''Glaphyropoma'' is a

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 ...

of small pencil catfishes native to

Bahia Bahia () is one of the 26 Federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Mina ...

in Brazil.

Species

There are currently two recognized species in this genus: * '' Glaphyropoma rodriguesi''

de Pinna De Pinna was a high-end clothier for men and women founded in New York City in 1885, by Alfred De Pinna (1831–1915), a Sephardic Jew born in England. They also sold menswear-inspired clothing for women that was finely tailored. The flagship sto ...

, 1992 * '' Glaphyropoma spinosum'' Bichuette,

& Trajano, 2008 The single

synapomorphy In phylogenetics, an apomorphy (or derived trait) is a novel Phenotypic trait, character or character state that has evolution, evolved from its ancestral form (or Plesiomorphy and symplesiomorphy, plesiomorphy). A synapomorphy is an apomorphy sh ...

proposed for ''Glaphyropoma'' is the marked narrowing of the first hypobranchial, giving the hypobranchial a slender shape. ''G. rodriguesi'' grows to about 5.1 centimetres (2.0 in) in

standard length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of fish anatomy, their anatomies, for data used in many areas of ichthyology, including Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy and fishery biology. Overall length Standard length (SL) is ...

and originates from the Mucujê River, a tributary of the

Paraguaçu River The Paraguaçu River () is a river in Bahia state, located in eastern Brazil. It runs from the Chapada Diamantina highlands of central Bahia to its mouth at the Baía de Todos os Santos. The Paraguaçu River is the largest river entirely within B ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. ''G. spinosum'' is known to grow as large as 5.8 cm (2.3 in) in standard length. It is known from subterranean waters in the Diamantina Plateau of the Bahia State in central northeastern Brazil. This is the first-known

troglomorphic Troglomorphism is the morphological adaptation of an animal to living in the constant darkness of caves, characterised by features such as loss of pigment, reduced eyesight or blindness, and frequently with attenuated bodies or appendages. The ter ...

species in the subfamily

Copionodontinae The Copionodontinae are a subfamily of catfishes (order Siluriformes) of the family Trichomycteridae. It includes two genera, '' Copionodon'' and '' Glaphyropoma''. Classification Copionodontines are remarkably primitive in body form, and lack ...

. These fish live in

quartz Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The Atom, atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen Tetrahedral molecular geometry, tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tet ...

itic caves formed by

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as Surface runoff, water flow or wind) that removes soil, Rock (geology), rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust#Crust, Earth's crust and then sediment transport, tran ...

by rain. The water depth in the creek where the catfish live varies mostly between 10 and 50 cm (4 and 20 in), with moderate current and some spotty accumulation of plant debris where fish are found foraging.

References

Trichomycteridae Pencil catfish of Brazil Endemic fish of Brazil Catfish genera Freshwater fish genera {{Trichomycteridae-stub