''Pseudobunocephalus'' 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
banjo catfishes.
Taxonomy
The species of ''Pseudobunocephalus'' were originally classified in the genus ''
Bunocephalus
''Bunocephalus'' is a genus of banjo catfishes from South America. It is found in Magdalena, Orinoco, Amazon, Paraguay- Paraná, and São Francisco Rivers. It is also the only aspredinid genus found west of the Andes, found in the Atrato, San ...
'', but after further study it was found that these fish were unrelated to the type species ''
Bunocephalus verrucosus'' or any of the other existing aspredinid genera. Thus, a new genus was described in 2008.
''Pseudobunocephalus'' is the most basal genus in the family, and represents the
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 ...
to all other Aspredinidae.
''P. lundbergi'' is also the most basal species and is the sister taxon to the rest of the species in the genus.
Species
There are currently six species in this genus:
*''
Pseudobunocephalus amazonicus''
( Mees, 1989)
*''
Pseudobunocephalus bifidus''
( C. H. Eigenmann, 1942)
*''
Pseudobunocephalus iheringii''
( Boulenger, 1891)
*''
Pseudobunocephalus lundbergi''
Friel, 2008
*''
Pseudobunocephalus quadriradiatus''
( Mees, 1989)
*''
Pseudobunocephalus rugosus''
( C. H. Eigenmann & C. H. Kennedy, 1903)
Distribution
''Pseudobunocephalus'' species are widespread in 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 ...
,
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
Paraguay
Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...
-
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.
Description
Species of ''Pseudobunocephalus'' are small, all of them reaching less than 80 millimetres (3.1 in)
SL.
They are often mistaken at first glance with juvenile ''Bunocephalus'' species.
References
Aspredinidae
Fish of South America
Catfish genera
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