''Cephalosilurus'' is a small

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 ...

catfish Catfish (or catfishes; order (biology), order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Catfish are common name, named for their prominent barbel (anatomy), barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, though not ...

es (

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood ...

Siluriformes) of the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Pseudopimelodidae The Pseudopimelodidae are a small family (about 40 species) of catfishes known as the bumblebee catfishes or dwarf marbled catfishes. Some of these fish are popular aquarium fish. Taxonomy This family was formerly a subfamily of Pimelodidae. Pse ...

. The genus was first described in 1911. In 2021, it was considered a

junior synonym In taxonomy, the scientific classification of living organisms, a synonym is an alternative scientific name for the accepted scientific name of a taxon. The botanical and zoological codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently. ...

of Lophiosilurus.

Species

As of 2012, there were currently four recognized species in this genus: * '' Cephalosilurus albomarginatus'' (

Eigenmann Eigenmann () is a surname. Notable persons with that surname include: * Andi Eigenmann (born 1990), Filipino actress * Carl H. Eigenmann (1863–1927), German–American ichthyologist, husband of Rosa Eigenmann * Eduardo de Mesa Eigenmann, birth n ...

, 1912) * '' Cephalosilurus apurensis'' ( Mees, 1978) * '' Cephalosilurus fowleri'' Haseman, 1911 * '' Cephalosilurus nigricaudus'' ( Mees, 1974) With the reclassification in 2021, they became ''L. albomarginatus, L. apurensis'', ''L. fowleri,'' and ''L. nigricaudus.''

Distribution

''Cephalosilurus'' species originate from

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 ...

. ''C. albomarginatus'' is found in Tukeit,

Guyana Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic British West Indies. entry "Guyana" Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the co ...

. ''C. apurensis'' is distributed in the Rio Arichuna,

Apure Apure State (, ) is one of the 23 States of Venezuela, states of Venezuela. Its territory formed part of the provinces of Mérida (state), Mérida, Maracaibo, and Barinas (state), Barinas, in accordance with successive territorial ordinations ...

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

. ''C. fowleri'' originates from the

São Francisco River The São Francisco River (, ) is a large Rivers of Brazil, river in Brazil. With a length of , it is the longest river that runs entirely in Brazilian territory, and the fourth longest in South America and overall in Brazil (after the Amazon R ...

basin. ''C. nigricaudus'' is found in the

Sipaliwini District Sipaliwini is the largest Districts of Suriname, district of Suriname, located in the south. Sipaliwini is the only district that does not have a regional capital, as it is directly administered by the national government in Paramaribo. Sipaliwini ...

Suriname Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, also considered as part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. It is a developing country with a Human Development Index, high level of human development; i ...

Description

''Cephalosilurus'' species have a great range in size. ''C. albomarginatus'' reaches 8.5 centimetres (3.3 in) SL. ''C. apurensis'' grows to a length of 29 cm (11 in) SL. ''C. fowleri'' can grow to 40 cm (16 in) TL. ''C. nigricaudus'' reaches a length of 35 cm (14 in) TL.

Ecology

''C. albomarginatus'' is known to occur over sand and gravel partially covered with mud, leaves and dead wood. ''C. nigricaudus'' occurs in pools and in the backwater of rapids and fast streams with sand, rocks, and decaying wood on the bottom; it is found together with '' Bryconops caudomaculatus'', '' Characidium blennoides'', ''

Pimelodella cristata ''Pimelodella'' is a genus of three-barbeled catfishes. ''Pimelodella'' is the largest genus in the family. However, it is in need of Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic revision. This genus is found on both sides of the Andes, ranging from Panama to ...

'', '' Leporinus friderici'' and '' Astyanax meunieri''.

In the aquarium

''C. fowleri'' may be kept in the

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 ...

. This fish is an aggressive species and should be kept alone or with fish that are much larger than it. Though large, it is sedentary and does not require as much room as a similarly-sized active species of fish might. These fish should be fed sparingly and the aquarium kept clean.

References

* Ros, Christopher an
Ros, Wolfgang(2007): "Cephalosilurus apurensis - Ein gefräßiger Lauerräuber, aber nicht ohne Charme"
Datz 60 (5): 38-42. Full English version of this article ("Cephalosilurus apurensis, a voracious ambush-predator not without charm") o
Planetcatfish
an

Ros, Wolfgang
(2008): Cephalosilurus nigricaudus und seine Abgrenzung zu Cephalosilurus apurensis
40 (1), Nr. 199, 34-36
Full English version of this article ("Cephalosilurus nigricaudus and its similarity to C. apurensis") o

Ros, Wolfgang
(2008)
"Besser als sein Ruf: Cephalosilurus fowleri", Online Aquarium-Magazin (OAM) 7/08
3-7. English version of this article ("Better than its reputation, a look at Cephalosilurus fowleri") o

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5063324 Pseudopimelodidae Fish of South America Catfish genera Freshwater fish genera Taxa named by John Diederich Haseman