SCOTCAT.COM

your internet guide to all things catfish

Trachelyopterus insignis (Steindachner, 1878)

Image contributors to this species:

Ricardo (1) Miguel Diaz Anaya (1) Juan Guillermo Ospina Pabon (1)

ScotCat Sources:

Other Sources:

Relevant Information:

Sexual Differences: Males posses a long curved dorsal, genital papilla and thickened maxillary barbels. Aquarium Care: Good addition to the larger community tank and will not harass other occupants as long as they are not too small to be eaten on this catfishes night time prowls. Provide hiding places for it. Diet: Will eat most aquarium fare. Etymology: The genus name Trachelyopterus: meaning trachelos, neck; pterus, fin, presumably referring to the elevated nape of T. coriaceus, which gives the appearance that dorsal fin originates at the neck region. The specific name insignis: Latin for marked, distinctive or conspicuous, presumably referring to the colour pattern: one specimen with numerous dark purple spots and marblings on upper half of body, a second specimen with spots all over body and fins. Remarks: The name Auchenipterus insignis given precedence over A. magdalenae by first reviser action of Miles (1947: 73). Redescribed, as Trachycorystes magdalenae, in Schmidt (1928). This species is listed as Least Concern because it it has a wide distribution, is common and there are no known major threats currently affecting its population (IUCN 2014).

Common Name:

Flag Woodcat

Synonyms:

Auchenipterus insignis, Auchenipterus magdalenae

Family:

Auchenipteridae

Distribution:

South America: Lower Magdalena River basin, Colombia. Type Locality: Magdalenen-Stromes [Colombia].

Size:

22.5cm. (8¾ins)

Temp:

22-28°c (71-83°f.)

p.H.

6.0-7.0.

Reference:

Ferraris, C.J. Jr., 2003. Auchenipteridae (Driftwood catfishes). p. 470-482. In R.E. Reis, S.O. Kullander and C.J. Ferraris, Jr. (eds.) Checklist of the Freshwater Fishes of South and Central America. Porto Alegre: EDIPUCRS, Brasil.
Ferraris, C.J. Jr., 2007. Checklist of catfishes, recent and fossil (Osteichthyes: Siluriformes), and catalogue of siluriform primary types. Zootaxa 1418:1-628.
Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2024. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, version (01/24).
The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database © Christopher Scharpf.
Villa-Navarro, F. 2016. Trachelyopterus insignis. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016.

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

Trachelyopterus insignis

Trachelyopterus insignis
Galeras, Sucre, Colombia

Trachelyopterus insignis

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.