''Entomocorus'' is a

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 ...

Auchenipteridae The driftwood catfishes are catfishes of the family (biology), family Auchenipteridae. The two genera of the former family Ageneiosidae have been placed here, resulting in a grouping of about 125 species in about 22 genera. These fish are found ...

Taxonomy and phylogeny

''Entomocorus'' was first described by

Carl H. Eigenmann Carl Henry Eigenmann (March 9, 1863 – April 24, 1927) was a German-American ichthyologist of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, who, along with his wife Rosa Smith Eigenmann, and his zoology students is credited with identifyin ...

in 1917 with ''E. benjamini'' as

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 specimen ...

monotypy In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

. Only a few

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 ...

diagnoses have been presented since. ''Entomocorus'' is included as the basal member in the ''Auchenipterus''-Group by Carl H. Ferraris; this group also includes '' Auchenipterus'' and the

sister groups In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and t ...

'' Epapterus'' and '' Pseudepapterus''. This group is sister to the ''Ageneiosus''-Group, which includes the genera ''

Ageneiosus ''Ageneiosus'' is a genus of driftwood catfishes found mostly in South America with one species extending into Central America. Species Thirteen species in this genus are recognized: * ''Ageneiosus akamai'' Ribeiro, Rapp Py-Daniel & Walsh, 2017 ...

'' and '' Tetranematichthys''. These groups, along with the genus '' Trachelyopterus'', form the tribe Auchenipterini. However, the placement of ''Entomocorus'' is problematic due to the loss of some characteristics of that diagnose Auchenipteridae and Auchenipterini. Relationships between species of ''Entomocorus'' are unknown.

Species

There are currently four described species in this genus: * '' Entomocorus benjamini'' C. H. Eigenmann, 1917 * ''

Entomocorus gameroi ''Entomocorus gameroi'' is a species of driftwood catfish native (possibly endemic) to Venezuela and questionably present in Colombia. It is found in the Apure River basin. It grows to a length of 7.0 cm and can be distinguished from its c ...

'' Mago-Leccia, 1984 * '' Entomocorus melaphareus'' Akama &

Ferraris Ferrari Società per Azioni, S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company buil ...

, 2003 * '' Entomocorus radiosus'' R. E. dos Reis &

Borges Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo (; ; 24 August 1899 – 14 June 1986) was an Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator, as well as a key figure in Spanish-language and international literature. His best-known bo ...

, 2006

Distribution

''Entomocorus'' species are all found in lowlands east of the

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

Description

''Entomocorus'' species are small fish, growing to 5.3–7.0 centimetres SL.

Sexual dimorphism Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most ani ...

is evident in all species except for ''E. benjamini''; in this species, transformed males have yet to be found. In the other species, transformed males have stiff,

ossified Ossification (also called osteogenesis or bone mineralization) in bone remodeling is the process of laying down new bone material by Cell (biology), cells named osteoblasts. It is synonymous with bone tissue formation. There are two processes ...

maxillary barbels, an elongated dorsal-fin spine,

ventrally Standard anatomical terms of location are used to unambiguously describe the anatomy of animals, including humans. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position prov ...

-directed pectoral-fin spine hooks, very elongated pelvic-fin unbranched rays, and a rotated anal-fin base. The four different ''Entomocorus'' species are not easily distinguished by differences in

meristics Meristics is an area of ichthyology and herpetology which relates to counting quantitative features of fish and reptiles, such as the number of fins or scales. A meristic (countable trait) can be used to describe a particular species of fish, or us ...

morphometrics Morphometrics (from Greek μορϕή ''morphe'', "shape, form", and -μετρία ''metria'', "measurement") or morphometry refers to the quantitative analysis of ''form'', a concept that encompasses size and shape. Morphometric analyses are co ...

; however, they can easily be distinguished by pigmentation, especially in caudal fin markings. In ''E. benjamini'', the distal half of dorsal caudal fin lobe and the edge of the ventral lobe is pigmented. In ''E. gameroi'', an oblique band crossing from the dorsal profile of the

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 ...

to the middle-upper rays of the caudal fin. In ''E. melaphareus'', an inconspicuous patch exists on the dorsal lobe of the caudal fin. In ''E. radiosus'', the distal half of both the dorsal and ventral caudal fin lobes is pigmented. ''E. melaphareus'' also has pigmented pectoral and pelvic fins, while these fins in the other three species are unpigmented. ''E. radiosus'' is the only species that can be diagnosed by meristics; its anal-fin base is longer and has more branched anal-fin rays.

Ecology

''Entomocorus'' are

nocturnal Nocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatures generally have highly developed sens ...

pelagic The pelagic zone consists of the water column of the open ocean, and can be further divided into regions by depth (as illustrated on the right). The word ''pelagic'' is derived . The pelagic zone can be thought of as an imaginary cylinder or wa ...

catfish that feed near the surface on

invertebrate Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...

s (primarily

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 ...

s) and on

zooplankton Zooplankton are the animal component of the planktonic community ("zoo" comes from the Greek word for ''animal''). Plankton are aquatic organisms that are unable to swim effectively against currents, and consequently drift or are carried along by ...

(mainly

micro Micro may refer to: Measurement * micro- (μ), a metric prefix denoting a factor of 10−6 Places * Micro, North Carolina, town in U.S. People * DJ Micro, (born Michael Marsicano) an American trance DJ and producer *Chii Tomiya (都宮ちい ...

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).

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5380603 Auchenipteridae Freshwater fish of South America Catfish genera Taxa named by Carl H. Eigenmann