The porthole shovelnose catfish or spotted shovelnose catfish, ''Hemisorubim platyrhynchos'', is the only

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

in the

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 ...

''Hemisorubim'' of the

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 ...

(

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)

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 ...

Pimelodidae The Pimelodidae, commonly known as the long-whiskered catfishes, are a family of catfishes (order Siluriformes). Taxonomy The family Pimelodidae has undergone much revision. Currently, it contains about 30 genera and about 90 recognized and know ...

Taxonomy

This fish is considered one of the "sorubimine" catfishes, an informal group of catfish that includes genera such as '' Sorubim'', ''

Pseudoplatystoma ''Pseudoplatystoma'' is a genus of several South American catfish species of family Pimelodidae. The species are known by a number of different common names. They typically inhabit major rivers where they prefer the main channels and tend to st ...

'', and '' Brachyplatystoma''. This genus forms a

monophyletic In biological cladistics for the classification of organisms, monophyly is the condition of a taxonomic grouping being a clade – that is, a grouping of organisms which meets these criteria: # the grouping contains its own most recent co ...

group with '' Sorubim'', ''

Sorubimichthys The firewood catfish (''Sorubimichthys planiceps'') is a species of South American pimelodid catfish, the sole member of the genus ''Sorubimichthys''. Firewood catfish are one of the hundreds of freshwater fish in the Amazon Basin that play imp ...

'', ''

'', and '' Zungaro''. Of these genera, ''Hemisorubim'' is most closely related to ''Pseudoplatystoma''.

Distribution

This species is native to

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 ...

and originates from the

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...

, Maroni,

Orinoco The Orinoco () is one of the longest rivers in South America at . Its drainage basin, sometimes known as the Orinoquia, covers approximately 1 million km2, with 65% of it in Venezuela and 35% in Colombia. It is the List of rivers by discharge, f ...

, and

Paraná River The Paraná River ( ; ; ) is a river in south-central South America, running through Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina for some ."Parana River". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2012. Web. ...

basins. It also occurs in the

Pantanal The Pantanal () is a natural region encompassing the world's largest tropical wetland area, and the world's largest Flooded grasslands and savannas, flooded grasslands. It is located mostly within the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul, but i ...

Appearance and anatomy

This fish reaches a length of SL and weighs up to 1,470

gram The gram (originally gramme; SI unit symbol g) is a Physical unit, unit of mass in the International System of Units (SI) equal to one thousandth of a kilogram. Originally defined in 1795 as "the absolute Mass versus weight, weight of a volume ...

s (3.23 lb). It is the sixth largest Pimelodid in the Pantanal. Its body shape and color pattern are perfectly adapted to the muddy bottom where they inhabit. These fish have a relatively slow growth rate, except during the first year of life when growth is rapid.

Ecology

This species is rather rare, confined to the deeper and slow-moving parts of large rivers together with some '' Loricaria'' and ''

Potamotrygon ''Potamotrygon'' is a genus of freshwater stingrays in the family Potamotrygonidae native to the rivers of South America, and sometimes seen in the aquarium trade. It inhabits rivers of tropical and subtropical climates, especially those of the ...

''. The position of the eyes and the shape of the mouth of this piscivorous fish indicate its stalking mode of hunting; these fish feed on

benthic The benthic zone is the ecological region at the lowest level of a body of water such as an ocean, lake, or stream, including the sediment surface and some sub-surface layers. The name comes from the Ancient Greek word (), meaning "the depths". ...

organisms and other fish. During the receding period, these fish

migrate Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration * Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another ** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum le ...

and leave the flooded areas and return to the river channel.

Relationship to humans

The meat of this species is highly valued. This animal is found in the fish market of

Cuiabá River The Cuiabá River (Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''Rio Cuiabá'') is a Brazilian river in the western state of Mato Grosso that flows in the Río de la Plata Basin. It is a tributary of the São Lourenço River (Mato Grosso), São Lourenço Rive ...

in March, April, September, and October. In the southern Pantanal, landing data, including professional and recreational fishing results for 1999, recorded 7.8

metric ton The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1,000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton in the United States to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the sh ...

s. The accumulated amount of fish landed from 1994 to 1999 was 50 metric tons.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3304617 Pimelodidae

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 ...

Catfish of Brazil

Fish of French Guiana

Fish of Paraguay

Fish of Suriname

Fish described in 1840