''Pterygoplichthys anisitsi'' also known as the Paraná sailfin catfish, southern sailfin catfish, is a species of

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 ...

in the family

Loricariidae Loricariidae is the largest family (biology), family of catfish (order Siluriformes), with over 90 genus, genera and just over 680 species. Loricariids originate from freshwater habitats of Costa Rica, Panama, and tropical and subtropical South A ...

. Its natural range is the middle

Paraná Paraná, Paranã or Parana may refer to: Geology * Paraná Basin, a sedimentary basin in South America Places In Argentina *Paraná, Entre Ríos, a city * Paraná Department, a part of Entre Ríos Province In Brazil *Paraná (state), a state ...

and

Uruguay River The Uruguay River ( ; ) is a major river in South America. It flows from north to south and forms parts of the boundaries of Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay, separating some of the Argentine provinces of La Mesopotamia from the other two countr ...

basins of south-central

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 ...

, but it has been introduced to

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

and

South Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

, probably via the pet trade. Like other loricariid catfishes, ''Pterygoplichthys anisitsi'' has a ventral mouth modified into a sucking disk and a body covered in bony plates. The species typically has a dark and white spotted body pattern, although some individuals are very dark with few spots. It reaches 55 cm (21.7 inches) in total length and can weigh up to at least 2.3 kg.

Gas exchange and respiration

''Pterygoplichthys anisitsi'' is capable of breathing both air and water. During nighttime or when the fish experiences a low-oxygen environment, it will swim to the surface to gulp in air. When breathing air, the species uses its stomach for the diffusion of oxygen into the blood.

Etymology

The fish is named in honor of Juan Daniel Anisits (1856-1911), who collected the type specimen.

References

Taxa named by Carl H. Eigenmann Taxa named by Clarence Hamilton Kennedy Fish described in 1903 Fish of Uruguay Hypostominae {{Hypostominae-stub