| Family: |
Trichomycteridae (Pencil or parasitic catfishes), subfamily: Trichomycterinae |
| Max. size: |
3.4 cm SL (male/unsexed) |
| Environment: |
benthopelagic; freshwater |
| Distribution: |
South America: single set of rimstone dams in São Mateus Cave in Brazil. |
| Diagnosis: |
Dorsal soft rays (total): 11-11; Anal soft rays: 8-8; Vertebrae: 36-36. Distinguished from its epigean and cave congeners by the combination of the following characters: small size (max. 3.4 cm SL); the higher degree of reduction in body pigmentation and in eye size, 2.0-2.1% HL; supraoccipital fontanel very reduced or absent; base and distal extremity of laminar surface of urohyal with similar widths, dorsal process short; posterior process of palatine as long as palatine length, medial concavity slightly rounded; maxilla with discrete medial-posterior projection; fronto-lachrymal 2/3 length of maxilla, anteriorly and posteriorly pointed; opercle with 9 odontodes and interopercle with 20-21 odontodes; 5 pairs of ribs (also observed in a juvenile of I. bambui); caudal skeleton with upper hypural plate triangular and lower one rectangular, neural spine or preural centrum with acute extremity, dorsal procurrent rays 14 and ventral 10 (Ref. 55401).
Description: Dorsal fin with 11 rays ( 3 unbranched, 8 branched); anal fin with 8 rays (2 unbranched, 6 branched); pectoral fin with 8 rays, first ray longer, unbranched and filamentous; pelvic fin with 5 rays, first ray unbranched (Ref. 55401). |
| Biology: |
Occurs in pools in a set of rimstone dams (wall-shaped barriers of calcite, aragonite or other chemical deposits that impound water pools), 10-30 cm deep and with rocky bottom (Ref. 55401). A solitary species, swimming on the bottom, along the walls and sometimes at the surface of the pools (Ref. 55401). |
| IUCN Red List Status: |
Not Evaluated (N.E.) Ref. (130435)
|
| Threat to humans: |
harmless |
Source and more info: www.fishbase.org. For personal, classroom, and other internal use only. Not for publication.