''Dianema'' is a small

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

of freshwater

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 ...

in the Callichthyinae subfamily of the armored catfish family. The

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specime ...

for this genus is ''Dianema longibarbis''. The name is derived from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

''di'', meaning "two", and ''nema'', meaning "filament". The two species of ''Dianema'' share approximately the same distribution, and are found in the Amazon River and lower courses of its tributaries. ''Dianema'' species have the habit of swimming midwater, as opposed to the bottom as in most callichthyids.

Species

There are currently two described species in this genus: *'' Dianema longibarbis''

Cope The cope (known in Latin as ''pluviale'' 'rain coat' or ''cappa'' 'cape') is a liturgical vestment, more precisely a long mantle or cloak, open in front and fastened at the breast with a band or clasp. It may be of any liturgical colour. A c ...

, 1872 (Porthole catfish) *'' Dianema urostriatum'' ( A. Miranda-Ribeiro, 1912) (Flagtail catfish)

References

Callichthyidae * Catfish genera Taxa named by Edward Drinker Cope Freshwater fish genera {{callichthyidae-stub