''Aguarunichthys'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

long-whiskered catfish The Pimelodidae, commonly known as the long-whiskered catfishes, are a family of catfishes (order Siluriformes). Taxonomy The family Pimelodidae has undergone much revision. Currently, it contains about 30 genera and about 90 recognized and know ...

es 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 ...

Species

There are currently three recognized species in this genus: * ''

Aguarunichthys inpai ''Aguarunichthys inpai'', is a species of benthopelagic catfish of the family Pimelodidae The Pimelodidae, commonly known as the long-whiskered catfishes, are a family of catfishes ( order Siluriformes). Taxonomy The family Pimelodidae has ...

'' Zuanon, Rapp Py-Daniel & Jégu, 1993 * ''

Aguarunichthys tocantinsensis The Tocantins Pimelodus, (''Aguarunichthys tocantinsensis''), is a species of benthopelagic catfish of the family Pimelodidae The Pimelodidae, commonly known as the long-whiskered catfishes, are a family of catfishes ( order Siluriformes). ...

'' Zuanon, Rapp Py-Daniel & Jégu, 1993 * '' Aguarunichthys torosus'' Stewart, 1986

Etymology

''Aguarunichthys'' is derived from '' Aguaruna'', the name of a

society A society is a Social group, group of individuals involved in persistent Social relation, social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same Politics, political authority an ...

of people from where ''A. torosus'' was collected, as well as ''ichthys'', meaning ''fish''. The species name of ''A. torosus'' is derived from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...

''brawny'' or ''muscular'' for its body form. ''A. tocantinsensis'' is named for the

Tocantins River The Tocantins River ( pt, Rio Tocantins, link=no , , Parkatêjê: ''Pyti'' ɨˈti is a river in Brazil, the central fluvial artery of the country. In the Tupi language, its name means "toucan's beak" (''Tukã'' for "toucan" and ''Ti'' for "beak" ...

from which it was first collected. ''A. inpai'' is a latinization of the

National Institute of Amazonian Research The National Institute of Amazonian Research (Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia or INPA) is a public educational and research institution headquartered in Manaus, Brazil. It was founded in 1952, with the purpose of furthering scientifi ...

(INPA).

Distribution and habitat

''A. inpai'' inhabits the middle

Amazon River basin The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about , or about 35.5 percent of the South American continent. It is located in the countries of Boli ...

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 ...

, ''A. tocantinsensis'' originates from the

basin in Brazil, and ''A. torosus'' is known from the Cenepa River basin of the Amazon River drainage in

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

. ''A. tocantinsensis'' has been found in areas with strong currents and rocky bottom. On the other hand, ''A. inpai'' inhabits areas where the riverbed consists of sediments. These fish species are rarely captured and are unknown to the local fishermen; this may be due to their deep-bottom dwelling habits.

Description

''Aguarunichthys'' was originally described due to the distinctive finger-like projections of the

gas bladder The swim bladder, gas bladder, fish maw, or air bladder is an internal gas-filled organ that contributes to the ability of many bony fish (but not cartilaginous fish) to control their buoyancy, and thus to stay at their current water depth wi ...

. There are three pairs of

barbels In fish anatomy and turtle anatomy, a barbel is a slender, whiskerlike sensory organ near the mouth. Fish that have barbels include the catfish, the carp, the goatfish, the hagfish, the sturgeon, the zebrafish, the black dragonfish and s ...

, one pair of long maxillary barbels and two pairs of shorter chin barbels. ''A. inpai'' has small spots on a cream-coloured body, while the other two species have large darker spots on an olive-brown body. ''A. torosus'' appears more elongate (it has a longer distance between its

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin located on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates within various taxa of the animal kingdom. Many species of animals possessing dorsal fins are not particularly closely related to each other, though through c ...

and

adipose fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as s ...

) and has a smaller eye than ''A. tocantinsensis''. These species reach about 30–40 centimetres (12–16 in) SL.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q4694495 Pimelodidae Fish of South America Fish of the Amazon basin Catfish genera Freshwater fish genera Taxa named by Donald J. Stewart