''Xyliphius'' 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 from

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 ...

. This genus appears to be widespread in the Magdalena,

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 ...

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 ...

, 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. ...

systems where they are most common in deeper waters. ''Xyliphius'' includes moderately sized aspredinids, ranging from 8.8–14.7

centimetre upright=1.35, Different lengths as in respect to the electromagnetic spectrum, measured by the metre and its derived scales. The microwave is in-between 1 meter to 1 millimeter. A centimetre (International spelling) or centimeter (American ...

s (3.5–5.8 in) SL. Species of this genus are distinguished from all other aspredinids by having highly reduced eyes, toothless

premaxilla The premaxilla (or praemaxilla) is one of a pair of small cranial bones at the very tip of the upper jaw of many animals, usually, but not always, bearing teeth. In humans, they are fused with the maxilla. The "premaxilla" of therian mammals h ...

e, a row of fleshy papillae projecting anteriorly off the lower lip, flattened unculi and unculiferous tubercles flattened. These species also have the openings of the anterior nares with papillae and no dark saddles on the body.

Species

There are currently seven described species in this genus: * '' Xyliphius anachoretes'' C. A. A. de Figueiredo & Britto, 2010 * '' Xyliphius barbatus'' Alonso de Arámburu & Arámburu, 1962 * '' Xyliphius kryptos'' Taphorn & Lilyestrom, 1983 * '' Xyliphius lepturus'' Orcés-V. ( es), 1962 * '' Xyliphius lombarderoi'' F. J. J. Risso & E. N. P. de Risso, 1964 * '' Xyliphius magdalenae'' C. H. Eigenmann, 1912 * '' Xyliphius melanopterus'' Orcés-V. ( es), 1962

References

Aspredinidae Catfish genera Freshwater fish genera Catfish of South America Freshwater fish of South America Taxa named by Carl H. Eigenmann {{catfish-stub