''Batrochoglanis'' is a small

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

catfish Catfish (or catfishes; order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the three largest species alive, ...

es (

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

Siluriformes) of the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Pseudopimelodidae The Pseudopimelodidae are a small family (about 40 species) of catfishes known as the bumblebee catfishes or dwarf marbled catfishes. Some of these fish are popular aquarium fish. Taxonomy This family was formerly a subfamily of Pimelodidae. Pse ...

Species

There are currently five recognized species in this genus: * '' Batrochoglanis acanthochiroides'' (Güntert, 1942) * '' Batrochoglanis melanurus'' Shibatta & Pavanelli, 2005 * ''

Batrochoglanis raninus ''Batrochoglanis'' is a small genus of catfishes (order (biology), order Siluriformes) of the family (biology), family Pseudopimelodidae. Species There are currently five recognized species in this genus: * ''Batrochoglanis acanthochiroides'' (G ...

'' (

Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; nl, label=also Dutch, Valencijn; pcd, Valincyinnes or ; la, Valentianae) is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced a s ...

, 1840) * '' Batrochoglanis transmontanus'' (

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'' ...

, 1913) * '' Batrochoglanis villosus'' (

Eigenmann Eigenmann is a surname. Notable persons with that surname include: * Andi Eigenmann (born 1990), Filipino actress * Carl H. Eigenmann (1863–1927), German–American ichthyologist, husband of Rosa Eigenmann * Eduardo de Mesa Eigenmann, birth name ...

, 1912)

Distribution

''Batrochoglanis'' species are known and distributed throughout the

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...

basin, rivers of the

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

ian and

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

n Pacific coast, the northern region of South America, and the

Paraguay River The Paraguay River (Río Paraguay in Spanish, Rio Paraguai in Portuguese, Ysyry Paraguái in Guarani) is a major river in south-central South America, running through Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay and Argentina. It flows about from its headwaters in ...

basin. ''B. acanthochiroides'' is distributed in the

Catatumbo River The Catatumbo River ( es, Río Catatumbo) is a river rising in northern Colombia, flowing into Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela. The Catatumbo River is approximately long. It forms a part of the international boundary between the two countries. The ri ...

basin of the

Maracaibo ) , motto = "''Muy noble y leal''"(English: "Very noble and loyal") , anthem = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_alt = ...

basin. ''B. melanurus'' is only known from its type locality in the

basin of Brazil. ''B. raninus'' is found in the Amazon River basin,

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

, and

French Guiana French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic ...

. ''B. transmontanus'' originates from Baudó,

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John, may refer to: Places Argentina * San Juan Province, Argentina * San Juan, Argentina, the capital of that province * San Juan, Salta, a village in Iruya, Salta Province * San Juan (Buenos Aires Underground), ...

, Patía and

Durango Durango (), officially named Estado Libre y Soberano de Durango ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Durango; Tepehuán: ''Korian''; Nahuatl: ''Tepēhuahcān''), is one of the 31 states which make up the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico, situated in ...

river basins. ''B. villosus'' is found in the

Demerara River The Demerara River is a river in eastern Guyana that rises in the central rainforests of the country and flows to the north for 346 kilometres until it reaches the Atlantic Ocean. Georgetown, Guyana's largest seaport and capital, is situated o ...

of the

Essequibo Essequibo is the largest traditional region of Guyana but not an administrative region of Guyana today. It may also refer to: * Essequibo River, the largest river in Guyana * Essequibo (colony), a former Dutch colony in what is now Guyana; * Esseq ...

basin,

Orinoco The Orinoco () is one of the longest rivers in South America at . Its drainage basin, sometimes known as the Orinoquia, covers , with 76.3 percent of it in Venezuela and the remainder in Colombia. It is the fourth largest river in the wor ...

, and Amazon River basins.

Description

Species of this genus have rounded, wider than deep bodies; large heads, rounded in dorsal view;

pelvic fin Pelvic fins or ventral fins are paired fins located on the ventral surface of fish. The paired pelvic fins are homologous to the hindlimbs of tetrapods. Structure and function Structure In actinopterygians, the pelvic fin consists of two en ...

s originating at vertical line through the end of the

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin located on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates within various taxa of the animal kingdom. Many species of animals possessing dorsal fins are not particularly closely related to each other, though through conv ...

; short

caudal peduncle Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as se ...

s, with

caudal fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as se ...

procurrent rays close to

adipose Adipose tissue, body fat, or simply fat is a loose connective tissue composed mostly of adipocytes. In addition to adipocytes, adipose tissue contains the stromal vascular fraction (SVF) of cells including preadipocytes, fibroblasts, vascular ...

and

anal fin Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as se ...

s; emarginated caudal fins, with rounded lobes, or completely rounded; incomplete lateral lines, sometimes surpassing the adipose-fin end, but never reaching the caudal fin. Three color patterns of the caudal fin in ''Batrochoglanis'' species are known. The first pattern, in ''B. raninus'', ''B. transmontanus'' and ''B. acanthochiroides'', is a light caudal fin, with a dark band on the posterior third. The second pattern, in ''B. villosus'', is a light caudal fin, with dark dots irregularly distributed. The third pattern, found in ''B. melanurus'', has the caudal fin completely dark. The coloration pattern is useful for separating species, but apparently does not allow inferences about

phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics (; from Greek φυλή/ φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups o ...

relationships to be safely made, since this character is widespread in this family. ''B. acanthochiroides'', the largest species, grows to 80.0 centimetres (31 in) TL. ''B. melanurus'' has a maximum length of 13.7 cm (5.39 in) SL. ''B. raninus'' reaches a length of 20.0 (7.87 in) SL. ''B. transmontanus'' grows to a length of 25.0 cm (9.84 in) TL. ''B. villosus'' reaches a length of 14.8 cm (5.83 in) TL.

Ecology

''B. transmontanus'' is recorded to live in rivers. ''B. raninus'' commonly occurs in creeks as well as in rivers. It is found in very shady, deep zones of rivers where the current is slow, the bottom is shady, and the gravel is covered with plant debris. During the day, ''B. raninus'' lies hidden under branches or rocks. It hunts by stalking, swallowing prey within its range. When young, ''B. raninus'' feeds on micro-

crustacean Crustaceans (Crustacea, ) form a large, diverse arthropod taxon which includes such animals as decapods, seed shrimp, branchiopods, fish lice, krill, remipedes, isopods, barnacles, copepods, amphipods and mantis shrimp. The crustacean group ...

s and aquatic

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. The ...

e, then shifts its diet to fishes of notable size.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q4869611 Pseudopimelodidae Fish of South America Fish of the Amazon basin Catfish genera Taxa named by Theodore Gill Freshwater fish genera