genus within the
tribe
The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...
Ancistrini
Ancistrini is a tribe of catfishes of the family Loricariidae. Most are restricted to tropical and subtropical South America, but there are also several genus ('' Ancistrus'', '' Chaetostoma'', '' Hemiancistrus'' and '' Lasiancistrus'') in southe ...
of the subfamily
Hypostominae
The Hypostominae are a subfamily of catfishes of the family Loricariidae. Most members are restricted to tropical and subtropical South America, but there are also several species (in genera '' Ancistrus'', '' Chaetostoma'', '' Lasiancistrus'', ' ...
. This genus has long been used as a
"dump" for Loricariid species; fish with unclear relationships have been classified as members of this genus. As such, this taxon is not
monophyletic
In biological cladistics for the classification of organisms, monophyly is the condition of a taxonomic grouping being a clade – that is, a grouping of organisms which meets these criteria:
# the grouping contains its own most recent co ...
.
[ At this point, many undescribed species remain.][
This genus and the closely related '']Peckoltia
''Peckoltia'' is a genus of small South American Loricariidae, armored suckermouth catfishes. Many of these fish are popular aquarium fish.
Taxonomy
''Peckoltia'' is a Basal (phylogenetics), basal genus within the tribe Ancistrini of the subfami ...
'' may be synonymous
A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...
, as neither genus is supported by synapomorphies
In phylogenetics, an apomorphy (or derived trait) is a novel character or character state that has evolved from its ancestral form (or plesiomorphy). A synapomorphy is an apomorphy shared by two or more taxa and is therefore hypothesized to ...
. ''Hemiancistrus'' species differ from other members of the ''Panaque
The genus ''Panaque'' contains a small number of small to medium-sized South American Loricariidae, suckermouth armoured catfishes that are notable for being among the very few vertebrates that Xylophagy, feed extensively on wood. In addition, al ...
'' clade
In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...
lacking the synapomorphies of the other genera and having the dentaries meeting at an angle greater than 120°; in ''Peckoltia'' species, the dentaries meet at less than 90°[ Although the recently described ''H. micrommatos'' and ''H. spinosissimus'' have been considered ]synonyms
A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...
of ''H. spilomma'' by Armbruster,[ '' Hemiancistrus medians'' is larger than most species that were left in ''Hemiancistrus'', has well-developed keels (only present elsewhere in '' 'H.' landoni''), and a different body shape. The remainder of the taxa that do not have established genera that they can be placed in will be recognized as species groups in Hemiancistrus in single quotes until they can be examined further.][
]
Species
There are currently 15 recognized species in this genus:
* '' Hemiancistrus cerrado'' L. S. de Souza, M. R. S. de Melo, Chamon & Armbruster, 2008[
]
Distribution and habitat
''Hemiancistrus'' species are mainly found in tropical and subtropical South America east of the Andes
The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...
, but there is also species (H.' landoni'') in Pacific coast drainages of Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...
and Ecuador
Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...
.Central America
Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...
, to southern Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
.[ Many ''Hemiancistrus'' originate from the ]Guyanas
The Guianas, also spelled Guyanas or Guayanas, are a geographical region in north-eastern South America. Strictly, the term refers to the three Guianas: Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana, formerly British, Dutch, and French Guiana respectiv ...
, the Negro
In the English language, the term ''negro'' (or sometimes ''negress'' for a female) is a term historically used to refer to people of Black people, Black African heritage. The term ''negro'' means the color black in Spanish and Portuguese (from ...
and Orinoco
The Orinoco () is one of the longest rivers in South America at . Its drainage basin, sometimes known as the Orinoquia, covers approximately 1 million km2, with 65% of it in Venezuela and 35% in Colombia. It is the List of rivers by discharge, f ...
and the southern Amazon
Amazon most often refers to:
* Amazon River, in South America
* Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin
* Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company
* Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...
ian tributaries.[ These fish prefer flowing water habitats of medium to large rivers.][
]
Appearance and anatomy
''Hemiancistrus'' are members of the family Loricariidae, the armored suckermouth catfishes. As such, they have armor plating on their body instead of scales
Scale or scales may refer to:
Mathematics
* Scale (descriptive set theory), an object defined on a set of points
* Scale (ratio), the ratio of a linear dimension of a model to the corresponding dimension of the original
* Scale factor, a number ...
. Also, they have a suckermouth In fish, a suckermouth is a ventrally-oriented (inferior) mouth adapted for grazing on algae and small organisms that grow on submerged objects.
All Loricariidae possess a suckermouth as do the cypriniform algae eaters of the genus '' Gyrinocheilu ...
which they use to cling to rocks in their habitat. They have the characteristic Loricariid ''omega iris'' as well. Like many other catfish, ''Hemiancistrus'' have strong pectoral and dorsal fin spines that can be locked outwards as a defense.
''Hemiancistrus'' species are rather small to medium-sized Loricariid species. The largest species of the genus, '' 'H.' megalopteryx'', reaches about .[ These fish also tend to be spotted or uniform in coloration.][
]
In the aquarium
''Hemiancistrus'' species are popular aquarium
An aquarium (: aquariums or aquaria) is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. fishkeeping, Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aquati ...
fish. Many species are relatively small and attractively colored. '' 'Hemiancistrus' subviridis'' is one such example, a bright green fish with yellow spots.[
]
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1758739
Ancistrini
Fish of South America
Fish of the Amazon basin
Freshwater fish genera
Catfish genera
Taxa named by Pieter Bleeker