SCOTCAT.COM

your internet guide to all things catfish

Tatia nigra Sarmento-Soares & Martins-Pinheiro, 2008

Image contributors to this species:

Rupert Collins (1) Luisa M. Sarmento-Soares (2)

ScotCat Sources:

Other Sources:

Relevant Information:

Description: Dorsal spines (total): 1; Dorsal soft rays (total): 5; Anal soft rays: 10; Vertebrae: 32. Diagnosed uniquely from other species of the genus Tatia by its brown body colour and short postcleithral process about 60.0% HL. Can be differentiated also from other congeners by its postcleithral spine not reaching vertical through origin of dorsal fin; nasal with well developed medial flanges; and total vertebrae 32. Body shape (shape guide): short and / or deep. Aquarium Care: Keeping this species is not too much of a problem as long as the water is kept clean and not too alkaline with a p.H.of between 6.5 and 7.0. They do like a planted aquarium, wood and rocks where they like to hide during the day. They also make a good show fish if showing your fish at shows is your forte, as they usually deport well in a show tank. Diet: In its native habitat they feed on insects, mostly ants, beetles, and mayflies and in the aquarium they will eat anything given such as frozen bloodworm which they will come out of hiding to feed on, catfish tablets, daphnia, white worm (sparingly) and any other worm-like foods. Etymology: The specific epithet nigra From the Latin 'nigra', referring to the dark colour pattern of this species.

Common Name:

Black woodcat

Synonyms:

None

Family:

Auchenipteridae

Distribution:

South America: Amazon and Orinoco River basins: Brazil and Colombia. Type locality: Uatimã River, about 2°14'35"S, 58°49'58"W, Amazonas, Brazil.

Size:

10.0cm (4ins)

Temp:

24-28°c (79-83°f.)

p.H.

6.5-7.5.

IUCN Red List

Tatia nigra is apparently endemic to Brazil, described from the Uatumã River, sub-basin of the Negro River, and recorded for the upper Negro River (Amazonas state), Jauaperi River (Roraima state), and Trombetas River (Pará state). The species is infrequent and not very abundant, known from only a few collections. The lack of additional records is probably due to insufficient collection in its distribution region. Despite the impacts on the type locality resulting from the operation of the Balbina Hydroelectric Power Plant, the species still has a wide distribution and no significant threats to other subpopulations have been identified. Therefore, T. nigra was categorised as Least Concern (LC), (IUCN 2022).

Reference:

Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio). 2022. Tatia nigra. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2022.
Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2026. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, ( 02/2026 ).
Grant, S. (2021): Banjos, Dorads and Woodcats. Aspredinidae, Doradidae and Auchenipteridae Catfishes. ATS-Aquashop, Neustadt am Rübenberge: 1-300.
Sarmento-Soares, Luisa Maria; Martins-Pinheiro, Ronaldo Fernando A systematic revision of Tatia (Siluriformes: Auchenipteridae: Centromochlinae) Neotropical Ichthyology, 6(3):495-542, 2008.

Family: Auchenipteridae Back to Ident-A-Cat Click on Thumbnails

Tatia nigra
Male-Rio Nhamundá, Brazil

Tatia nigra
Female-paratype-Brazil, Uatumã river, Amazonas State

Tatia nigra
Male-holotype-Brazil, Uatumã river, Amazonas State

If you would like to contribute to the monthly factsheets with an article, information or photos, please e-mail me. You will of course be credited for your work.

If you would like to donate any denomination of monies to the site just click the above link button. All proceeds will go to running the site and hopefully to keep it going for a few years yet.