''Bunocephalus'' is a genus of

banjo catfish The Aspredinidae are a small South American family of catfishes ( order Siluriformes) also known as the banjo catfishes, with about 43 species. Distribution Aspredinids are found throughout the major tropical rivers of South America (e.g., Magd ...

es from South America. It is found in Magdalena,

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 ...

, Amazon, Paraguay- Paraná, and

São Francisco River The São Francisco River (, ) is a large river in Brazil. With a length of , it is the longest river that runs entirely in Brazilian territory, and the fourth longest in South America and overall in Brazil (after the Amazon, the Paraná and t ...

s. It is also the only aspredinid genus found west of the Andes, found in the

Atrato Atrato is a municipality and town in the Chocó Department near the Pacific Ocean, Colombia. Climate Atrato has an extremely wet tropical rainforest climate A tropical rainforest climate, humid tropical climate or equatorial climate is a trop ...

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), ...

, and

Patía River The Patía River () is a river in southwestern Colombia. It flows over to drain into the Pacific Ocean north of Tumaco. The Patía River is the longest river on the Colombian Pacific Coast. The last is navigable by boat. Geography The Patía ...

s. This genus is a part of the family Aspredinidae, known as banjo catfishes for their large, flattened heads and slender tails that give the appearance of a

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...

. Most species exhibit

cryptic coloration Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else. Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the b ...

, and the same holds true among ''Bunocephalus'' species. The skin is completely keratinized and is covered by large, unculiferous tubercles. ''Bunocephalus'' species may reach up to 13 centimetres SL.

Species

There are currently 12 recognized species in this genus: * ''

Bunocephalus aleuropsis ''Bunocephalus'' is a genus of banjo catfishes from South America. It is found in Magdalena, Orinoco, Amazon, Paraguay- Paraná, and São Francisco Rivers. It is also the only aspredinid genus found west of the Andes, found in the Atrato, Sa ...

'' Cope, 1870 * ''

Bunocephalus amaurus ''Bunocephalus'' is a genus of banjo catfishes from South America. It is found in Magdalena, Orinoco, Amazon, Paraguay- Paraná, and São Francisco Rivers. It is also the only aspredinid genus found west of the Andes, found in the Atrato, Sa ...

'' C. H. Eigenmann, 1912 (Camouflaged catfish) * ''

Bunocephalus chamaizelus ''Bunocephalus'' is a genus of banjo catfishes from South America. It is found in Magdalena, Orinoco, Amazon, Paraguay- Paraná, and São Francisco Rivers. It is also the only aspredinid genus found west of the Andes, found in the Atrato, Sa ...

'' C. H. Eigenmann, 1912 * ''

Bunocephalus colombianus ''Bunocephalus'' is a genus of banjo catfishes from South America. It is found in Magdalena, Orinoco, Amazon, Paraguay- Paraná, and São Francisco Rivers. It is also the only aspredinid genus found west of the Andes, found in the Atrato, Sa ...

'' C. H. Eigenmann, 1912 * '' Bunocephalus coracoideus'' ( Cope, 1874) (Guitarrita) * '' Bunocephalus doriae''

Boulenger Boulenger is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Benjamin Boulenger (born 1990), French footballer * Edward George Boulenger (1888–1946), British zoologist, director of aquarium at London Zoo * George Albert Boulenger (1858–1 ...

, 1902 * '' Bunocephalus erondinae'' A. R. Cardoso, 2010 * ''

Bunocephalus hartti ''Bunocephalus'' is a genus of banjo catfishes from South America. It is found in Magdalena, Orinoco, Amazon, Paraguay- Paraná, and São Francisco Rivers. It is also the only aspredinid genus found west of the Andes, found in the Atrato, San J ...

'' T. P. Carvalho, A. R. Cardoso,

Friel Friel is a surname, and may refer to People * Aisling Friel (born 1980s) * Anna Friel (born 1976), British actress * Arthur O. Friel (1887–1959), writer * Benny Friel (1941–2010), Scottish footballer * Bill Friel (1876–1959), American baseb ...

& R. E. dos Reis, 2015 Carvalho, T.P., Cardoso, A.R., Friel, J.P. & Reis, R.E. (2015): Two new species of the banjo catfish ''Bunocephalus'' Kner (Siluriformes: Aspredinidae) from the upper and middle rio São Francisco basins, Brazil. ''Neotropical Ichthyology, 13 (3): 499-512.'' * '' Bunocephalus knerii''

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 describ ...

, 1882 (Ecuador banjo catfish) * ''

Bunocephalus larai ''Bunocephalus'' is a genus of banjo catfishes from South America. It is found in Magdalena, Orinoco, Amazon, Paraguay- Paraná, and São Francisco Rivers. It is also the only aspredinid genus found west of the Andes, found in the Atrato, ...

'' R. Ihering ( pt), 1930 * '' Bunocephalus minerim'' T. P. Carvalho, A. R. Cardoso,

& R. E. dos Reis, 2015 * '' Bunocephalus verrucosus'' (

Walbaum Walbaum is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Johann Julius Walbaum (1724–1799), German physician, naturalist and taxonomist *Johannes Walbaum (born 1987), German footballer *Justus Erich Walbaum (1768-1837), German type ...

, 1792) (Gnarled catfish) The removal of ''Pseudobunocephalus'' from ''Bunocephalus'' was an attempt to make it monophyletic. Even in this reduced state, ''Bunocephalus'' is still the largest genus in the Aspredinidae.

In the aquarium

''B. coracoideus'' is the most common species of banjo catfish found in the

aquarium An aquarium (plural: ''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. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aq ...

fishkeeping hobby. These fish are nocturnal. This species is peaceful and a good idea for a community aquarium. These fish may be kept with sand to allow them to bury themselves or with a flat rock to hide underneath. Reproduction has been accomplished in the home aquarium. These fish can be easily sexed because females are much fatter and fuller than males. The mating pair should be conditioned on live foods for at least a month. Spawning is induced by a larger water change; the pair will spawn within two days. Spawning occurs at night. Some sources say they spawn under a fallen leaf or on a large rock, incubating their eggs by sitting on them, while others list them as egg-scatterers.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2718074 Aspredinidae Fish of the Amazon basin Catfish genera Taxa named by Rudolf Kner