The porthole shovelnose catfish or spotted shovelnose catfish, ''Hemisorubim platyrhynchos'', is the only

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

in the

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 ...

''Hemisorubim'' of the

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, ...

( order Siluriformes)

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 ...

Pimelodidae The Pimelodidae, commonly known as the long-whiskered catfishes, are a family of catfishes ( order Siluriformes). Taxonomy The family Pimelodidae has undergone much revision. Currently, it contains about 30 genera and about 90 recognized and kno ...

Taxonomy

This fish is considered one of the "sorubimine" catfishes, an informal group of catfish that includes genera such as ''

Sorubim ''Sorubim'' is a small genus of long-whiskered catfish native to tropical South America. A number of characteristics allows the differentiation of each species in the genus. ''Sorubim'' species are important food fish in South America and are hig ...

'', ''

Pseudoplatystoma ''Pseudoplatystoma'' is a genus of several South American catfish species of family (biology), family Pimelodidae. The species are known by a number of different common names. They typically inhabit major rivers where they prefer the main channel ...

'', and ''

Brachyplatystoma ''Brachyplatystoma'' is a genus of catfish from the family Pimelodidae. As the occasionally used common name goliath catfishes indicates, this genus includes some of the largest species of catfish, including the piraíba, ''B. filamentosum'', whi ...

''. This genus forms a

monophyletic In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic gro ...

group with ''

'', ''

Sorubimichthys The firewood catfish (''Sorubimichthys planiceps'') a species of South American pimelodid catfish, is the sole member of the genus ''Sorubimichthys''. Known by locals along the Amazon Basin as ''peixe-lenha'', the firewood catfish is so called b ...

'', ''

'', and ''

Zungaro ''Zungaro'' is a genus of long-whiskered catfishes native to South America, with two recognized species : * ' (Hermann von Ihering, H. von Ihering, 1898) * ''Zungaro zungaro'' (Alexander von Humboldt, Humboldt, 1821) (gilded catfish) References< ...

''. Of these genera, ''Hemisorubim'' is most closely related to ''Pseudoplatystoma''.

Distribution

This species is native to

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 ...

and originates from the

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...

, Maroni,

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 ...

, and

Paraná River The Paraná River ( es, Río Paraná, links=no , pt, Rio Paraná, gn, Ysyry Parana) is a river in south-central South America, running through Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina for some ."Parana River". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Br ...

basins. It also occurs in the

Pantanal The Pantanal () is a natural region encompassing the world's largest tropical wetland area, and the world's largest flooded grasslands. It is located mostly within the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul, but it extends into Mato Grosso and p ...

Appearance and anatomy

This fish reaches a length of SL and weighs up to 1,470

gram The gram (originally gramme; SI unit symbol g) is a Physical unit, unit of mass in the International System of Units (SI) equal to one one thousandth of a kilogram. Originally defined as of 1795 as "the absolute weight of a volume of pure wate ...

s (3.23 lb). It is the sixth largest Pimelodid in the Pantanal. Its body shape and color pattern are perfectly adapted to the muddy bottom where they inhabit. These fish have a relatively slow growth rate, except during the first year of life when growth is rapid.

Ecology

This species is rather rare, confined to the deeper and slow-moving parts of large rivers together with some ''

Loricaria ''Loricaria'' is a genus of armored catfish native to South America. Taxonomy ''Loricaria'' was the first genus of the family Loricariidae described. Thus, it is the nominal genus of the family Loricariidae. Phylogenetic relationships within ' ...

'' and ''

Potamotrygon ''Potamotrygon'' is a genus of freshwater stingrays in the family Potamotrygonidae native to the rivers of South America, and sometimes seen in the aquarium trade. Like other stingrays, the fishes of this genus have venomous barbs at the base of ...

''. The position of the eyes and the shape of the mouth of this piscivorous fish indicate its stalking mode of hunting; these fish feed on

benthic The benthic zone is the ecological region at the lowest level of a body of water such as an ocean, lake, or stream, including the sediment surface and some sub-surface layers. The name comes from ancient Greek, βένθος (bénthos), meaning "t ...

organisms and other fish. During the receding period, these fish migrate and leave the flooded areas and return to the river channel.

Relationship to humans

The meat of this species is highly valued. This animal is found in the fish market of

Cuiabá River The Cuiabá River (Portuguese: ''Rio Cuiabá'') is a Brazilian river in the western state of Mato Grosso that flows in the Río de la Plata Basin. It is a tributary of the São Lourenço River. Course In its upper reaches the Cuiabá River flows ...

in March, April, September, and October. In the southern Pantanal, landing data, including professional and recreational fishing results for 1999, recorded 7.8

metric ton The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the short ton (United States c ...

s. The accumulated amount of fish landed from 1994 to 1999 was 50 metric tons.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3304617 Pimelodidae Catfish of South America

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, ...

Fish of French Guiana

Fish of Paraguay

Fish of Suriname

Fish described in 1840