''Pogonopoma'' 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 armored catfish native to rivers in

south South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

and

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, ...

Taxonomy

''Pogonopoma'' is one of three

genera Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial s ...

currently valid in the

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

Rhinelepini Rhinelepini is a tribe (biology), tribe of fishes in the subfamily Hypostominae of the armored suckermouth catfish family Loricariidae. Taxonomy This tribe is a well diagnosed monophyly, monophyletic group currently containing three genus, gene ...

. ''Pogonopomoides'', previously a valid genus, was placed in

synonymy A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...

with ''Pogonopoma''. This genus and '' Rhinelepis'' have a

sister group In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and ...

relationship.

Species

There are currently three recognized species in this genus: * '' Pogonopoma obscurum'' Quevedo & R. E. dos Reis, 2002 * '' Pogonopoma parahybae'' (

Steindachner Franz Steindachner (11 November 1834 in Vienna – 10 December 1919 in Vienna) was an Austrian zoologist, ichthyologist, and herpetologist. He published over 200 papers on fishes and over 50 papers on reptiles and amphibians. Steindachner descri ...

, 1877) * '' Pogonopoma wertheimeri'' (

, 1867)

Appearance and anatomy

As loricariids, ''Pogonopoma'' species all exhibit a

suckermouth In fish, a suckermouth is a ventrally-oriented (inferior) mouth adapted for grazing on algae and small organisms that grow on submerged objects. All Loricariidae possess a suckermouth as do the cypriniform algae eaters of the genus '' Gyrinocheilu ...

and an at least slightly flattened

ventral 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 prov ...

surface. However, unlike many loricariids, they have circular pupils, which differs from most members of the family that have an omega iris. ''Pogonopoma'' species are heavily armored except on their abdomen (the belly in the case of loricariids), which is relatively unplated. ''P. wertheimeri'' is a cylindrically shaped loricariid. The cheek is covered in long, thin, non-evertible

odontode Odontodes, or dermal teeth, are hard structures found on the external surfaces of animals or near internal openings. They consist of a soft pulp surrounded by dentine and covered by a mineralized substance such as enamel, a structure similar to t ...

s that form a dense patch. ''P. parahybae'' appears to be more of an intermediate between ''P. wertheimeri'' and '' Rhinelepis''. It is fairly flattened, and also has longer

pectoral Pectoral may refer to: * The chest region and anything relating to it. * Pectoral cross, a cross worn on the chest * a decorative, usually jeweled version of a gorget * Pectoral (Ancient Egypt), a type of jewelry worn in ancient Egypt * Pectora ...

and

pelvic fin Pelvic fins or ventral fins are paired fins located on the ventral (belly) surface of fish, and are the lower of the only two sets of paired fins (the other being the laterally positioned pectoral fins). The pelvic fins are homologous to the hi ...

s compared to other species of the tribe Rhinelepini. The gill openings are not as large as those in ''Rhinelepis''. Also, this species lacks long cheek odontodes and the adipose fin. ''P. obscurum'', unlike ''P. wertheimeri'', simultaneously lacks an adipose fin and cheek odontodes. Its

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates. Dorsal fins have evolved independently several times through convergent evolution adapting to marine environments, so the fins are not all homologous. They are found ...

base is also longer than of other members of this genus.

References

External links

* (contains excerpts from cited papers) {{Taxonbar, from=Q5034382 Hypostominae Fish of South America Catfish genera Taxa named by Charles Tate Regan Freshwater fish genera