The Heptapteridae, or three-barbeled catfishes, are a family of

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 ...

that originate from the Americas. Most species are restricted to South America, but '' Imparfinis lineatus'', '' Nemuroglanis panamensis'' and '' Pimelodella chagresi'' are native to

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...

, and ''

Rhamdia ''Rhamdia'' is a genus of three-barbeled catfishes found in Mexico, Central and South America. These catfishes are nocturnal, opportunistic carnivores, found in a wide range of freshwater habitats. This genus includes a number of troglobitic me ...

'' species occur as far north as

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. The name Heptapteridae is derived from

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

, ''hepta'' meaning seven and ''pteron'' meaning fin. The diversity of this family is poorly known, and many species are yet to be described. So far, some 211 species have been described. This family is equivalent to the previously recognized Rhamdiinae, a subfamily of the family

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 kn ...

. However, molecular evidence shows this family is a part of the superfamily Pimelodoidea along with the Pimelodidae, Pseudopimelodidae, and '' Conorhynchos''. The skin of these fish is usually naked (scaleless). They exhibit three pairs of barbels. They have a large adipose fin, and their caudal fin is deeply forked. However, no external characteristics unique to this family allow it to be differentiated from the Pimelodidae. The Heptapteridae include a few

troglobitic A troglobite (or, formally, troglobiont) is an animal species, or population of a species, strictly bound to underground habitats, such as caves. These are separate from species that mainly live in above-ground habitats but are also able to live u ...

species in the genera ''Pimelodella'', ''Rhamdia'', '' Rhamdiopsis'', and '' Taunayia''.Bockmann; and Castro (2010). The blind catfish from the caves of Chapada Diamantina, Bahia, Brazil (Siluriformes: Heptapteridae): description, anatomy, phylogenetic relationships, natural history, and biogeography. Neotrop. Ichthyol. 8(4).

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q135710 Catfish families Taxa named by Theodore Gill