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Pterygoplichthys multiradiatus (Hancock, 1828)

Orinoco sailfin catfish
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Image of Pterygoplichthys multiradiatus (Orinoco sailfin catfish)
Pterygoplichthys multiradiatus
Picture by Sabaj Pérez, M.H.

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Siluriformes (Catfishes) > Loricariidae (Armored catfishes) > Hypostominae
Etymology: Pterygoplichthys: Greek, pterygion, diminutive of pteryx = wing, fin + Greek, hoplon = weapon + Greek, ichthys = fish (Ref. 45335).

Issue
New combination in Günther (1864:238). Redescription in Weber (1992:9). Mitochondrial D-loop sequences used in a molecular phylogeny of Hypostomus and related genera by Montoya-Burgos and Weber (in press, fig 2; EMBL/GenBank AJ318361).

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Freshwater; demersal; pH range: 6.5 - 7.8; dH range: 4 - 20. Tropical; 23°C - 27°C (Ref. 1672); 10°N - 1°N, 68°W - 61°W

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

South America: Orinoco River basin. Reported from Argentina (Ref. 9086). Introduced and have established in Taiwan, mainland USA and Hawaii (Refs. 5723, 44091, 58503).

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm 32.5, range 25 - 40 cm
Max length : 50.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 2059)

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Facultative air-breathing (Ref. 126274); Occurs in streams and lakes (Ref. 44091) and in weedy, mud-bottomed canals (Ref. 5723). Benthic (Ref. 58302). Nocturnal, feeds on algae (Ref. 13371), but will also feed on worms, insect larvae, and other bottom-dwelling aquatic animals (Ref. 44091). Spawning period peaks once a year (Ref. 56986). Reproductive behavior includes digging of burrows for egg laying (Ref. 82067). May exhibit male parental care (Ref. 56986).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae

Parental care may be exhibited by males (Ref. 56986).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator : Fisch-Muller, Sonia | Collaborators

Burgess, W.E., 1989. An atlas of freshwater and marine catfishes. A preliminary survey of the Siluriformes. T.F.H. Publications, Inc., Neptune City, New Jersey (USA). 784 p. (Ref. 6868)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 24 August 2020

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

Fisheries: of no interest; aquarium: commercial
FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

More information

Trophic ecology
Food items
Diet compositions
Food consumptions
Food rations
Predators
Ecology
Ecology
Population dynamics
Growths
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversions
Recruitments
Abundances
Life cycle
Reproduction
Maturities
Fecundities
Spawnings
Spawning aggregations
Egg(s)
Egg developments
Larvae
Larval dynamics
Distribution
Countries
FAO areas
Ecosystems
Occurrences
Introductions
BRUVS - Videos
Anatomy
Gill areas
Brains
Otoliths
Physiology
Body compositions
Nutrients
Oxygen consumptions
Swimming type
Swimming speeds
Visual pigment(s)
Fish sounds
Diseases / Parasites
Toxicities (LC50s)
Genetics
Genetics
Electrophoreses
Heritabilities
Human related
Aquaculture systems
Aquaculture profiles
Strains
Ciguatera cases
Stamps, coins, misc.
Outreach
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Taxonomy
Common names
Synonyms
Morphology
Morphometrics
Pictures
References
References

Tools

E-book | Field guide | Length-frequency wizard | Life-history tool | Point map | Classification Tree | Catch-MSY |

Special reports

Check for Aquarium maintenance | Check for Species Fact Sheets | Check for Aquaculture Fact Sheets

Download XML

Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Alien/Invasive Species database | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome, nucleotide | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | National databases | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | Public aquariums | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.02399 (0.01241 - 0.04636), b=2.90 (2.74 - 3.06), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & Genus-body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  2.2   ±0.12 se; based on food items.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (tm=1; Fec = 1,983).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Moderate vulnerability (40 of 100).