''Aphanotorulus'' is a
genus of
armored catfishes native to the
Amazon,
Orinoco
The Orinoco () is one of the longest rivers in South America at . Its drainage basin, sometimes known as the Orinoquia, covers , with 76.3 percent of it in Venezuela and the remainder in Colombia. It is the fourth largest river in the wor ...
,
Essequibo Essequibo is the largest traditional region of Guyana but not an administrative region of Guyana today. It may also refer to:
* Essequibo River, the largest river in Guyana
* Essequibo (colony), a former Dutch colony in what is now Guyana;
* Esseq ...
and
Jaguaribe
Jaguaribe is a municipality in the state of Ceará in the Northeast region of Brazil.
The municipality contains part of the reservoir of the Castanhão Dam, the largest in the state.
Notable people
The English author Henry Koster (1793–1820) ...
basins in
South America.
[Ray, C.K. & Armbruster, J.W. (2016): The genera ''Isorineloricaria'' and ''Aphanotorulus'' (Siluriformes: Loricariidae) with description of a new species. ''Zootaxa, 4072 (5): 501–539.''] They typically occur on a sand or gravel bottom in slow to moderately flowing rivers and streams,
but some species occur in areas with fast current.
The largest species in the genus reaches up to in
standard length
Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of their anatomies. These data are used in many areas of ichthyology, including taxonomy and fisheries biology.
Overall length
* Standard length (SL) is the length of a fish m ...
.
[
]
Taxonomy
The taxonomy of this genus has been a matter of dispute, all having been placed in '' Hypostomus'' in the past, and some occasionally placed in ''Squaliforma''. ''Squaliforma'' is now regarded as a synonym
A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly 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 all ...
of ''Aphanotorulus'', but species west of the Andes have been moved to '' Isorineloricaria''.[
There are currently 7 recognized species of ''Aphanotorulus'':][
* '']Aphanotorulus ammophilus
''Aphanotorulus ammophilus'', also known as the black spotted pleco or L094, is a species of benthopelagic tropical freshwater catfish in the family Loricariidae endemic to Venezuela, specifically the Río Orinoco
The Orinoco () is one of ...
'' Armbruster & Page, 1996
* ''Aphanotorulus emarginatus
''Aphanotorulus emarginatus'' is a species of catfish in the family Loricariidae. It is native to South America, where it occurs in the Amazon River basin. The species reaches 15 cm (5.9 inches) in total length. It is known to be a facultative ...
'' ( Valenciennes, 1840)
* ''Aphanotorulus gomesi
''Aphanotorulus gomesi'' is a species of catfish in the family Loricariidae. It is native to South America, where it occurs in the Jaguaribe River basin. The species reaches 14.3 cm (5.6 inches) SL. It is thought to be a facultative air-breath ...
'' ( Fowler, 1941)
* ''Aphanotorulus horridus
''Aphanotorulus horridus'' is a species of catfish in the family Loricariidae. It is native to South America, where it occurs in the Madeira River basin. The species reaches 35.5 cm (14 inches) SL. It is thought to be a facultative air-breather.
...
'' ( Kner, 1854)
* ''Aphanotorulus phrixosoma
''Aphanotorulus phrixosoma'' is a dubious species of catfish in the family Loricariidae. It is native to South America, where it occurs in the upper Amazon River basin. The species reaches 10.1 cm (4 inches) SL. It is believed to be a facultat ...
'' ( Fowler, 1940)
* ''Aphanotorulus rubrocauda
''Aphanotorulus rubrocauda'' is a species of catfish in the family Loricariidae. It is a freshwater fish native to South America, where it occurs in the Aripuanã River basin in the states of Amazonas and Mato Grosso in Brazil. The species ...
'' Oliveira, Py-Daniel & Zawadzki, 2017
* ''Aphanotorulus unicolor
''Aphanotorulus unicolor'' is a species of catfish in the family Loricariidae. It is native to South America, where it occurs in the upper Amazon River basin. The species reaches 13.9 cm (5.5 inches) SL.
''A. unicolor'' was originally describ ...
'' (Steindachner
Franz Steindachner (11 November 1834 in Vienna – 10 December 1919 in Vienna) was an Austrian zoologist, ichthyologist, and herpetologist. He published over 200 papers on fishes and over 50 papers on reptiles and amphibians. Steindachner describ ...
, 1908)
Of these species, the validity of ''A. phrixosoma'' is questionable, as the only known specimen likely is a hybrid between ''A. horridus'' and ''A. unicolor''.[
]
References
Hypostominae
Fish of South America
Catfish genera
Taxa named by Isaäc J. H. Isbrücker
Taxa named by Han Nijssen
Freshwater fish genera
{{Loricariidae-stub