''Spatuloricaria tuira'', commonly known as Tuira's whiptail or the marbled Xingu whiptail, is a
species of
catfish in the family
Loricariidae. It is native to
South America, where it occurs in the basins of the
Xingu River and the
Tapajós in
Brazil. It is typically seen at the bottom of medium to large rivers with fast water flow and substrates composed of rocks or sand. The species reaches 46 cm (18.1 inches) in
total length and can weigh up to at least 130 g.
''Spatuloricaria tuira'' was described in 2014 by Ilana Fichberg (of the
Federal University of São Paulo), Osvaldo Takeshi Oyakawa (of the
University of São Paulo), and Mario de Pinna (also of the University of São Paulo). Its
specific name Specific name may refer to:
* in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database
In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules:
* Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...
, ''tuira'', honors a
Kayapo
The Kayapo (Portuguese: Caiapó ) people are the indigenous people in Brazil who inhabit a vast area spreading across the states of Pará and Mato Grosso, south of the Amazon River and along Xingu River and its tributaries. This pattern has given ...
woman who "became a symbol of the resistance against the construction of
hydroelectric dams on the Rio Xingu". It does not refer to the
Tuira River, which, although not an area in which ''Spatuloricaria tuira'' occurs, is part of the native range of the related species
''S. fimbriata''.
References
Loricariini
Fish described in 2014
Suckermouth catfish of Brazil
{{Loricariinae-stub