''Pinirampus pirinampu'' is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals 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 Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of ...

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 ...

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 kno ...

. ''P. pirinampu'' is also known as the flatwhiskered catfish.

Taxonomy

This species was first described as ''Pimelodus barbancho''; however, this is considered a ''

nomen oblitum In zoological nomenclature, a ''nomen oblitum'' (plural: ''nomina oblita''; Latin for "forgotten name") is a disused scientific name which has been declared to be obsolete (figuratively 'forgotten') in favour of another 'protected' name. In its p ...

''. It was then described as ''Pimelodus pirinampu'' in 1829. In 1858, the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

''Pinirampus'' was described for this species, in which it is usually classified as the only species. However, ''P. argentinus'' has been considered a part of this genus.

Distribution

This species is found in the

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

, Essequibo,

Orinoco 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 wo ...

, and Paraná basins.

Description

''P. pirinampu'' may reach a length of 60–75

centimetre 330px, Different lengths as in respect to the Electromagnetic spectrum, measured by the Metre and its deriveds scales. The Microwave are in-between 1 meter to 1 millimeter. A centimetre (international spelling) or centimeter (American spellin ...

s (24–30 in) and an average weight of 3–5

kilogram The kilogram (also kilogramme) is the unit of mass in the International System of Units (SI), having the unit symbol kg. It is a widely used measure in science, engineering and commerce worldwide, and is often simply called a kilo colloquially ...

s (6.6–11 lb). This species has a maximum published weight of 7.68 kg (16.93 lb). These fish reach

sexual maturity Sexual maturity is the capability of an organism to reproduce. In humans it might be considered synonymous with adulthood, but here puberty is the name for the process of biological sexual maturation, while adulthood is based on cultural definit ...

at just under 60 cm (24 in) in length.

Ecology

''P. pirinampu'' occurs in schools. These catfish 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 ancient Greek, βένθος (bénthos), meaning "t ...

animals; they are nonspecialist feeders preying upon fish such as ''

Iheringichthys labrosus ''Iheringichthys labrosus'' is a species of long-whiskered catfish native to the Paraná River basin and Uruguay River basin in Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, Repúbli ...

'' and

piranha A piranha or piraña (, , or ; or , ) is one of a number of freshwater fish in the family Serrasalmidae, or the subfamily Serrasalminae within the tetra family, Characidae in order Characiformes. These fish inhabit South American rivers, ...

'' Serrasalmus sp.''. In the Amazon basin, these fish are preyed upon by ''

Zungaro zungaro The gilded catfish or ''jau'' (''Zungaro zungaro'') is a South American catfish (order Siluriformes) of the family Pimelodidae. It is also known as ''manguruyu'' or black manguruyu. Taxonomy By some sources, it is the only species of the mon ...

''. These fish are known from temperatures ranging from 24 to 29

°C The degree Celsius is the unit of temperature on the Celsius scale (originally known as the centigrade scale outside Sweden), one of two temperature scales used in the International System of Units (SI), the other being the Kelvin scale. The d ...

(75 to 84

°F The Fahrenheit scale () is a temperature scale based on one proposed in 1724 by the physicist Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit (1686–1736). It uses the degree Fahrenheit (symbol: °F) as the unit. Several accounts of how he originally defined his ...

), pH range of 6 to 8, and an

alkalinity Alkalinity (from ar, القلوي, al-qaly, lit=ashes of the saltwort) is the capacity of water to resist acidification. It should not be confused with basicity, which is an absolute measurement on the pH scale. Alkalinity is the strengt ...

range of 42 to 142 mEq/L. ''P. pirinampu'' is a species of migratory catfish. These fish gather in schools in the

dry season The dry season is a yearly period of low rainfall, especially in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which moves from the northern to the southern tropics and back over the course of the year. The ...

to swim upstream to the headwaters, where they spawn at the onset of the

rainy season The rainy season is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. Rainy Season may also refer to: * ''Rainy Season'' (short story), a 1989 short horror story by Stephen King * "Rainy Season", a 2018 song by Monni * '' ...

in February. After spawning, the adults and juveniles drift downstream, reaching flooded areas or

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including control ...

s used as foraging, growth sites and shelter against

predation Predation is a biological interaction In ecology, a biological interaction is the effect that a pair of organisms living together in a community have on each other. They can be either of the same species (intraspecific interactions), or o ...

Relationship to humans

''P. pirinampu'' is important for the

fishery Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life; or more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place (a.k.a. fishing ground). Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish farms, ...

yield in Amazonas,

Mato Grosso Mato Grosso ( – lit. "Thick Bush") is one of the states of Brazil, the third largest by area, located in the Central-West region. The state has 1.66% of the Brazilian population and is responsible for 1.9% of the Brazilian GDP. Neighborin ...

Mato Grosso do Sul Mato Grosso do Sul () is one of the Midwestern states of Brazil. Neighboring Brazilian states are (from north clockwise) Mato Grosso, Goiás, Minas Gerais, São Paulo and Paraná. It also borders the countries of Paraguay, to the southwest, a ...

, Paraná, and

Roraima Roraima (, ) is one of the 26 states of Brazil. Located in the country's North Region, it is the northernmost and most geographically and logistically isolated state in Brazil. It is bordered by the state of Pará to the southeast, Amazonas ...

states. This species is included in the fishery statistics on the

Paraguay River The Paraguay River (Río Paraguay in Spanish, Rio Paraguai in Portuguese, Ysyry Paraguái in Guarani) is a major river in south-central South America, running through Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay and Argentina. It flows about from its headwaters in ...

basin. Brazil's Mato Grosso do Sul state government has adopted the criterion of 60 cm (24 in) TL minimum capture size for ''P. pirinampu''. ''P. pirinampu'' is an attractive fish for both leisure and professional sport fishers due to its tasteful meat and its fighting behavior. This species is one of the top ten dominant species in professional landings in the Itaipu reservoir of the Paraná river, where it is captured with longlines and

cast net A casting net, also called a throw net, is a net used for fishing. It is a circular net with small weights distributed around its edge. The net is cast or thrown by hand in such a manner that it spreads out while it's in the air before it sink ...

s in the upper half of the reservoir. This species is also among the most important fishery resources in the Eng Souza Dias (Jupiá) Reservoir in the Upper Paraná river and the

Águas Vermelhas Águas Vermelhas is a city in the northeast of the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. In 2020 its population was estimated to be 13,599 in a total area of 1,258 km². The city belongs to the mesoregion of Jequitinhonha and to the microregion o ...

reservoir in the Grande River.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q26945 Pimelodidae ] Fish of the Amazon basin Taxa named by Pieter Bleeker