Astroblepus
Astroblepus is a genus of catfish (order Siluriformes) which contains 55 species. It is the sole genus in the family Astroblepidae, the most species-rich family in which there is a single genus.[1] These fish are known as the naked sucker-mouth catfishes or the climbing catfishes.[1]
Distribution and habitiat
These catfishes are found in torrential streams in the Andean area of South America and Panama.[1]
Description
Astroblepus catfishes are typically small, less than 15 centimetres (6 in).[2] The largest species reaches 30 cm (12 in).[1] These fish have a suckermouth like those of Loricariids. They have two pairs of barbels, maxillary and nasal. The dorsal fin spine lacks a locking mechanism.[1] These fish also have odontodes, tiny teeth on their skin. All species exhibit a conical, pointy type on their fin rays like that found in other Loricarioids; three species also exhibit a blunt type that is only found on their skin.[2]
Ecology
Some of these fish are able to live at up to 3500 m altitude and climb the faces of waterfalls.[1] Their climbing ability comes from specially developed pelvic fins as well as their suckermouth.[2] In their neotropical Andean habitat, dry and wet seasons are quite extreme, and odontodes may help in sensing food, mates, and water flow, as well as help cling to surfaces.[2] They feed upon invertebrates such as caterpillars, and annelids.[2]
Species
There are currently 55 described species:[3]
- Astroblepus boulengeri (Regan, 1904)
- Astroblepus brachycephalus (Günther, 1859)
- Astroblepus cacharas Ardila Rodrígues, 2011[4]
- Astroblepus caquetae Fowler, 1943
- Astroblepus chapmani (C. H. Eigenmann, 1912)
- Astroblepus chimborazoi (Fowler, 1915)
- Astroblepus chotae (Regan, 1904)
- Astroblepus cirratus (Regan, 1912)
- Astroblepus cyclopus (Humboldt, 1805)
- Astroblepus eigenmanni (Regan, 1904)
- Astroblepus festae (Boulenger, 1898)
- Astroblepus fissidens (Regan, 1904)
- Astroblepus formosus Fowler, 1945
- Astroblepus frenatus C. H. Eigenmann, 1918
- Astroblepus grixalvii Humboldt, 1805
- Astroblepus guentheri (Boulenger, 1887)
- Astroblepus heterodon (Regan, 1908)
- Astroblepus homodon (Regan, 1904)
- Astroblepus jurubidae Fowler, 1944
- Astroblepus labialis N. E. Pearson, 1937
- Astroblepus latidens C. H. Eigenmann, 1918
- Astroblepus longiceps N. E. Pearson, 1924
- Astroblepus longifilis (Steindachner, 1882)
- Astroblepus mancoi C. H. Eigenmann, 1928
- Astroblepus mariae (Fowler, 1919)
- Astroblepus marmoratus (Regan, 1904)
- Astroblepus micrescens C. H. Eigenmann, 1918
- Astroblepus mindoense (Regan, 1916)
- Astroblepus nicefori Myers, 1932
- Astroblepus orientalis (Boulenger, 1903)
- Astroblepus peruanus (Steindachner, 1877)
- Astroblepus phelpsi L. P. Schultz, 1944
- Astroblepus pholeter Collette, 1962
- Astroblepus pirrensis (Meek & Hildebrand, 1913)
- Astroblepus praeliorum W. R. Allen, 1942
- Astroblepus prenadillus (Valenciennes, 1840)
- Astroblepus regani (Pellegrin, 1909)
- Astroblepus rengifoi Dahl, 1960
- Astroblepus retropinnus (Regan, 1908)
- Astroblepus riberae Cardona & Guerao, 1994
- Astroblepus rosei C. H. Eigenmann, 1922
- Astroblepus sabalo (Valenciennes, 1840)
- Astroblepus santanderensis C. H. Eigenmann, 1918
- Astroblepus simonsii (Regan, 1904)
- Astroblepus stuebeli (Wandolleck, 1916)
- Astroblepus supramollis N. E. Pearson, 1937
- Astroblepus taczanowskii (Boulenger, 1890)
- Astroblepus theresiae (Steindachner, 1907)
- Astroblepus trifasciatus (C. H. Eigenmann, 1912)
- Astroblepus ubidiai (Pellegrin, 1931)
- Astroblepus unifasciatus (C. H. Eigenmann, 1912)
- Astroblepus vaillanti (Regan, 1904)
- Astroblepus vanceae (C. H. Eigenmann, 1913)
- Astroblepus ventralis (C. H. Eigenmann, 1912)
- Astroblepus whymperi (Boulenger, 1890)
References
- ^ a b c d e f Nelson, Joseph, S. (2006). Fishes of the World. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.. ISBN 0471250317.
- ^ a b c d e Schaefer, Scott A.; Buitrago-Suárez, Uriel Angel (2002). "Odontode Morphology and Skin Surface Features of Andean Astroblepid Catfishes (Siluriformes, Astroblepidae)" (PDF). Journal of Morphology 254 (2): 139. doi:10.1002/jmor.10024. PMID 12353298. http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/fulltext/98516106/PDFSTART?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0.
- ^ Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2011). Species of Astroblepus in FishBase. December 2011 version.
- ^ Ardila Rodriguez, C.A. (2011): Astroblepus cacharas (Siluriformes, Astroblepidae), nueva especie del rio Cáchira, cuenca del rio Magdalena, Colombia Dahlia, 11: 23-33.