''Spectracanthicus zuanoni'' is a
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...
of
catfish
Catfish (or catfishes; order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the three largest species alive, ...
in the family
Loricariidae
The Loricariidae is the largest family of catfish (order Siluriformes), with 92 genera and just over 680 species. Loricariids originate from freshwater habitats of Costa Rica, Panama, and tropical and subtropical South America. These fish are n ...
. It is native to
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the souther ...
, where it occurs in the
Xingu River
The Xingu River ( ; pt, Rio Xingu, ; Mẽbêngôkre: ''Byti'', ) is a river in north Brazil. It is a southeast tributary of the Amazon River and one of the largest clearwater rivers in the Amazon basin, accounting for about 5% of its water.
...
basin in the state of
Pará
Pará is a state of Brazil, located in northern Brazil and traversed by the lower Amazon River. It borders the Brazilian states of Amapá, Maranhão, Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Amazonas and Roraima. To the northwest are the borders of Guyana a ...
in
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
. It is usually found in areas up to 2 m (7 ft) deep with strong currents and rocky substrates, where it is often seen hiding beneath rocks. It is known to occur individually or in groups of three, with juveniles being found alongside other loricariid species, such as
''Ancistrus ranunculus'', ''
Baryancistrus xanthellus'',
''Hopliancistrus tricornis'',
''Parancistrus nudiventris'', ''
Peckoltia vittata'', and its congener ''
Spectracanthicus punctatissimus
''Spectracanthicus punctatissimus''Chamon, C.C. & Rapp Py-Daniel, L.H. (2014)Taxonomic revision of ''Spectracanthicus'' Nijssen & Isbrücker (Loricariidae: Hypostominae: Ancistrini), with description of three new species. ''Neotropical Ichthyolog ...
''.
''S. zuanoni'' is
nocturnal
Nocturnality is an ethology, animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnality, diurnal meaning the opposite.
Nocturnal creatures generally have ...
, feeding actively on
algae
Algae ( , ; : alga ) are any of a large and diverse group of photosynthetic, eukaryotic organisms. The name is an informal term for a polyphyletic grouping that includes species from multiple distinct clades. Included organisms range from ...
and
periphyton
Periphyton is a complex mixture of algae, cyanobacteria, heterotrophic microbes, and detritus that is attached to submerged surfaces in most aquatic ecosystems. The related term Aufwuchs (German "surface growth" or "overgrowth") refers to the co ...
at night. It reaches 12.9 cm (5.1 inches) SL, and its specific epithet, ''zuanoni'', refers to Jansen Zuanon, the first
ichthyologist
Ichthyology is the branch of zoology devoted to the study of fish, including bony fish (Osteichthyes), cartilaginous fish (Chondrichthyes), and jawless fish (Agnatha). According to FishBase, 33,400 species of fish had been described as of October ...
to collect the species.
''S. zuanoni'' appears in the aquarium trade, where it is usually referred to either as the acari bola branca or by its associated
L-number
The L-number system is a semi-scientific classification system of catfish based on photographs of shipments of tropical catfish of the family Loricariidae published by the German aquarium magazine DATZ (Die Aquarien- und Terrarienzeitschrift (The ...
, which is L-020.
References
{{taxonbar, from=Q21325281
Fish described in 2014
Loricariidae
Freshwater fish of Brazil