''Cruciglanis'' is a genus 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, ...

( order Siluriformes) of the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Pseudopimelodidae. It contains a single recognized species, ''Cruciglanis pacifici''.

Taxonomy

''Cruciglanis pacifici'' was described with the genus ''Cruciglanis'' in 2006. The genus ''Cruciglanis'' has a

sister group In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and ...

relationship to '' Batrochoglanis'' and '' Microglanis''.

Distribution

The distribution of ''C. pacifici'' includes the San Cipriano River of the Dagua River basin, the Anchicayá,

Aguaclara AguaClara Cornell is an engineering based project team within Cornell University's College of Engineering that designs sustainable water treatment plants using open source technology. The program's mission is to uphold and protect “the fundame ...

, and Danubio Rivers of the Anchicayá River basin, and western slope of the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

versant of the Valle del Cauca Department, Colombia.

Description

''C. pacifici'' reaches about SL. These fish have small eyes, wide mouths, and 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 ...

. These fish have serrae on their

dorsal Dorsal (from Latin ''dorsum'' ‘back’) may refer to: * Dorsal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location referring to the back or upper side of an organism or parts of an organism * Dorsal, positioned on top of an aircraft's fuselage * Dorsal co ...

and

pectoral 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 ...

spines. Dorsal region of the head, lateral surface of body, and adipose fin are brown, and the ventral region cream (beige) with some brown spots. There are four dark brown vertical marks on sides.

Ecology

This species is found in riffles and runs of undisturbed clear and shallow rivers in strong current and on gravel to small stone substrates. ''C. pacifici'' generally shares its microhabitat with other species of fishes like ''

Gobiesox ''Gobiesox'' is a genus of clingfishes found in the Americas, including offshore islands. Most species inhabit coastal marine and brackish waters, but ''G. lanceolatus'' is a deep-water species found at a depth of around , and seven species (''G ...

'' sp., ''

Chaetostoma marginatum ''Chaetostoma marginatum'' is a species of catfish in the family Loricariidae. It is native to South America, where it occurs in the basins of the Bogotá River, the Chimbo River The Chimbo River is a river of Ecuador. See also *List of ri ...

'', '' Cordilancistrus daguae'', ''

Astroblepus trifasciatus ''Astroblepus trifasciatus'' is a species of catfish of the family Astroblepidae. It can be found in Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—n ...

'', and '' Trichomycterus taenia'', as well as shrimps ('' Atya''). The stomach contents have shown immature aquatic

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...

s belonging to

Trichoptera The caddisflies, or order Trichoptera, are a group of insects with aquatic larvae and terrestrial adults. There are approximately 14,500 described species, most of which can be divided into the suborders Integripalpia and Annulipalpia on the ...

, Diptera, Ephemeroptera and

Odonata Odonata is an order of flying insects that includes the dragonflies and damselflies. Members of the group first appeared during the Triassic, though members of their total group, Odonatoptera, first appeared in Late Carboniferous. The two co ...

, and terrestrial insects of the orders Hymenoptera and

Coleoptera Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q18708415 Pseudopimelodidae Monotypic freshwater fish genera Fish of South America Freshwater fish of Colombia Endemic fauna of Colombia Catfish genera Taxa named by Pablo Cesar Lehmann-Albornoz Fish described in 2006