Stegophilus

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Stegophilus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Actinopterygii Order: Siluriformes Family: Trichomycteridae Subfamily: Stegophilinae Genus: Stegophilus Reinhardt, 1859
Type species
Stegophilus insidiosus Reinhardt, 1859
Binomial name
Stegophilus insidiosus Reinhardt, 1859 Stegophilus panzeri (Ahl, 1931) Stegophilus septentrionalis Myers, 1927

Stegophilus is a genus of catfishes (order Siluriformes) of the family Trichomycteridae. It includes three species, S. insidiosus, S. panzeri, and S. septentrionalis.^[1] S. insidiosus originates from the São Francisco River basin in Brazil, S. panzeri is from the lower Amazon River basin in Brazil, and S. septentrionalis is from Orinoco River basin in Venezuela.^[1] Stegophilus species grow to between 4.1–4.4 centimetres (1.6–1.7 in) SL.^[2][3] S. insidiosus is a true parasite living in the gill chambers of larger fishes, including catfishes like Sorubim lima; it uses its strong teeth to bite into the gill filaments to suck the blood.^[4]

[edit] References

1. ^ ^{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. 
2. ^ "Stegophilus panzeri". FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. July 2007 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2007.
3. ^ "Stegophilus septentrionalis". FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. July 2007 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2007.
4. ^ "Stegophilus insidiosus". FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. July 2007 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2007.