''Glaphyropoma'' 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 ...

of small pencil catfishes native to

Bahia Bahia ( , , ; meaning "bay") is one of the 26 Federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo (sta ...

in Brazil.

Species

There are currently two recognized species in this genus: * '' Glaphyropoma rodriguesi'' de Pinna, 1992 * '' Glaphyropoma spinosum'' Bichuette, de Pinna & Trajano, 2008 The single synapomorphy proposed for ''Glaphyropoma'' is the marked narrowing of the first hypobranchial, giving the hypobranchial a slender shape. ''G. rodriguesi'' grows to about 5.1 centimetres (2.0 in) in

standard length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of their anatomies. These data are used in many areas of ichthyology, including taxonomy and fisheries biology. Overall length * Standard length (SL) is the length of a fish m ...

and originates from the Mucujê River, a tributary of

Paraguaçu River The Paraguaçu River () is a river in Bahia state of eastern Brazil. It runs from the Chapada Diamantina highlands of central Bahia to its mouth at the Baía de Todos os Santos. The Paraguaçu is the largest river entirely within Bahia. Its banks ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. ''G. spinosum'' is known to grow as large as 5.8 cm (2.3 in) in standard length. It is known from subterranean waters in the Diamantina Plateau of the

Bahia State Bahia ( , , ; meaning "bay") is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo, Minas Gerais, and Rio de Janeiro) and the 5th-largest b ...

in central northeastern Brazil. This is the first-known

troglomorphic Troglomorphism is the morphological adaptation of an animal to living in the constant darkness of caves, characterised by features such as loss of pigment, reduced eyesight or blindness, and frequently with attenuated bodies and/or appendages. The ...

species in the subfamily

Copionodontinae The Copionodontinae are a subfamily of catfishes (order Siluriformes) of the family Trichomycteridae. It includes two genera, '' Copionodon'' and ''Glaphyropoma''. Classification Copionodontines are remarkably primitive in body form, and lack ...

. These fish live in

quartz Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon-oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall chemical form ...

itic caves formed by

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is distin ...

by rain. The water depth in the creek where the catfish live varies mostly between 10 and 50 cm (4 and 20 in), with moderate current and some spotty accumulation of plant debris where fish are found foraging.

References

Trichomycteridae Fish of Brazil Catfish genera Freshwater fish genera {{Trichomycteridae-stub