''Trachelyopterus insignis'' is a

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), ...

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 ...

from the freshwater driftwood catfish

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

, Auchenipteridae. It is commonly found in rivers of northern

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 ...

, where it is called the ''chivo'' (lit. "

goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a species of Caprinae, goat-antelope that is mostly kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the ...

"), the ''rengue'', or the ''doncella'' (lit. "maiden").Ferraris, C.J. Jr., 2003. Auchenipteridae (Driftwood catfishes). p. 470-482. In R.E. Reis, S.O. Kullander and C.J. Ferraris, Jr. (eds.) Checklist of the Freshwater Fishes of South and Central America. Porto Alegre: EDIPUCRS, Brazil.

Taxonomy and naming

The species was formally described in 1878 by the

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ** Austria-Hungary ** Austria ...

zoologist Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the structure, embryology, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct, and how they interact with their ecosystems. Zoology is one ...

Franz 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 des ...

from

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

's Rio Magdelena.Burgess, W. 1989. An Atlas of Freshwater and Marine Catfishes: a Preliminary Survey of Siluriformes. T.F.H. Incorporated. Steindachner originally placed ''T. insignis'' in the genus '' Auchenipterus'', another group of driftwood catfishes, and it has also been moved into '' Parauchenipterus'', which is no longer considered valid.

Description

This catfish is

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 ...

. At a young age the sexes differ mainly in coloration; males are mottled, females are plain. Once sexual maturity is reached, however, males grow a large dorsal

spine Spine or spinal may refer to: Science Biology * Spinal column, also known as the backbone * Dendritic spine, a small membranous protrusion from a neuron's dendrite * Thorns, spines, and prickles, needle-like structures in plants * Spine (zoology), ...

. Males can reach a 20 cm total length.FishBase
/ref>Ferraris, C.J. Jr. 2003. '' Auchenipteridae'' (Driftwood catfishes). p. 470-482. A R.E. Reis, S.O. Kullander y C.J. Ferraris, Jr. (eds.) Checklist of the Freshwater Fishes of South and Central America.

Porto Alegre Porto Alegre (, ; , ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian Federative units of Brazil, state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of roughly 1.4 million inhabitants (2022) makes it the List of largest cities in Brazil, 11th-most p ...

: EDIPUCRS,

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

Distribution and habitat

''T. insignis'' is exclusively

freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. The term excludes seawater and brackish water, but it does include non-salty mi ...

and is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to the lower

Rio Magdalena The Magdalena River (, ; less commonly ) is the main river of Colombia, flowing northward about through the western half of the country. It takes its name from the biblical figure Mary Magdalene. It is navigable through much of its lower reaches, ...

river basin A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, th ...

. It lives close to the bottom of whatever body of water it inhabits and prefers as pH range of 6.0–7.2 as well as water between , temperatures common for waters at tropical latitudes Baensch, H.A. and R. Riehl, 1997. Aquarien Atlas, Band 5. Mergus Verlag, Melle, Germany. 1148 p. It can be found in rivers of all sizes, as well as smaller creeks and floodplains.

Behavior

Like many other members of the

driftwood catfish The driftwood catfishes are catfishes of the family Auchenipteridae. The two genera of the former family Ageneiosidae have been placed here, resulting in a grouping of about 125 species in about 22 genera. These fish are found in rivers from Pan ...

es, ''T. insignis'' is

nocturnal Nocturnality is a ethology, behavior in some non-human animals characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnality, diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatur ...

, hiding in logs during the daytime, and venturing outside at night to feed.

Relationship with humans

According to the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

, ''T. insignis'' is not currently threatened in any specific way, nor have any actions been taken to ensure its survival. Other studies have found it to have a low to moderate risk of extinction.Cheung, W.W.L., T.J. Pitcher and D. Pauly, 2005. A fuzzy logic expert system to estimate intrinsic extinction vulnerabilities of marine fishes to fishing. Biol. Conserv. 124:97–111. While not present in the freshwater

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, these fishes have been bred in captivity: with a gravel substrate and floating watersprite plants.

References

External links

Fishbase.org entry
{{Taxonbar, from=Q5758832 Catfish of South America Freshwater fish of Colombia Endemic fauna of Colombia Magdalena River Taxa named by Franz Steindachner Fish described in 1878