''Sturisomatichthys'' is a

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 ...

of armored catfishes native to

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known a ...

and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the souther ...

Species

There are currently 12 recognized species in this genus: * '' Sturisomatichthys aureum'' * '' Sturisomatichthys citurensis'' (

Meek Meekness is an attribute of human nature and behavior that has been defined as an amalgam of righteousness, inner humility, and patience. Meekness has been contrasted with humility alone insomuch as humility simply refers to an attitude towards o ...

Hildebrand Hildebrand is a character from Germanic heroic legend. ''Hildebrand'' is the modern German form of the name: in Old High German it is ''Hiltibrant'' and in Old Norse ''Hildibrandr''. The word ''hild'' means "battle" and ''brand'' means "sword". ...

, 1913) *'' Sturisomatichthys dariense'' *'' Sturisomatichthys festivum'' *'' Sturisomatichthys frenatum'' *'' Sturisomatichthys guaitipan'' *'' Sturisomatichthys kneri'' * '' Sturisomatichthys leightoni'' (

Regan The family name Regan, along with its cognates O'Regan, O Regan, Reagan, and O'Reagan, is an Anglicized form of the Irish surname Ó Riagáin or Ó Ríogáin, from Ua Riagáin. The meaning is likely to have originated in ancient Gaelic ''ri' ...

, 1912) *'' Sturisomatichthys panamense'' *'' Sturisomatichthys reinae'' * '' Sturisomatichthys tamanae'' (

, 1912) *'' Sturisomatichthys varii''

Distribution and habitat

The genus ''Sturisomatichthys'' is distributed in the northwestern part of

, on the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

and

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

slopes of the

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

. The species appear to occupy the same ecological niche as those in ''

Sturisoma ''Sturisoma'' is a genus of armored catfishes native to Central and South America. Taxonomy ''Sturisoma'' has been shown to be sister to '' Farlowella''. Species There are currently 12 recognized species in this genus: * ''Sturisoma barbatu ...

''.

Description

Sexual dimorphism Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most an ...

and reproductive biology of ''Sturisomatichthys'' similar to ''

''. ''Sturisomatichthys'' is distinguished from ''Sturisoma'' primarily by the absence of a

rostrum Rostrum may refer to: * Any kind of a platform for a speaker: **dais **pulpit * Rostrum (anatomy), a beak, or anatomical structure resembling a beak, as in the mouthparts of many sucking insects * Rostrum (ship), a form of bow on naval ships * Ros ...

. Only one species, ''S. citurensis'', from Panama, seems to be significantly different from all congeneric species in having an abdominal plate cover consisting of small platelets without any particular organization. Other species may represent a species complex with a short snout as in the genus ''

Farlowella ''Farlowella'' is a genus of fish in the family Loricariidae native to South America. This genus is broadly distributed in Amazon, Orinoco, Paraná and coastal rivers of the Guyana Shield. It is absent from the Pacific slope of the Andes and fro ...

'' with reference to the representatives of the ''F. curtirostra'' group. The weakness of this diagnostic feature could lead to the

synonymy A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly 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 all ...

of ''Sturisomatichthys'' with ''Sturisoma''. ''Sturisomatichthys'' species grow to about in length.

References

Harttiini Fish of South America Fish of Central America Catfish genera Taxa named by Isaäc J. H. Isbrücker Taxa named by Han Nijssen Freshwater fish genera {{Loricariidae-stub