''Hemipsilichthys'' is a genus of

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 belonging to the family

Loricariidae Loricariidae is the largest family (biology), family of catfish (order Siluriformes), with over 90 genus, genera and just over 680 species. Loricariids originate from freshwater habitats of Costa Rica, Panama, and tropical and subtropical South A ...

. These wide-mouthed freshwater catfishes are restricted to

southeast Brazil The Southeast Region of Brazil ( ) is composed of the states of Espírito Santo, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. It is the richest region of the country, responsible for approximately 53% of the Brazilian GDP (2022) , as São Paulo, ...

in the

Paraíba do Sul The Paraíba do Sul (), or simply Paraíba, is a river in southeast Brazil. It flows west to northeast from its farthest source at the source of the river Paraitinga to the sea near Campos dos Goytacazes. The river receives its name when it m ...

, Perequê-Áçu and Taquari river basins. ''Hemipsilichthys'', along with '' Delturus'', form a

clade In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...

(

Delturinae The Delturinae are a subfamily of catfishes (order Siluriformes) of the family Loricariidae, including two genera, '' Delturus'' and '' Hemipsilichthys''. This group is sister A sister is a woman or a girl who shares parents or a parent wit ...

). In these two genera, members have a ridge behind their dorsal fin and an adipose fin membrane. However, in ''Hemipsilichthys'', the dorsal fin membrane and most

anterior Standard anatomical terms of location are used to describe unambiguously the anatomy of humans and other animals. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position pro ...

plate of the adipose fin do not touch, while they do in ''Delturus''.

Species

There are currently three recognized species in this genus: Additional species were formerly placed in this genus, but these are now placed in ''

Pareiorhaphis ''Pareiorhaphis'' is a genus of catfish in the family Loricariidae native to South America. This genus can be readily distinguished from other neoplecostomines by the unique combination of having fleshy lobes on lateral margins of head ornamente ...

''. * '' Hemipsilichthys gobio'' ( Lütken, 1874) * '' Hemipsilichthys nimius'' Pereira, Reis, Souza & Lazzarotto, 2003 * '' Hemipsilichthys papillatus'' Pereira, Oliveira & Oyakawa, 2000

References

Delturinae Catfish genera Suckermouth catfish of Brazil Endemic fish of Brazil Taxa named by Rosa Smith Eigenmann Taxa named by Carl H. Eigenmann Freshwater fish genera {{Loricariidae-stub