Aspredo aspredo

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Aspredo aspredo
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Actinopterygii Order: Siluriformes Family: Aspredinidae Subfamily: Aspredininae Genus: Aspredo Scopoli, 1777 Species: A. aspredo
Binomial name
Aspredo aspredo (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms
Silurus aspredo Linnaeus, 1758 Platystacus laevis Bloch, 1794 Aspredo sicuephorus Valenciennes, in Cuvier & Valenciennes, 1840 Aspredo batrachus Gronow, in Gray, 1854 Aspredo sicyephorus Günther, 1864

Aspredo aspredo is the only species of catfish (order Siluriformes) in the genus Aspredo of the family Aspredinidae.^[1]

This species originates from the lower portions of rivers from Venezuela to northern Brazil.^[1] It occurs in the Orinoco delta, through the Guianas, to the Amazon River.^[2]

A. aspredo is the largest species of aspredinid, reaching about 38.3 centimetres (15.1 in) SL.^[3][4] The maxillary barbels are attached to the head, the colouration is uniform without any pattern of dark saddles, and the unculiferous tubercles present in other aspredinids are highly reduced.^[2]

A. aspredo is a benthic fish occurring on sandy-muddy bottoms of brackish waters and coastal rivers.^[4] However, it appears to enter further into fresh water than its relatives.^[2] It is found on soft bottoms of shallow turbid water near river mouths.^[4] The species has a peculiar mode of egg incubation wherein the female catfish carries the eggs firmly attached to the underside of the body. This seems to be an adaptation to facilitate the oxygenation of the eggs in muddy environments. Reproduction probably occurs during the earlier part of the year.^[4]

[edit] References

1. ^ ^{a b} Ferraris, Carl J., Jr. (2007). "Checklist of catfishes, recent and fossil (Osteichthyes: Siluriformes), and catalogue of siluriform primary types" (PDF). Zootaxa 1418: 1–628. 
2. ^ ^{a b c} Friel, John P (14 April 2000). Aspredo. Aspredo aspredo (Linnaeus, 1758). Tree of Life Web Project. Retrieved on 2007-08-07.
3. ^ Nelson, Joseph S. (2006). Fishes of the World. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. ISBN 0-471-25031-7. 
4. ^ ^{a b c d} "Aspredo aspredo". FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. Aug 2007 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2007.