''Trachelyopterus insignis'' is a species of catfish from the freshwater driftwood catfish family,

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 ...

. It is commonly found in rivers of northern South America, where it is called the ''chivo'' (lit. " goat"), the ''rengue'', or the ''doncella'' (lit. "maiden").Ferraris, C.J. Jr., 2003. Auchenipteridae (Driftwood catfishes). p. 470-482. In R.E. Reis, S.O. Kullander and C.J. Ferraris, Jr. (eds.) Checklist of the Freshwater Fishes of South and Central America. Porto Alegre: EDIPUCRS, Brasil.

Taxonomy and naming

The species was formally described in 1878 by the

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

zoologist

Franz Steindachner Franz Steindachner (11 November 1834 in Vienna – 10 December 1919 in Vienna) was an Austrian Zoology, zoologist, ichthyologist, and herpetologist. He published over 200 papers on fishes and over 50 papers on reptiles and amphibians. Steindachne ...

from

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

's Rio Magdelena.Burgess, W. 1989. An Atlas of Freshwater and Marine Catfishes: a Preliminary Survey of Siluriformes. T.F.H. Incorporated. Steindachner originally placed ''T. insignis'' in the genus ''

Auchenipterus ''Auchenipterus'' is a genus of driftwood catfishes (order Siluriformes). Taxonomy The genus is hypothesized to be monophyletic, diagnosed by the shared presence of grooves in the ventral surface of the head that accommodate adducted mental ba ...

'', another group of driftwood catfishes, and it has also been moved into '' Parauchenipterus'', which is no longer considered valid.

Description

This catfish is sexually dimorphic. At a young age the sexes differ mainly in coloration; males are mottled, females are plain. Once sexual maturity is reached, however, males grow a large dorsal

spine Spine or spinal may refer to: Science Biology * Vertebral column, also known as the backbone * Dendritic spine, a small membranous protrusion from a neuron's dendrite * Thorns, spines, and prickles, needle-like structures in plants * Spine (zoolog ...

. Males can reach a 20 cm total length.FishBase
/ref>Ferraris, C.J. Jr. 2003. ''

'' (Driftwood catfishes). p. 470-482. A R.E. Reis, S.O. Kullander y C.J. Ferraris, Jr. (eds.) Checklist of the Freshwater Fishes of South and Central America. Porto Alegre: EDIPUCRS, Brasil.

Distribution and habitat

''T. insignis'' is exclusively

freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the term specifically excludes seawater and brackish water, it does include ...

and is endemic to the lower

Rio Magdalena The Magdalena River ( es, Río Magdalena, ; less commonly ) is the main river of Colombia, flowing northward about through the western half of the country. It takes its name from the biblical figure Mary Magdalene. It is navigable through much ...

river basin of

. It lives close to the bottom of whatever body of water it inhabits and prefers as pH range of 6.0–7.2 as well as water between , temperatures common for waters at tropical latitudes Baensch, H.A. and R. Riehl, 1997. Aquarien Atlas, Band 5. Mergus Verlag, Melle, Germany. 1148 p. It can be found in rivers of all sizes, as well as smaller creeks and floodplains.

Behavior

Like many other members of the driftwood catfishes, ''T. insignis'' is

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 ...

, hiding in logs during the daytime, and venturing outside at night to feed.

Relationship with humans

According to the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

, ''T. insignis'' is not currently threatened in any specific way, nor have any actions been taken to ensure its survival. Other studies have found it to have a low to moderate risk of extinction.Cheung, W.W.L., T.J. Pitcher and D. Pauly, 2005. A fuzzy logic expert system to estimate intrinsic extinction vulnerabilities of marine fishes to fishing. Biol. Conserv. 124:97–111. While not present in the freshwater

aquarium An aquarium (plural: ''aquariums'' or ''aquaria'') is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aq ...

trade, these fishes have been bred in captivity: with a gravel substrate and floating watersprite plants.

References

External links

Fishbase.org entry
{{Taxonbar, from=Q5758832 Catfish of South America Freshwater fish of Colombia Magdalena River Taxa named by Franz Steindachner Fish described in 1878