''Microglanis iheringi'' is a species of

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the souther ...

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, ...

described by Alcides Lourenço Gomes in 1945. The species belongs to the genus Microglanis, a group of catfishes that are native to South America and which are distributed widely throughout the region. M. iheringi is endemic to the

Orinoco river basin The Orinoco () is one of the longest rivers in South America at . Its drainage basin, sometimes known as the Orinoquia, covers , with 76.3 percent of it in Venezuela and the remainder in Colombia. It is the fourth largest river in the wor ...

and populations are present in parts of Colombia and

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in ...

. One estimate places the total population at more than 10,000 individuals. The species inhabits

freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the term specifically excludes seawater and brackish water, it does in ...

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the ...

s, streams, and

lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into '' coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons' ...

s which are usually clear and flowing. It is typically

demersal The demersal zone is the part of the sea or ocean (or deep lake) consisting of the part of the water column near to (and significantly affected by) the seabed and the benthos. The demersal zone is just above the benthic zone and forms a laye ...

and

insectivorous A robber fly eating a hoverfly An insectivore is a carnivorous animal or plant that eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which can also refer to the human practice of eating insects. The first vertebrate insectivores were ...

, primarily feeding on

ant Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cretaceous period. More than 13,800 of an estimated total of 22,0 ...

s. Standard length for an individual is about 60 millimeters. A single female may produce nearly 650 eggs in a breeding season. Specimens may be identified distinctly from other species in the genus by its "bar-shaped blotch on caudal-fin base" and a "lateral line reaching a vertical through adipose-fin origin" The

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natur ...

listed M. iheringi as a

least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. Th ...

for

extinction Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds ( taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed ...

as of 2020, and noted that it does not face any specific threats. The species is popular among

home aquarium A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or many humans, and sometimes various companion animals. It is a fully or semi sheltered space and can have both interior and exterior aspects to it ...

hobbyists and is exported outside its native range.

Etymology

The fish is named in honor of a former teacher of Gomes, the Brazilian ichthyologist,

Rodolpho von Ihering Rodolpho Theodor Wilhelm Gaspar von Ihering (born Taquara, 17 July 1883; died 15 September 1939) was a Brazilian zoologist and biologist, who is considered to be one of the founders of Pisciculture in Brazil. von Ihering was the son of German zoolo ...

(1883-1939).

References

Pseudopimelodidae Catfish of South America Taxa named by Alcides Lourenҫo Gomes Fish described in 1946 {{Siluriformes-stub