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Hypoptopoma guianense Boeseman, 1974

Image contributors to this species:

Karsten Schönherr (1) Mark Henry Sabaj (3)

ScotCat Sources:

Other Sources:

Relevant Information:

Description: Vertebrae: 27. This species is distinguished from its congeners by the presence of an elongated dark spot along the median caudal-fin branched rays, involving the lanceolate plates at the base of the fin; this spot is typically extended over an equal number of branched rays of both the upper and lower lobes and along more than two thirds of the ray length. Aquarium Care: Will not bother other fish in the aquarium. They like to hang on to thin stalks of plants so they can see around it with their laterally located eyes. Provide shaded hiding areas in the tank with rocks or cave-like structures. Diet: Feed an all round diet but prefers a vegetable diet such as algae, spirulina tablets and cucumber/courgette. Etymology: The specific name guianense: –ense, Latin suffix denoting place: of the Guianas, region that includes Guyana and Suriname, where it occurs.

Common Name:

None

Synonyms:

None

Family:

Loricariidae

Distribution:

South America: Nickerie River basin, Suriname. Type locality: Left tributary of the Nickerie River, a few km upstream from the Stondansi Falls, Surinam.

Size:

6.0cm. (2½ins)

Temp:

18-26°c (63-79°f.)

p.H.

6.0-7.0.

IUCN Red List

Hypoptopoma guianense has a widespread distribution along basins of the Essequibo River and Demerara-Berbice River system in Guyana, and Nickerie River in Suriname. The extent of occurrence (EOO) is estimated at 146,187 km2, and the area of occupancy (AOO) at 31,840 km2. There are severe negative impacts in the distributional area related to urban centres in the coastal region of Suriname along Nickerie River basin, and in the localities of Demerara-Berbice distribution of the species, where forestry, agricultural activities, pollution and sediments are increasing. Additionally, there are also diffuse impacts in localities recorded from middle Cuyuni River basin related to gold mining activities. However, not much is known about the population and how these impacts affect the species. Nevertheless, the species is widely distributed along its distribution in Essequibo, Demerara-Berbice rivers and therefore these threats are not predicted to be severe enough to threaten the persistence of the species in perpetuity. Thus, Hypoptopoma guianense is assessed as Least Concern (LC). However, if this species does represent a species complex, the individuals in the Upper Nickerie River would probably be under threat due to the negative impacts in that region, and thus its status should be re-evaluated (IUCN 2022).

Reference:

Aquino, A.E. and S.A. Schaefer 2010 Systematics of the genus Hypoptopoma Günther, 1868 (Siluriformes, Loricariidae). Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist. 336:1-110.
Calegari, B.B. 2022. Hypoptopoma guianense. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2022.
Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2015. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, ( 10/2015 ).

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

Hypoptopoma guianense

Hypoptopoma guianense
Dorsal view

Hypoptopoma guianense
Ventral view

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