''Rineloricaria'' (from the Greek, ''rhinos'' meaning ''nose'', and the Latin, ''lorica'' meaning ''

cuirass A cuirass ( ; ; ) is a piece of armour that covers the torso, formed of one or more pieces of metal or other rigid material. The term probably originates from the original material, leather, from the Old French word and the Latin word . The us ...

of leather'') 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 freshwater tropical

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 ...

(

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood ...

Siluriformes) belonging to 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 ...

. They are commonly called whiptail catfish because of the long filament that grows out of the tip of the

caudal fin Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the back bone and are supported only ...

that is characteristic of the genus. With the exception of '' R. altipinnis'' from

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

, they are native to the rivers of northern and 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 ...

. Some species are regularly seen in the

aquarium An aquarium (: aquariums or aquaria) is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. fishkeeping, Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aquati ...

trade.

Taxonomy

This genus was described by

Pieter Bleeker Pieter Bleeker (10 July 1819 – 24 January 1878) was a Dutch medical doctor, Ichthyology, ichthyologist, and Herpetology, herpetologist. He was famous for the ''Atlas Ichthyologique des Indes Orientales Néêrlandaises'', his monumental work on ...

in 1862, with ''R. lima'' as the

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...

. This genus is by far one of the most speciose of the subfamily

Loricariinae Loricariinae is a subfamily of the family Loricariidae of catfish (order Siluriformes). This subfamily is divided into two tribes and about 30 genera. They are mainly native to freshwater habitats in South America, but there are also several spec ...

, containing approx 60

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

. On the other hand, it is one of the least resolved genera. In 2008, 14 new species were added to this genus. ''Hemiloricaria'', '' Fonchiiichthys'', and ''Leliella'' been variably considered

synonym 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 ...

s of ''Rineloricaria''; these genera were erected to account for differences in

sexually dimorphic Sexual dimorphism is the condition where sexes of the same species exhibit different Morphology (biology), morphological characteristics, including characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most dioecy, di ...

traits. However, the traits used to diagnose these genera have been thought to be insufficient.

Species

Bleeker Bleeker is a Dutch occupational surname. Bleeker is an old spelling of ''(linnen)bleker'' ("linen bleacher").Rineloricaria castroi'' Isbrücker & Nijssen, 1984 * '' Rineloricaria catamarcensis'' ( C. Berg ( es), 1895) * '' Rineloricaria cubataonis'' (

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 ...

, 1907) * '' Rineloricaria daraha'' Rapp Py-Daniel & Fichberg, 2008 * '' Rineloricaria eigenmanni'' ( Pellegrin, 1908) * '' Rineloricaria fallax'' (

, 1915) * '' Rineloricaria felipponei'' ( Fowler, 1943) * '' Rineloricaria formosa'' Isbrücker & Nijssen, 1979 * '' Rineloricaria hasemani'' Isbrücker & Nijssen, 1979 * '' Rineloricaria henselii'' (

, 1907) * '' Rineloricaria heteroptera'' Isbrücker & Nijssen, 1976 * '' Rineloricaria hoehnei'' ( A. Miranda-Ribeiro, 1912) * '' Rineloricaria isaaci'' M. S. Rodriguez & Miquelarena, 2008 * '' Rineloricaria jaraguensis'' (

, 1909) * '' Rineloricaria jubata'' ( Boulenger, 1902) * '' Rineloricaria jurupari'' ( Londoño & Urbano, 2018) * ''

Rineloricaria konopickyi ''Rineloricaria konopickyi'' is a species of catfish in the family Loricariidae. It is native to South America and occurs in the Amazon River basin in Brazil. The species reaches 9.6 cm (3.8 inches) in standard length Fish measurement is t ...

'' (

, 1879) * '' Rineloricaria kronei'' ( A. Miranda-Ribeiro, 1911) * '' Rineloricaria lanceolata'' ( Günther, 1868) (Chocolate-colored catfish) * '' Rineloricaria langei'' Ingenito, Ghazzi, Duboc & Abilhoa, 2008 * '' Rineloricaria latirostris'' ( Boulenger, 1900) * '' Rineloricaria lima'' ( Kner, 1853) * '' Rineloricaria longicauda'' R. E. dos Reis, 1983 * ''

Rineloricaria maacki ''Rineloricaria maacki'' is a species of catfish in the family Loricariidae. It is native to South America, where it occurs in the Iguazu River in the Paraná River basin in Brazil. It is typically found in environments characterized by muddy and ...

'' Ingenito, Ghazzi, Duboc & Abilhoa, 2008 * '' Rineloricaria magdalenae'' (

, 1879) * '' Rineloricaria malabarbai'' M. S. Rodriguez & R. E. dos Reis, 2008 * '' Rineloricaria maquinensis'' R. E. dos Reis & A. R. Cardoso, 2001 * '' Rineloricaria melini'' ( O. Schindler, 1959) * '' Rineloricaria microlepidogaster'' ( Regan, 1904) * '' Rineloricaria microlepidota'' (

Rineloricaria stewarti ''Rineloricaria stewarti'', sometimes known as Stewart's whiptail catfish, is a species of catfish in the family Loricariidae. It is native to South America, where it occurs in the coastal rivers of the Guianas, being known from French Guiana, Guy ...

'' ( C. H. Eigenmann, 1909) * '' Rineloricaria strigilata'' ( R. F. Hensel, 1868) * '' Rineloricaria teffeana'' (

, 1879) * '' Rineloricaria thrissoceps'' ( Fowler, 1943) * '' Rineloricaria tropeira'' Ghazzi, 2008 * '' Rineloricaria wolfei'' Fowler, 1940 * '' Rineloricaria zaina'' Ghazzi, 2008 * '' Rineloricaria zawadzkii'' Silva, Costa & Oliveira, 2022

Distribution and habitat

The genus is widely distributed on nearly the entire subcontinent, from

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

, on both slopes of the

Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...

. ''Rineloricaria'' species are found in a large variety of habitats, including large rivers, streams, and lagoons, associated with bottoms consisting of sand or rocks, sometimes found in marginal vegetation. They are also found to tolerate environments with a wide temperature gradient. ''Rineloricaria'' have an adaptive capacity enabling many species to exploit the most varied habitats; some species, such as '' R. strigilata'', have been caught in highly polluted bodies of water and represent some of the main components of the ichthyological diversity in such habitats.

Appearance and anatomy

The average length of a ''Rineloricaria catfish'' is about long. The fish are long, slender, have no visible

barbels In fish anatomy and turtle anatomy, a barbel is a slender, whisker like sensory organ near the mouth (sometimes called whiskers or tendrils). Fish that have barbels include the catfish, the carp, the goatfish, the hagfish, the sturgeon, the z ...

, an erect

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 ...

, a very thin

caudal peduncle Fins are moving appendages protruding from the body of fish that interact with water to generate thrust and help the fish swim. Apart from the tail or caudal fin, fish fins have no direct connection with the back bone and are supported only ...

, and a narrow face. The coloration of the fishes is usually light brown with darker blotches, and have a dark

. They are also covered with bony plates and have a sucker disk mouth, as is common with most fish in the family

Reproduction

Sexual dimorphism Sexual dimorphism is the condition where sexes of the same species exhibit different Morphology (biology), morphological characteristics, including characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most dioecy, di ...

includes hypertrophied development of the

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 along the sides of the head, on the

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 ...

spines and rays, and predorsal area of mature males. Several species also show hypertrophied development of the odontodes on the entire

. In males, the pectoral fin spine is often thick, short, and curved when compared to the female. ''Rineloricaria'' are cavity brooders. Numerous

egg An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the ...

s (often more than 100) are laid attached to one another in single layer masses on the cavity floor, and are brooded by males. Rineloricaria exhibit high levels of

karyotypic A karyotype is the general appearance of the complete set of chromosomes in the cells of a species or in an individual organism, mainly including their sizes, numbers, and shapes. Karyotyping is the process by which a karyotype is discerned by de ...

diversity with

chromosome A chromosome is a package of DNA containing part or all of the genetic material of an organism. In most chromosomes, the very long thin DNA fibers are coated with nucleosome-forming packaging proteins; in eukaryotic cells, the most import ...

numbers ranging from 36 to 70.

References