''Dianema'' is a small genus of freshwater catfish in the Callichthyinae subfamily of the Callichthyidae, armored catfish family. The Biological type, type species for this genus is ''Dianema longibarbis''. The name is derived from the Greek language, Greek ''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:
[
*''Porthole catfish, Dianema longibarbis'' Edward Drinker Cope, Cope, 1872 (Porthole catfish)
*''Flagtail catfish, Dianema urostriatum'' (Alípio de Miranda-Ribeiro, A. Miranda-Ribeiro, 1912) (Flagtail catfish)
]
References
Callichthyidae
Freshwater fish of South America, *
Catfish genera
Taxa named by Edward Drinker Cope
Freshwater fish genera
{{callichthyidae-stub