Aspredinidae
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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 Bunocephalus verrucosus
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Subfamily Aspredininae |
The Aspredinidae are a small South American family of catfishes (order Siluriformes) also known as the banjo catfishes.[1]
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[edit] Distribution
Aspredinids are found throughout tropical South America's rivers such as the Magdalena, Orinoco, Amazon, and Paraguay-Paraná Rivers, and the coastal region from the Orinoco and Amazon deltas. Bunocephalus is the only genus found in rivers west of the Andes including the Atrato, San Juan, and Patia Rivers.[2]
[edit] Taxonomy
Much information has been based on a 1994 phylogenetic study.[1] At this point, there were 12 genera, two of which were new, informal genera including Acanthobunocephalus and Pseudobunocephalus; since then, the former has been formally described, but the latter remains undescribed.[2][3][4] In 1996, the genus Micromyzon was erected for a new, blind species.[5] As of 2007, there are 12 genera in Aspredinidae; this does not include the undescribed Pseudobunocephalus, which would bring the count to 13.[6][4] New species await description.[2] Currently, thirty-six species are recognised in three subfamilies.[1][6]
Aspredinidae is often recognized as a part of the primarily Asian superfamily Sisoroidea as the sister group to the family Erethistidae.[1] However, other authors find that they are sister to the superfamily Doradoidea, which includes Doradidae, Auchenipteridae, and perhaps Mochokidae.[2][7]
[edit] Description
The common name of the family "banjo catfishes" refers to their overall body shape, with a depressed head and slender caudal peduncle, that in some species gives the appearance of a banjo.[2] Banjo catfishes lack an adipose fin. Most species lack the dorsal spine-locking mechanism.[1] Though their bodies are scaleless, their skin is completely keratinized and is covered by large, unculiferous tubercles arranged in longitudinal rows; the entire outer layer of skin may be shed.[1][2] Size ranges from less than 2.0 centimetres (.79 in) SL in Hoplomyzon papillatus to Aspredo aspredo at about 38 centimetres (15 in) SL, though most are less than 15 cm.[1][2] Most species exhibit cryptic coloration.[2] Aspredinids have a loss of alarm cells and the fright reaction that is present in other ostariophysans.[2]
Sexual dimorphism is exhibited in most species in that mature females are typically larger than males; this is, however, reversed in Hoplomyzon sexpapilostoma. Also, in Aspredo and Platystacus the dorsal fin spine is much longer in males than in females.[2]
[edit] Ecology
Aspredinids may be found in a variety of habitats such as shallow backwaters, deep river channels, and tidal estuaries.[2] Species of Bunocephalinae live in freshwater creeks usually hidden in leaf litter and decaying vegetation. Members of the subfamily Aspredininae inhabit coastal rivers and brackish water habitats such as mangrove swamps.[8][9]
They are benthic and sluggish unless disturbed, and many spend the day buried just beneath the surface of the substrate.[2] Like most fish, they are able to swim by undulating their bodies; however, they also propel themselves by pumping water through their gill openings to skip along the substrate.[2] Some species are able to produce sounds by moving their pectoral fin spines back and forth when they are agitated.[2] Most aspredinids are generalized omnivores that feed on aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates and organic debris; however, members of Amaralia appear to specialize in feeding on the eggs of other catfishes.[2]
A peculiarity of the catfishes in the subfamily Aspredininae is that after the female's eggs are fertilised by the male, she attaches them to her belly and carries them to shallow water to hatch.[8] In Pterobunocephalus, the eggs are directly attached to the body, while in the other three genera of the subfamily, the eggs are attached to cotylephores, which are fleshy stalks that develop seasonally on the underside of the body that may function in exchange of materials between the mother and her developing embryos.[2] It has been hypothesised that because these catfish live in muddy environments, this behaviour gives the eggs better access to oxygenated water.[10]
Accounts of reproduction in Bunocephalus vary; some sources state that they are egg-scatterers without any parental care, while others note them to build a depression for a nest and guard the eggs.[2]
[edit] In the aquarium
A few banjo catfishes are kept as aquarium fish, predominantly the smaller members of the subfamily Aspredininae. Their requirements are similar to those of other tropical South American fish, preferring slightly acidic, not too hard water maintained at 20–25°C (68–77°F).[8] Since these species are nocturnal burrowers, they need an aquarium with a soft, sandy substrate into which they will hide during the daytime and forage in at night. Sharp sand or coarse gravel will damage their whiskers. Although not schooling fish they are tolerant of their own kind and also get along with other small aquarium species.[11]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e f g h Nelson, Joseph S. (2006). Fishes of the World. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. ISBN 0-471-25031-7.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Friel, John Patrick (1994-12-13). "A Phylogenetic Study of the Neotropical Banjo Catfishes (Teleostei: Siluriformes: Aspredinidae)" (PDF). . Duke University, Durham, NC Retrieved on 2007-08-07.
- ^ Friel, J (1995). "Acanthobunocephalus nicoi, a new genus and species of miniature banjo-catfish from the upper Orinoco and Casiquiare Rivers, Venezuela. (Siluriformes: Aspredinidae)". Ichthyological Explorations of Freshwaters 6 (1): 89–95.
- ^ a b Friel, John P. (1995-08-05). Aspredinidae. Banjo Catfishes. Tree of Life Web Project. Retrieved on 2007-08-07.
- ^ Friel, John P.; Lundberg, John G. (Aug. 1, 1996). "Micromyzon akamai, Gen. et Sp. Nov., a Small and Eyeless Banjo Catfish (Siluriformes: Aspredinidae) from the River Channels of the Lower Amazon Basin". Copeia 1996 (3): 641–648. doi:.
- ^ a b Ferraris, Carl J., Jr. (2007). "Checklist of catfishes, recent and fossil (Osteichthyes: Siluriformes), and catalogue of siluriform primary types" (PDF). Zootaxa 1418: 1–628.
- ^ Sullivan, JP; Lundberg JG; Hardman M (2006). "A phylogenetic analysis of the major groups of catfishes (Teleostei: Siluriformes) using rag1 and rag2 nuclear gene sequences". Mol Phylogenet Evol. 41 (3): 636–62. doi:.
- ^ a b c Sands D.: South American Catfishes, Interpet 1988, ISBN 0-86101-348-4
- ^ Monks N. (editor): Brackish Water Fishes, TFH 2006, ISBN 0-7938-0564-3
- ^ "Platystacus cotylephorus". FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. Aug 2007 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2007.
- ^ Editore, Arnoldo. Freshwater and Marine Aquarium Fishes. Simon and Shuster 1976, ISBN 0-6712-2809-9
[edit] Further reading
- Editore, Arnoldo. Freshwater and Marine Aquarium Fishes. Simon and Shuster, New York, NY, 1976.
