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Heptapterus sympterygium Buckup, 1988

Image contributors to this species:

Freshwater Fish from Uruguay 2nd. edition (1)

ScotCat Sources:

Other Sources:

Relevant Information:

There is at present (2023) twelve described species in this genera and they used to all be in the Pimelodidae genus. Habitat: Endemic to Brazil, occurring mainly in marshes and slow waters along the coastal plains of eastern Rio Grande do Sul. Additionally, there are records of specimens collected in the drainage of the lower Jacuí River. Aquarium Care: Not usually kept in aquaria because of their rarity but if so keep on a soft substrate with subdued lighting as this genera are quite secretive. Diet: Most prepared foods but prefers live. Etymology: The specific name of sympterygium: syn-, together; pterygion, fin, referring to confluent anal and caudal fins. Remarks: It is naturally uncommon and not very abundant and, as no significant threats that put its population at risk have been identified, Heptapterus sympterygium has been categorised as Least Concern (LC) (IUCN 2022).

Common Name:

None

Synonyms:

None

Family:

Heptapteridae

Distribution:

South America: Coastal lowlands of eastern Rio Grande do Sul State (Brazil) and Uruguay. Type locality: Canal at east side of highway BR-471 near pumping house of the Departamento Nacional de Obras de Saneamento (DNOS), 52º31'W, 32º32'S, Ecological Station of Taim (EET), Rio Grande, State of Rio Grande do Sul (RS), Brazil.

Size:

5.0cm. (2ins)

Temp:

20-24°C (67-75°F)

p.H.

6.5-7.2.

Reference:

Bockmann, F.A. and G.M. Guazzelli, 2003. Heptapteridae (Heptapterids). p. 406-431. 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. 2023. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, ( 10/2023 ).
Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade (ICMBio). 2022. Heptapterus sympterygium. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2022.
Loureiro M, González-Bergonzoni I, Teixeira de Mello F. 2023. Freshwater Fishes of Uruguay. Second edition. Vertebrate Zoology Laboratory, Faculty of Sciences, University of the Republic.
The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database © Christopher Scharpf.

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

Heptapterus sympterygium

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