The Pseudopimelodidae are a small family (about 40 species) 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 ...

es known as the bumblebee catfishes or dwarf marbled catfishes. Some of these fish are popular aquarium fish.

Taxonomy

This family was formerly a subfamily of

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 ...

. Pseudopimelodidae is a monophyletic group. Previously, the superfamily Pseudopimelodoidea was sister to superfamilies

Sisoroidea Sisoroidea is a superfamily of catfishes ( order Siluriformes). It contains the four families Amblycipitidae, Akysidae, Sisoridae, and Erethistidae; many sources also include Aspredinidae. With Aspredinidae, this superfamily includes about 42 ...

Loricarioidea Loricarioidea is a superfamily of catfishes ( order Siluriformes). It contains the six families Trichomycteridae, Nematogenyiidae, Callichthyidae, Scoloplacidae, Astroblepidae, and Loricariidae. Some schemes also include Amphiliidae. This s ...

. However, some evidence has shown this family, along with Pimelodidae,

Heptapteridae The Heptapteridae, or three-barbeled catfishes, are a family of catfish that originate from the Americas. Most species are restricted to South America, but ''Imparfinis lineatus'', '' Nemuroglanis panamensis'' and ''Pimelodella chagresi'' are na ...

, and '' Conorhynchos'', may form a monophyletic assemblage, which contradicts the hypothesis that the former family Pimelodidae that included these families is a

polyphyletic A polyphyletic group is an assemblage of organisms or other evolving elements that is of mixed evolutionary origin. The term is often applied to groups that share similar features known as homoplasies, which are explained as a result of conver ...

group.

Distribution

The Pseudopimelodidae are restricted to fresh water in

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 sout ...

, from the

Atrato River The Atrato River () is a river of northwestern Colombia. It rises in the slopes of the Western Cordillera and flows almost due north to the Gulf of Urabá (or Gulf of Darién), where it forms a large, swampy delta. Its course crosses the ...

in Colombia to

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

in the

Río de la Plata The Río de la Plata (, "river of silver"), also called the River Plate or La Plata River in English, is the estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River at Punta Gorda. It empties into the Atlantic Ocean and fo ...

Description

These catfishes have wide mouths, small eyes, and short barbels. Their bold markings lead them to be commonly known as bumblebee catfishes or dwarf marbled catfishes. ''B. acanthochiroides'' grows to 80.0 cm (31 in) TL. However, most species are smaller; species of the genus '' Microglanis'' rarely exceed 70 mm(2.8 in) SL and are never over 80 mm (3.1 in) SL.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1506994 Fish of South America Catfish families Taxa named by Francisco Mago Leccia